Trading - some questions

Hi Patented,

I don't think there are any hard'n'fast rules with trading or gambling/trading (which I guess I consider myself to be). Everyone has their own personalities, different sports, stress levels, perspectives, etc, to adapt to. I'll also have different strategies for the same sport, sometimes it's just how I feel. Your questions imply pre-off horse racing trading, which I've tried, but given up on a long time ago. Here goes anyway:

what percentage of your bank do you stake per trade?

I don't really have a bank. I see it as more of a disposable income, if that makes sense? My Betfair balance will vary, but I know I have back-up if required. I will sometimes have an exposure of 10% of disposbale income which makes me extremely jittery. This doesn't mean I won't let it ride, depends on the circumstances, but I don't really like it. Normally about 2-5%, but it's difficult to quantify. I think I have a tendency to over-stake which is my biggest bug-bear.

do you allow your trade to go 'in running' to secure your all green?

I almost always play 'in running'. In cases where i do take a position 'before the off' sometimes I'll close sometimes I won't - depends of the sport/market/situation, and how I feel.

do you do lots of small trades or infrequent trading


Mainly large, infrequent bets/trades (whatever you want to call it).


do you set stop losses on your trades?

No.

what percentage profit do you like to gain per trade?

As large as possible. I can normally tell what I can/can't get away with, and that suffices. Targets are a useless waste of time (imo).

thanks for the feedback dave b, hope it works out for you

Hello there Patented, I think the trouble with some of the questions is that the answers depend on what sport you trade and how much money you have to trade with.

May I ask for some more info in these areas, particularly the sport/market.

The main thing is that you have a strategy that you find effective, without that it may prove a bit frustrating.

I do agree that percentage profit per trade is not something to worry about though.

hi U.A. - i trade mainly in football and horse racing....
i play the over unders and back specific teams in the hope of getting out at a lower price

in horse racing i back a specific type of selection with the hope of getting out lower in running and also lay particular horses which i expect to drift in running,,,,

depending on the markets, i may not need to get out in running if it moves in my favour,,,,,


the bank is not an issue to me - i guess im wondering what percentage of my bank should i stake if im to stick to the same staking?

100%


it's going to go tits up eventually anyway

Hello there Patented.

I suppose if you let something go in running then anything can happen really. The question is how much would you be happy losing in 1 hit assuming that you don't trade out.

To answer your original questions I would say

1) Pre in-play it really depends on how confident about the trade as to how much you stake, that and the liquidity of the market.

2)  No I wouldn't allow markets to go in-play to secure green.

3) Totally depends on what markets are available and if there are any you feel really confident about. There are many variables like how much you are going to be around etc, only you should be able to know the answer to this one.

4) No but it depends on your psychology and how much of a loss you can cope with.

5)Not something to worry about, only think about making a profit from each trade.

This is just my opinion by the way. Hope it helps.

what percentage of your bank do you stake per trade?
variable

do you allow your trade to go 'in running' to secure your all green?
yes

do you do lots of small trades or infrequent trading
lots of small trades, and a few very large trades

do you set stop losses on your trades?
I trade out when I'm losing money.


what percentage profit do you like to gain per trade?
Anything equal to or greater than zero will do me fine.

thanks for the feedback folks....

rocket to the face - stay positive!!

ttt