A Valuable Post…

In the previous post I said I was thinking of putting up a post with a fairly valuable tip in it… so here it is, in the past I haven’t just come out with it like this but there are some useful things said if you go back and read between the lines!
Anyway I get quite a lot of emails asking for hints and tips so I thought rather than reply individually ill just chuck this out there and it might even give you some other things to think about…

People are forever relating Betfair trading to the financial markets and trying to treat them the same, the first thing id say is… and this is considering im just going off all the stuff I have read about forex etc… they are very different, however some things do relate although probably not quite in the manner you thought initially!

So bearing that in mind, one of the biggest things you hear about in the financial trading world is time frames and trading windows…. Betfair is no different. Obviously its good to have rules but when you understand the reasoning behind your rules it’s also possible to see when they will shift and do/don’t apply.

So, what time frames do you trade on Betfair?
Are you going race to race trading them all the same at the time?
Do you trade every race from 10 mins out 5 mins out 1 min?
Why?

Now for most people who ask me they haven’t really considered this greatly and go from race to race at the same times and start trading….. so before you read the next bit I advise you answer all of those questions before I alter your view, answer them with what your actually doing even if you’ve already started to realise what I’m on about…..

Now i shall answer all of those questions, hopefully it will help you and give you quite a bit to think about and quite possibly instantly change your results if you implement what im highlighting to you here…

So, what time frames do you trade on Betfair? 
It depends on many factors, firstly is their TV coverage?, channel 4, At the races, Racing UK, Betfair Live Feed…. if there is not then know im not, why would I? liquidity and market flow doesn’t pick up until coverage starts. Without that it makes is significantly harder to exit a position either be it for profit or loss, also the trends will not have the full weight of money behind it etc.

Are you going race to race trading them all the same at the time?
No, definitely not! I prefer to try to find a move of a few ticks at least earlier on as the flow starts and picks up and prices move say 7 – 3 mins from post time depending on time of year/coverage etc and they when its close to post time and often the market has stabilised I will change my approach to a more static style of trading and scalp… after all the market is most solid at post time with the highest volume so it makes sense and its safer to scalp making the most of turnover.

Do you trade every race from 10 mins out 5 mins out 1 min?
No!! …. see the above two questions

Why?
It all comes down to turnover, money being matched and why for me as to what approach I will take, very often it changes from race to race… also many other things get factored into it. If a jockey breaks a leg at the track and there is a 10 minute delay it would be trading suicide to get involved any earlier than 5 mins after post time for example!

Well hopefully that’s a pretty huge pointer for most that are still learning this game…. and here is a quick clip of me trading a race yesterday, nothing spectacular but see how I change the different styles even throughout the 5 minutes recorded!!

Also it highlights how I don’t always get things right too!, the spike that goes through the scalping stakes at the end is just unfortunate so I exited straight away, these things happen… but still you get the point.

14 thoughts on “A Valuable Post…

  1. I tried BF’s live feed but it was like 5 second delay, online feeds not much better dont know how fast are TV feeds, however there is a shimmer of hope I heard the new Betdaq feed starts at 5 min and you dont even need to bet on the market only have some money on your account so I could give it another try 🙂

  2. Hey, no not at all!! you still have betfair live feed and you can get the channels online. plus there is comentary on radio channels online you can hear when they are loading etc….

  3. Its a couple of seconds at worst for me…. i dont know if being abroad is any worse… but even so you dont need to the second pictures do you. They are helpful even if behind… you just dont want to be trading the wrong time frame is my point, there is no money there otherwise

  4. Hi Caan

    Thanks for this post, tips and video.

    Regarding the video. May i ask why you didnt get into the fav? Its seems that you where trying to get in the top and bottom of the range of teh 2md and 2rd horse. Thats what you always do?

    Thanks

    Regards

  5. Thanks Caan, a really interesting read. I’ve read somewhere else that the time frames are crucial to their trading. Thanks again for sharing this info, I’m sure to most people it will be of great use.

  6. Hi Caan.

    Thank’s for sharing that mate. One of my biggest problems when I first started the pre-race trading was entering the market way too early, just for the sake of it, before any real moves had developed. As you say, this can quickly put you in the red zone. So it makes sense to hold fire and only enter the market when you have a reason or clear indication of what is happening/about to happen.

    The TFF seminars have been a great help in my trading journey and I’ll be endeavouring to put a few examples up of my own trading on my blog during July.

    Cheers – Dave.

  7. Hi Caan,

    Great video, just one thing, could you please tell me how you get those small blue lines down the side on the geek that represent last traded price. I can’t seem to find them anywhere in settings and they look a really useful tool.

    Thanks in advance

  8. Hey anon … You can set this by right clicking on the ladder interface ont selecting chart width, it’s one of the earlier settings so I think it’s under options

  9. Hi Caan
    I’m just going through your blog and am up to 3rd July 2013. You sometimes include a video showing yourself trading a theme (as at 3/7/13) but I can never find it. Have they been deleted or where are they?
    Regards
    Terry (ps I’ve purchased your book and video pack)

    1. Hi Terry, there was a software update which seems to have made them disapear, if you tell me which post i will look at getting it re added… they are all on youtube

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