Wait Until The Fat Lady Sings

I often hear about miraculous come backs, overturning what seems an impossible situation. The first thought I usually have is that I wish I would have been active in that market However this time I was active and I watched with utter disbelief as events unfolded before me.

It was a cricket Twenty20 game between Hampshire and Somerset. Somerset batted first and struggled throughout managing just 104-7. The odds at the start of Hampshire's chase was 1.10. I was hoping for a very early wicket to push the odds out a bit so I could place a back on Hampshire. The early wicket came, I placed my back bet and layed off later for a small profit of £9.60. The closing trade was my best decision of the day as events unfolded. Hampshire were poised for victory at 93-4, requiring only another 11 runs in almost four overs to see off Somerset's challenge. In the end Hampshire could only manage a further 4 runs losing the rest of their wickets. 1.01 was well and truly slaughtered and it goes to show that the game is not over until it is mathmatically impossible to change the likely result.

My daily trading continues to plod along. Another profitable day without too much excitement. I didn't do too much on the horses as I was flicking over between the cricket and the football.

I traded a couple of US races after mignight so I am already up £11 for today.

I have been thinking of withdrawing some of my profits for some time but in the past when I have withdrawn I seem to go on a losing run!

Maintaining The Target

I am sorry for the lack of meat on the bones this week. By the time the racing has finished I am worn out, especially last night with five meetings in one evening.

 

Small But Steady

Just a quick update to post my last couple of days results. Nothing too exciting but both days were profitable and surpassed my daily target of £33.

 

A Stormy Day

What a start to the day!  I had two back bets as opening trades in the first two races. Two minutes to the start of the 2.10 Worcester and the heavens opened with a monsoon. I have never seen so much rain!  I started to panic when I realised that the broadband had been knocked out and I had no 3G signal to use my backup plan. In addition the signal from my sky had disappeared. 

It took about 12 minutes for the broadband and 3g to return by which time the first two races had been and gone and I was £90 down. What was even more frustrating was that I had backed Silent Blessing in the 2.20 which had been sharply steaming and a closing lay would have been very profitable.

By the end of the day I had managed to claw back most of the losses with a more aggressive strategy which included utilising the in-play markets and finished just over £5 down overall.

Darting Around

Below is a screenshot of the moment when Tony Ayres hit his double to win the his Darts match. at lunchtime today.

The price of 1.11 was astonishing. Here was a guy who admittedly was a rank outsider but was hitting his doubles regularly. Wade was so far behind in this final leg that he was not in a position to finish with his next three darts so Ayres had six darts to hit his double. He did it with his first dart. I quickly put in a £100 bet and only £50 got matched as the market was suspended. I only won £5 on top of the £13 all green I had traded earlier.

Of course this was a pure gamble and at the end of the day I could have lost £100 but just because the price was just 1.11 didn't mean that it was not value. In my opinion it was a price that was screaming to be taken!

Back in the Green

One of the reasons why I started this blog was to document my journey so that I could refer to it from time to time and perhaps learn from my mistakes. I don't know about the latter but it's surprising what is forgotten that the blog can remind you about and it helps to refocus the objectives. 

If there is anyone thinking about starting a diary I would thoroughly recommend it. It doesn't have to be for anyone to read as you can set up a blog which is for your eyes only. I decided to make mine available to anyone as a way to help my discipline. I thought that making it public would make me think twice about making decisions as a losing blog is no good to anyone. It certainly has helped although I have a long way to go. Or why not do it the old fashioned way with pen and paper.

Whichever tool you decide you have to be honest with yourself. There is no advantage to be had documenting stuff that you would rather write down instead of what you actually should write down. If you find yourself continuously losing it will help you make the correct decision of whether to redefine your strategy or concede defeat and give it up.

I am relieved that after three negative days, I am back in profit. Yesterday I had totalled  £99.43 but wanted to gain the 57pence needed to reach my century. I decided to lay the draw midway through the first half of Toronto v Kansas and exited midway through the second accepting a loss of £18.66. The game ended 0-0. The irony is that when I had checked my P/L the Horse market had been adjusted to show £100.55.

Small Reds Continue

It has not been a productive last couple of days. In fact each of the opening three days have all resulted in a losses (although I didn't do very much yesterday). My opening race on Wednesday didn't help with a loss of £75 that I published on here earlier in the week.

I know that if I can keep my concentrate I can consistently come out ahead but it's easier said than done.

Clowning Around

The first day of June couldn't have got off to a worse start. I traded the first two races without going in play, finishing £50 out of pocket. Every decision in those two races went against me and I was getting very frustrated and we all know what happens when the frustration gets the better of us. We turn into a clown and make stupid decisions. Well at least I do!

I trade the third race and by the time the race was about to start I was down a further £20, probably down to my bad temperament. So I made the big sin of chasing and thought 'what the hell' I am going to lay Quiet Word as there were another couple of horses which were also fancied. I decided not to watch or trade during the race as I didn't want it to influence me but as usual I just made the situation worse. By the end of the race I was down £160.

By now I had lost all self control and went into splash the cash mode. Trading went out the window for the next few races. I went in play in all of them and left big liabilities all over the place. I managed to salvage £100 and should have ended the day in profit but I blew my £40 all green on the Somerset V Sussex by making one trade too many which resulted in a profit of 95 pence.

All in all it was a total shambles and I am not proud of ending up as a loss chaser.

Spreadsheet Instruction Error & Not the Only Error

Please see the spreadsheet tab for more details.

Whilst typing this post I forgot I left an open position. Great start to the evening!


























I had a really eventful day yesterday ended up losing £40 but didn't have time to post but will catch up with it later tonight.

Too Many Races

With so many races crammed together yesterday afternoon, it was difficult to get any sort of rhythm. In the end I was satisfied with £68 particularly as the afternoon was the perfect setting to lose discipline and end up trading in play, which I avoided completely.
 

 

I am extremely pleased at almost reaching £1,200 for the month. It has certainly not been easy and I know that I must not be complacent as I have learned that it is very easy to lose and hard to consistently win.