Have been going along steadily the last few days, almost break even for the month after the disaster of a few days ago. Its been hard going though and I think this is affecting me. Today I lost the first 4 races, and was down £5, quite a lot for my stakes, but I wasn't unduly worried, I knew I could( and would) get it back. This is in fact what happened over the next 4 races and I was a few pence in profit for the day. The next race I traded I got caught out by the mystery punter who seemed to be whacking great chunks of money on the favorite, I redded out at over £5 for the race, and was prepared to accept that. The favorite was still getting hit so I traded in the expectation that it was going to continue, which it did, and I got my PnL down to about a loss of £1 . Instead of accepting that this was a good result, I put some final trades in too close to the off, got the dreaded in-play signal, and the favorite must have crawled out of the stalls because its odds moved out and never recovered, over a 1m race. I didnt close out, through inability to accept a big loss, and so the race ended and I had a huge loss instead, £40. I thought I was past this stage, or at least coming to grips with it, but going through a tough couple of weeks has shown just how fragile my discipline is.
The loss itself hasnt affected me that much, its the dissapointment of failing to do what was needed in the situation that is really discouraging. If I don't sort it out( as I have said before) I will never be able to make this work. Its my own fault, but I dont know how to remedy the problem. Embrace the losses I guess. Its funny how my mind works, I was prepared to ( unhappily) accept a £5 loss, then couldnt accept a £1 loss, then couldnt accept the £8 loss in running, so was forced to accept the £40 loss. Maybe thats part of my subconscious thinking, let it go out of my control and then I cant blame myself for the results( blame is probably the wrong word, accept responsibility is better). Well I am blaming myself, the £40 loss was my fault. I accept that I didnt do what was required, I will do what is required next time.
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Maybe someone should set up a Traders Anonymous like AA where traders could wallow in their own stupidity :)
ReplyDeleteYou got stung on this one but you've probably benefitted from others you've let go in play
I guess I was wallowing a bit, but I think its also a good way to accept the mistakes and work out where I went wrong and what I can do to sort it out.
ReplyDeleteI have benefitted a few times by going in play, not to the value of £40 tho, but that doesnt matter, I need to stop going in play
You need to take a long hard look and decide if you're cut out for trading, no shame in admitting defeat not many do it succesfully. All this in play stuff is just a lame excuse as you're just not accepting bigger reds soon enough and letting the market go to conclusion in the hope the odds will change drastically in your favour, they won't.
ReplyDeleteTake a week off and do some contemplating not like you'll miss the income or learn any new trading tips in a week. Sometimes you need to step out of the situation fully and make those hard decisions as even if you sort out the in play side it doesn't mean you'll be able to make a living out of it.
As ive said before, I am not deliberately going in play to avoid a red, but yes, maybe I do need to take a step back for a bit
ReplyDeleteNeil
ReplyDeleteYour post today sounded like I had written it!!
When I very briefly tried trading a few years back I used to go through exactly what you described (and I mean exactly).
Anon maybe has a point but only you yourself knows if you are strong enough to learn and move on.
My decision was easy as I was already successful backing/laying and that is where my strength lay, I am much better at analysing a race than analysing a market.
The trading game is hard but if you can learn from mistakes, and you will probably have to accept some hefty ones, then there is no reason why you can't succeed.
Ben (NTF)
I dont think I am ready to give up yet, as to wether I am strong enough to learn and move on, I would like to think so, though maybe the evidence is against me at the moment. You say trading is hard and it is, but the solution to my problem is easy, and in my hands.simply dont trade too near the off and dont go in play. I guess I am battling with other impulses( fear of losses, greed, failure) which are getting in the way of the simple solution.
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