Week 1 Review

The first week of 2012 is the first week of full-time sports trading and after a positive start there have been a number of set backs.

Whilst there has been periods of great profit these have been offset by larger losses.

Something seems to have changed in my mindset and I have found myself tensing up. I've felt anxious about exposure in the market and frustration when I have suffered losses. This is not something I've felt whilst trading part-time, when I have been relaxed and made consistent profits. The change seems to be associated to my knowledge that trading will now be my sole source of income and the need to make profits.

I've found myself falling into the traps of a gambler, entering a market without enough preparation, no clear entry and exit points, failing to take profits when they are available, not scratching soon enough when I'm in a losing position and worst of all chasing losses and increasing stakes. These are not things I was doing when I was trading part-time.

On a more positive note I have seen that the strategies I'm employing DO make money. It is when they are coupled with ill-discipline that the losses occur.  At the start of my second week, I'm using the opportunity of the Betfair downtime to regroup and go back to basics.

I shall be returning to the practice of writing a daily plan for coupled with a review of each day's trading. Today will start with an investment in a review of best practice and a formalisation of my trading plan and associated disciplines. If I fail to do this and just enter the markets, I will continue to make losses as I rush to fail. The aim here is to get rich slowly and consistently not to make money over night.