Daily P/L: £64.59
Monthly P/L: £406.24
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A steady effort leaves me in a good place for the end of the month. If I can pick up some small wins from here on in and stay away from the big losses I'll be more than happy.
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England v West Indies
A much improved England bowling performance led them to victory in this second Twenty20 game but they didn't half make hard work of it. Once again the market refused to believe they could lose and despite the Windies posting a respectable 169 England were priced at 1.36 at the half way stage - a ridiculous price but no doubt the big scores from Thursday had left their mark. Then the wickets began to fall so I jumped in to lay England just before favouritism swung dramatically. A good move and it wasn't long before the Windies were in control - they had the batsmen in trouble and when Collingwood went the result looked a formality. The Windies price was 1.08 and at 104-5 England needed a miracle - enter stage right Owais Shah. A fantastic innings by the Middlesex man turned things around and the rest is history. A great match to trade and I finished with a profit of £72.91.
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Earlier today I played with some small stakes during the Wimbledon coverage and ended up losing £8.32. I don't mind writing off these small amounts if I learn something in the process but I'm not sure I did that today.
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Friday, 29 June 2007
Thursday, 28 June 2007
Sewn Up
Daily P/L: £41.07
Monthly P/L: £341.65
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I'm sure England are now ruing their decision to leave specialist Twenty20 players out of their squad to face the West Indies. The frustration for most England fans must be that a side filled with the likes of Maddy and Doshi would probably beat the Windies 8 times out of 10 so why can't the selectors see that this game is completely different to test matches and even the normal 50 over format? A team jammed with seamers and the absence of quality spinners is a complete mystery to me. The use of spin at the right time has been a pivotal part of any success in this game - just ask Leicestershire - but there was nobody on the pitch to answer the call when it was needed this evening.
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England v West Indies
I was hoping for the Windies to win the toss and when they did I had the feeling it was "game on". The market was full of England over-confidence so if the visitors posted a score of 160+ I was confident the market wouldn't react until it had given me a chance to make some profit. Even though the pitch was described as a "belter" by the commentators you still have to get the runs and the Windies did it in style to post a massive 208 from their allocation. Favouritism had swung full circle and the price of 1.46 on the Windies looked hugely attractive but a couple of things stopped me from going in heavy. I haven't traded on an England one day international before so even though I felt the price should be more like 1.25 the market to me was very unpredictable. My thinking was that if England managed a few early boundaries (which was likely given the fielding restrictions during the first 6 overs) then their price would drift to 1.70+ very quickly and I'd be in danger of getting stung badly. Therefore, I made the decision to leave my mouse alone and to wait for the right opportunity before lumping on as England started to collapse. Unfortunately, England put up a good fight. They lost wickets steadily but the run rate never got too far out of reach to reflect the odds on offer as value (the Windies were 1.1x for long periods of the England innings which weren't good enough in my book). Hence, I didn't cash in despite calling the result - a missed opportunity or the right thing to do? I think it was the right way to play it but it means only a small gain of £41.07 can be recorded for the day.
.
The good news is we get the chance to have a second bash tomorrow - after today's performance it'll be interesting to see what price England open at.
.
Monthly P/L: £341.65
.
I'm sure England are now ruing their decision to leave specialist Twenty20 players out of their squad to face the West Indies. The frustration for most England fans must be that a side filled with the likes of Maddy and Doshi would probably beat the Windies 8 times out of 10 so why can't the selectors see that this game is completely different to test matches and even the normal 50 over format? A team jammed with seamers and the absence of quality spinners is a complete mystery to me. The use of spin at the right time has been a pivotal part of any success in this game - just ask Leicestershire - but there was nobody on the pitch to answer the call when it was needed this evening.
.
England v West Indies
I was hoping for the Windies to win the toss and when they did I had the feeling it was "game on". The market was full of England over-confidence so if the visitors posted a score of 160+ I was confident the market wouldn't react until it had given me a chance to make some profit. Even though the pitch was described as a "belter" by the commentators you still have to get the runs and the Windies did it in style to post a massive 208 from their allocation. Favouritism had swung full circle and the price of 1.46 on the Windies looked hugely attractive but a couple of things stopped me from going in heavy. I haven't traded on an England one day international before so even though I felt the price should be more like 1.25 the market to me was very unpredictable. My thinking was that if England managed a few early boundaries (which was likely given the fielding restrictions during the first 6 overs) then their price would drift to 1.70+ very quickly and I'd be in danger of getting stung badly. Therefore, I made the decision to leave my mouse alone and to wait for the right opportunity before lumping on as England started to collapse. Unfortunately, England put up a good fight. They lost wickets steadily but the run rate never got too far out of reach to reflect the odds on offer as value (the Windies were 1.1x for long periods of the England innings which weren't good enough in my book). Hence, I didn't cash in despite calling the result - a missed opportunity or the right thing to do? I think it was the right way to play it but it means only a small gain of £41.07 can be recorded for the day.
.
The good news is we get the chance to have a second bash tomorrow - after today's performance it'll be interesting to see what price England open at.
.
Wednesday, 27 June 2007
Relief
Since Last Post P/L: £313.50
Monthly P/L: £300.58
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It's been a tough week but I seem to have got through it okay. I was starting to get a little worried on Monday that I was going to endure my first losing month but fortunately I've worked hard and managed to put myself in a pretty strong position so unless I go and completely duff things up I should survive. I've also taken two days off work so I plan to take a look at the Twenty20 matches between England and the West Indies on Thursday and Friday.
.
Gloucestershire v Worcestershire
Where did all that rain come from? I'm surprised they got this match on at all let alone 10 overs a side so a big well done to all those involved - some truly shocking conditions but surprisingly some well played cricket. Worcestershire batted first and racked up a very decent score of 101. To be honest I thought this would be enough - the conditions weren't good and it needed a good start form Gloucestershire to get close. As could be expected following my recent run I was quickly proved wrong as the home side won comfortably with 8 balls to spare. Luckily, due to the restricted overs I was playing with small amounts so I only lost £7.08 on the match.
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Warwickshire v Northamptonshire
I realised now that I was in a spot of bother - 25 days of the month were gone and I was still staring at a negative p/l. Drastic action was needed, I had to do some studying! With trading I've come to realise quickly that knowledge is power. It's no surprise that I haven't been able to make Tennis pay as I haven't spent time studying the sport but it's not completely the same for cricket (I have spent some time doing research) but I obviously hadn't done enough so I hit the books and I'd like to think it's paid off (at least for now anyway).
.
When I got home from work Warwicks were finishing off their innings. The Maddy wicket had just fallen, their tail-end seemed to be collapsing and the market was reacting but they recovered pretty well in the last couple of overs and ended up setting a target of 174 for Northants to chase. This was a good score - Edgbaston is not an easy place for chasing a target and no Twenty20 score above 170 had been knocked over. Without spending time looking at the stats I wouldn't have known this and therefore I also wouldn't have known that the 1.96 that was available to back Warwicks was great value. I jumped in with £375 and rode the price down - in then out, in then out - until there wasn't much chance of a Northants comeback. The result was a £129.71 gain and I was back in business.
.
Lancashire v Yorkshire
Buoyed by my win from last night I was very confident that I could make some money out of tonight's game. Gareth mentions it here in his recent post and he's right, there's no underestimating a positive mental attitude when it comes to trading. It gives you the strength to trust in your opinion and not make knee jerk reactions - these are always costly.
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Lancashire batted first and set the type of total I like - 143 sounds naff but it was a par score and although Yorkshire deserved to be favoured, their price of 1.40 at the switch of innings was way too short. I nibbled and then nibbled some more as White lost his wicket after facing 6 balls. Not a great start and I was just waiting for the right time to go in heavy on Lancs. A steady stream of wickets turned out to be Yorkshire's downfall as none of their batsmen were able to make a stand and I ended up picking this one right. My month now seems back on track but it's not over yet. I finished with a profit of £190.87 on this one.
.
Monthly P/L: £300.58
.
It's been a tough week but I seem to have got through it okay. I was starting to get a little worried on Monday that I was going to endure my first losing month but fortunately I've worked hard and managed to put myself in a pretty strong position so unless I go and completely duff things up I should survive. I've also taken two days off work so I plan to take a look at the Twenty20 matches between England and the West Indies on Thursday and Friday.
.
Gloucestershire v Worcestershire
Where did all that rain come from? I'm surprised they got this match on at all let alone 10 overs a side so a big well done to all those involved - some truly shocking conditions but surprisingly some well played cricket. Worcestershire batted first and racked up a very decent score of 101. To be honest I thought this would be enough - the conditions weren't good and it needed a good start form Gloucestershire to get close. As could be expected following my recent run I was quickly proved wrong as the home side won comfortably with 8 balls to spare. Luckily, due to the restricted overs I was playing with small amounts so I only lost £7.08 on the match.
.
Warwickshire v Northamptonshire
I realised now that I was in a spot of bother - 25 days of the month were gone and I was still staring at a negative p/l. Drastic action was needed, I had to do some studying! With trading I've come to realise quickly that knowledge is power. It's no surprise that I haven't been able to make Tennis pay as I haven't spent time studying the sport but it's not completely the same for cricket (I have spent some time doing research) but I obviously hadn't done enough so I hit the books and I'd like to think it's paid off (at least for now anyway).
.
When I got home from work Warwicks were finishing off their innings. The Maddy wicket had just fallen, their tail-end seemed to be collapsing and the market was reacting but they recovered pretty well in the last couple of overs and ended up setting a target of 174 for Northants to chase. This was a good score - Edgbaston is not an easy place for chasing a target and no Twenty20 score above 170 had been knocked over. Without spending time looking at the stats I wouldn't have known this and therefore I also wouldn't have known that the 1.96 that was available to back Warwicks was great value. I jumped in with £375 and rode the price down - in then out, in then out - until there wasn't much chance of a Northants comeback. The result was a £129.71 gain and I was back in business.
.
Lancashire v Yorkshire
Buoyed by my win from last night I was very confident that I could make some money out of tonight's game. Gareth mentions it here in his recent post and he's right, there's no underestimating a positive mental attitude when it comes to trading. It gives you the strength to trust in your opinion and not make knee jerk reactions - these are always costly.
.
Lancashire batted first and set the type of total I like - 143 sounds naff but it was a par score and although Yorkshire deserved to be favoured, their price of 1.40 at the switch of innings was way too short. I nibbled and then nibbled some more as White lost his wicket after facing 6 balls. Not a great start and I was just waiting for the right time to go in heavy on Lancs. A steady stream of wickets turned out to be Yorkshire's downfall as none of their batsmen were able to make a stand and I ended up picking this one right. My month now seems back on track but it's not over yet. I finished with a profit of £190.87 on this one.
.
Monday, 25 June 2007
Soggy Spirits
Daily P/L: £52.45
Monthly P/L: £12.92
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What's with the British weather? It's the end of June and we have rain forecast for every day this week which puts a big dampener on the three days holiday I've taken. I was hoping to sneak a bit of Wimbledon trading in alongside the Twenty20 but it looks as if play will be hit with a string of delays which leaves me scrapping to end the month in profit.
.
Surrey v Hampshire
Rain was also on the menu today but in a fortunate way it helped me make my profit. When coverage started at the Oval the forecast wasn't good - the umpires had been out and reported back that the start would be delayed by at least an hour and that if they did get started more showers were predicted for later. In Twenty20 if the game is put back then the number of overs per side is reduced. At just gone 3pm the call went out that it'd be a 4pm start with the match reduced to 10 overs each so my initial feelings were to back away from the outright market (it would be more of a lottery now) and look for opportunities elsewhere. On the completed match market there was some money available to back at 1.79. I'd taken a look at the rainfall radar and even though it was bucketing down in Sussex the clouds seemed to be moving over the Channel so I ended snapping up all that was on offer. I also knew that for the match to be deemed completed the second batting team only had to face 5 overs. This meant that as long as 15 overs could be bowled (10 + 5) there'd be a result and I'd be in profit. With every over taking on average 4 mins to bowl this equated to an hour's play with a 10 minute break between innings. Therefore, if no rain appeared between 4pm and 5.10pm I would be okay.
.
I got a bit nervous when the clouds starting spitting just after the start of the second innings but the downpour held off and I survived. I did squander a little bit of profit whilst the match was in play but not enough to worry about and I finished with a green screen of £52.45.
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Let's hope the sun puts his hat on for the rest of the week.
.
Monthly P/L: £12.92
.
What's with the British weather? It's the end of June and we have rain forecast for every day this week which puts a big dampener on the three days holiday I've taken. I was hoping to sneak a bit of Wimbledon trading in alongside the Twenty20 but it looks as if play will be hit with a string of delays which leaves me scrapping to end the month in profit.
.
Surrey v Hampshire
Rain was also on the menu today but in a fortunate way it helped me make my profit. When coverage started at the Oval the forecast wasn't good - the umpires had been out and reported back that the start would be delayed by at least an hour and that if they did get started more showers were predicted for later. In Twenty20 if the game is put back then the number of overs per side is reduced. At just gone 3pm the call went out that it'd be a 4pm start with the match reduced to 10 overs each so my initial feelings were to back away from the outright market (it would be more of a lottery now) and look for opportunities elsewhere. On the completed match market there was some money available to back at 1.79. I'd taken a look at the rainfall radar and even though it was bucketing down in Sussex the clouds seemed to be moving over the Channel so I ended snapping up all that was on offer. I also knew that for the match to be deemed completed the second batting team only had to face 5 overs. This meant that as long as 15 overs could be bowled (10 + 5) there'd be a result and I'd be in profit. With every over taking on average 4 mins to bowl this equated to an hour's play with a 10 minute break between innings. Therefore, if no rain appeared between 4pm and 5.10pm I would be okay.
.
I got a bit nervous when the clouds starting spitting just after the start of the second innings but the downpour held off and I survived. I did squander a little bit of profit whilst the match was in play but not enough to worry about and I finished with a green screen of £52.45.
.
Let's hope the sun puts his hat on for the rest of the week.
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