Daily P/L: £2.42 Monthly P/L: £47.97Tonight saw the start of the Engage Super League with Wigan and Warrington squaring off. I haven't as much knowledge about Rugby League as I have with Rugby Union so I decided to keep my stakes very low and observe for most of the game.It became apparent that whilst it's exciting to watch, Rugby League is more predictable than a lot of sports- I knew this already but wanted to make sure I wasn't missing a trick. You'd think this would be good for a trader but I find it the opposite. To me, my speciallity is studying a sport so I can find opportunities that others will mostly miss - with Rugby League every man and his dog seems to know what's likely to happen and it becomes a competition of 'fastest finger first'. I hate this, as the skill of trading then gets replaced by who has the fastest internet connection. Whilst this is very important, to me it should only be part of the picture.Maybe my early judgement is wrong but I'm not sure this sport will provide me with much success this summer.
Daily P/L: £0.45 Monthly P/L: £45.55 What is it about top sportsmen? Whether it's Taylor, Woods or Federer I really struggle to trade matches when they're involved.The Premier League Darts action tonight was a classic example. Phil Taylor was up against a rejuvenated Dennis Priestley and I got in all sorts of bother by firstly supporting the 'Power' and then opposing him. I ended up inviting too much action and stayed in the market way too long. My reluctance to believe what I was seeing led to my troubles, but what was obvious is that Taylor isn't himself at the moment. He's lost loads of weight since Christmas and it would appear some of his energy has gone with it. I hope this is just a blip as the guy is a freak and an outstanding ambassador for the sport. I was disappointed with my performance in this match as I traded the other 3 matches very well. A nice green figure would now be sitting in my account if I hadn't lost the plot - but I suppose that's all part of the game.The positive news is that I'm now very confident I can make good money from this competition and my strategy is still holding up - I let myself down tonight but to be honest I've had a pretty tough week and maybe that's taken it's toll - hopefully the weekend will offer some respite.
Daily P/L: £38.95 Monthly P/L: £45.10 I really enjoy updating my blog and letting the world know my thoughts but it's main aim is is to keep me focused by documenting where I make mistakes. My thoughts are that if I minimise making poor decisions then I'll make bigger profits. Despite this approach I'm also keen for everybody who takes the time to read what I write to either learn something or at least find it entertaining. With this in mind, I've had a look at some of my previous posts and I'm aware that they're hardly a laugh a minute so please let me know if there's something you want me to cover in my articles.Moving on -My target for February is to make a trading profit of £357, so I'm happy with today's results. My attention was on the two Six Nations matches and even though I expected wins for France and England the anticipation of an upset was always in the back of my mind. The Italy v France turned out to be a very drab affair and I was only able to make a small green position on that one, so I'm thankful that at least England and Scotland made a game of it. Unfortunately, I just missed a very good opportunity to cash in when Simon Taylor went through for the first try but despite this I'd still made a decent profit by half time. No trading for me tomorrow as I'll be at the rugby. I'll probably take a look at the Super Bowl when I get back but I'm not going to count on it as if Wales win I might have to celebrate.
Daily P/L: £6.15 Monthly P/L: £6.15 Okay, I might not be sprinting out of the blocks but I've started the month in the right way. Not much action, just a little dabble into with the Malta Cup Snooker and the Premier League Darts.My involvement with the snooker was more of an education. I'll often play with small stakes on events I'm not overly familiar with. Don't get me wrong - I always devise a strategy before trading but if my thoughts are unproven then I'll always edge on the side of caution. To me, good defense is even more important than good offense (and yes, I pinched that from the book Market Wizards).I was cautious with the Darts for a different reason. The Premier League format is completely different to normal tournaments so matches need to be approached in a slightly different way. I wanted to see if my strategy would hold up and I'm happy to report it did. Although the liquidity in the markets isn't great, I'm confident that if I pick my spots, I should have a profitable campaign.The Six Nations will be my main focus for the weekend. I'll only be trading on the Saturday as on Sunday I'll be going to the Wales v Ireland game and unfortunately, as I Welshman, I'm very pessimistic about our chances. Too many injuries, a dodgy coach and a lack of strength in depth leave me cringing that this could be a good day to be Irish but you never know. If you plan to watch on TV then please keep an eye out for me...I'll be wearing red!
