Traded 23 races today - 18 wins and 5 losers for a $25.57 profit.
On the surface it looks like I had a great day but I made some big mistakes and got very lucky. In one race I firstly overbet for no rational reason. I then got caught out trying to squeeze the last tick out of the race and it went in running. Then I hesitated when I saw that it went in running and risked a big loss. As it was the horse jumped straight to the front and I got out 20 seconds into the race for my biggest win of the day. A nice profit but a lesson in what not to do.
With a 3 to 1 win rate today I should have been able to make a nice profit without a lot of the risks that I took today.
My problem started when I miss clicked twice in a few seconds which resulted in a $2 loss. This was an honest mistake which didn't cost me too much but I then lost the plot and overbet in the above mentioned race which led to further mistakes.
I look forward to the day when I can post a profitable day without these easily avoided errors.
Tuesday, 28 July 2015
Monday, 27 July 2015
28/07/2015 Australian racing
Had a couple of hours free this afternoon so thought I would work on my trading again. Another low liquidity day which forced me to limit the size of my trades which is good. I don't want to risk too much during this 'reprogramming' phase of my trading.
A positive day of learning. I didn't let any trades go in play although I did flirt with danger letting a few go past the starting time whilst trying to squeeze the last tick out of the market. If I had the races on TV I could get a few extra ticks of profit. I might have to look into it if my stake size increases.
I kept the lid on the size of my trades for the most part. I increased my stake on two occasions but not excessively.
A good day where I didn't get overly excited about trading. No adrenaline rushes today which is usually a sign that I am in the right frame of mind. When the adrenaline kicks in it is usually due to me staking too much or gambling. Also, when the adrenaline kicks in my brain tends to turn off. Something to avoid.
10 races traded for the day. 8 winning trades and two losers for a $5.73 profit. A small profit but also a small risk today. A good result for me.
A positive day of learning. I didn't let any trades go in play although I did flirt with danger letting a few go past the starting time whilst trying to squeeze the last tick out of the market. If I had the races on TV I could get a few extra ticks of profit. I might have to look into it if my stake size increases.
I kept the lid on the size of my trades for the most part. I increased my stake on two occasions but not excessively.
A good day where I didn't get overly excited about trading. No adrenaline rushes today which is usually a sign that I am in the right frame of mind. When the adrenaline kicks in it is usually due to me staking too much or gambling. Also, when the adrenaline kicks in my brain tends to turn off. Something to avoid.
10 races traded for the day. 8 winning trades and two losers for a $5.73 profit. A small profit but also a small risk today. A good result for me.
27/7/2015 UK Racing
Had time to trade on the UK races last night. Whilst the turnover on these races was low (for UK racing) I found that the market was reasonably easy to trade.
I traded on 18 races and won on 12 of them which I feel is a pretty good ratio. Winnings for the day were $21.47.
My discipline was good when it came to getting out before the races went in running with me avoiding this for all 18 races which is an improvement.
My other discipline problem of overbetting still troubled me and could have led to unacceptable losses in a few races. I would be happier if I won less and risked less at the moment. I still have trouble accepting a small loss on a race and tend to reverse my position and increase my stakes to get out. This has led to big losses in the past and will in the future so I will continue to work on this part of my mental game.
I also tend to get into the market too early at times. I do best when I wait to see what the market is more likely to do instead of jumping in early with insufficient evidence to warrant taking the position.
I traded on 18 races and won on 12 of them which I feel is a pretty good ratio. Winnings for the day were $21.47.
My discipline was good when it came to getting out before the races went in running with me avoiding this for all 18 races which is an improvement.
My other discipline problem of overbetting still troubled me and could have led to unacceptable losses in a few races. I would be happier if I won less and risked less at the moment. I still have trouble accepting a small loss on a race and tend to reverse my position and increase my stakes to get out. This has led to big losses in the past and will in the future so I will continue to work on this part of my mental game.
I also tend to get into the market too early at times. I do best when I wait to see what the market is more likely to do instead of jumping in early with insufficient evidence to warrant taking the position.
Sunday, 26 July 2015
27/07/2015
A very quiet day on the US and Australian markets. To say that the market was soft is an understatement.
Used the day to practice my mental skills. Not getting upset when the market moves very erratically as it does with these markets.
Have to make sure that you have live feed of the US races as they can jump early and do not allow betting in running if you get caught.
I traded a total of 18 races for 10 wins and 7 losses with one scratched for a small (tiny) profit of $0.81.
Again I had one race go in running which I should have got out of a bit earlier and I over bet on one race which cost me a little.
Still making small mistakes consistently. If I can eliminate these mental errors I am sure that my consistency and profits will improve.
I am not looking to increase my stakes, in the short term, but want to use this time to improve my mental game. This could take weeks or months. Hopefully not more than 6 months.
Used the day to practice my mental skills. Not getting upset when the market moves very erratically as it does with these markets.
Have to make sure that you have live feed of the US races as they can jump early and do not allow betting in running if you get caught.
I traded a total of 18 races for 10 wins and 7 losses with one scratched for a small (tiny) profit of $0.81.
Again I had one race go in running which I should have got out of a bit earlier and I over bet on one race which cost me a little.
Still making small mistakes consistently. If I can eliminate these mental errors I am sure that my consistency and profits will improve.
I am not looking to increase my stakes, in the short term, but want to use this time to improve my mental game. This could take weeks or months. Hopefully not more than 6 months.
26/07/2015
Just traded 18 races on the Australian Sunday afternoon racecard. I was mainly concentrating on having a definite plan before entering a trade.
Firstly - I had a stop/loss in mind at a specific negative tick movement in mind before entering a trade.
Secondly - I had a plan to trade out half my stake at a pre-assigned positive tick count.
Thirdly - I planned on keeping my risk to the same stake amount on most races and to have a definite limit on the maximum amount that I would put into the market on any one race.
Fourth - Do not let the trade go in - running.
All up I did reasonably well on the day. I did let one trade go in -running which was disappointing. It didn't cost me but it has been a big problem for me in the past that I get 'caught in the headlights' a bit when it goes against me in play so I must avoid it in the future.
I went up to my maximum stake on one race when the circumstances didn't warrant and it cost me nearly $3. It should have been 1/3rd of this if I had been more disciplined.
Even with the above errors I managed to win on 15 trades for the day and lost on only 3. I ended up in profit $16.78 for the day which was (in my opinion) a great result for the small stakes that I was using. If I had been more disciplined I could have made a few more dollars with even less risk.
I am planning on being more consistent in avoiding the big losses. The above 4 step plan is a big part of that as is my plan on developing a different mindset whilst trading. I believe that I can consistently give myself an edge by being more disciplined before entering a trade and whilst involved in a trade.
Time will tell. I don't expect every day to be as easy as today but I do believe that if I can continue to improve my mental state whilst trading that I can, at the very least, be a profitable trader.
Firstly - I had a stop/loss in mind at a specific negative tick movement in mind before entering a trade.
Secondly - I had a plan to trade out half my stake at a pre-assigned positive tick count.
Thirdly - I planned on keeping my risk to the same stake amount on most races and to have a definite limit on the maximum amount that I would put into the market on any one race.
Fourth - Do not let the trade go in - running.
All up I did reasonably well on the day. I did let one trade go in -running which was disappointing. It didn't cost me but it has been a big problem for me in the past that I get 'caught in the headlights' a bit when it goes against me in play so I must avoid it in the future.
I went up to my maximum stake on one race when the circumstances didn't warrant and it cost me nearly $3. It should have been 1/3rd of this if I had been more disciplined.
Even with the above errors I managed to win on 15 trades for the day and lost on only 3. I ended up in profit $16.78 for the day which was (in my opinion) a great result for the small stakes that I was using. If I had been more disciplined I could have made a few more dollars with even less risk.
I am planning on being more consistent in avoiding the big losses. The above 4 step plan is a big part of that as is my plan on developing a different mindset whilst trading. I believe that I can consistently give myself an edge by being more disciplined before entering a trade and whilst involved in a trade.
Time will tell. I don't expect every day to be as easy as today but I do believe that if I can continue to improve my mental state whilst trading that I can, at the very least, be a profitable trader.
Monday, 20 July 2015
A new start
After several losing attempts at trading on the UK horse market I am going to start again....with very small stakes.
I seem to be able to pick enough winning trades to succeed. However my losing trades seem to get away from me. It is more a mental issue than a technical issue.
I plan to have some specific rules that I MUST obey and some other rules that could be a bit more flexible. After I have worked them out I will post them to see what others think about them and how they could be improved.
I won't be trading in the next week due to work commitments.
I seem to be able to pick enough winning trades to succeed. However my losing trades seem to get away from me. It is more a mental issue than a technical issue.
I plan to have some specific rules that I MUST obey and some other rules that could be a bit more flexible. After I have worked them out I will post them to see what others think about them and how they could be improved.
I won't be trading in the next week due to work commitments.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)