Being unaware of your Betfair trading habits is one of the simplest but worst mistakes you can make, bad habits are the silent enemy of success…
I was slow to pick up on some of these earlier in my trading career, but once I did, the results changed drastically. Here are some simple Betfair trading habits that are easily cured.
10 Bad Betfair Trading Habits:
1. Trading too often. Successful traders know that making fewer, more careful trades can lead to more money, not increasing turnover for the sake of feeling busy. They choose the best options and don’t rush.
2. Fighting market trends. New traders want to guess when prices will be the highest or lowest. While they may eventually guess correctly, by that time they might not have enough money left to make a significant profit. It’s wiser to follow the market’s natural flow and let the money guide you. Don’t be stubborn!
3. Making mistakes by taking small profits quickly is like a disease. Often traders let their losses grow, hoping things will turn around but don’t do the opposite. Successful traders understand the importance of big wins and small losses. Letting your losses grow can lead to losing all your trading money, cut them short. On the flip side, let profits continue until there’s a good logical reason to exit.
4. Traders care more about being right than making money. This can be a costly mistake. A successful trader knows that it’s okay to change their position if it affects the bottom line profits. This is linked to a natural human urge, as mentioned in books like Trading in the Zone. Place your focus on the bottom line, not on being right.
5. Traders often risk too much money on large trades. The best way to make a profit is by avoiding big losses. Your wins can be as big as possible, but your losses should be kept small – don’t lose track of the risk.
6. New traders often rely on third-party tipsters for trading advice. This is a very bad idea, particularly when looking at sports betting tipsters for price-trending advice. Many of them are randomly making a selection and dreaming up a justification after.
7. Inexperienced traders look for quick picks and tips. They’re looking at sports trading like betting, it’s absolutely not. Successful traders focus on creating detailed trading plans, systems, logical reasoning, human emotion and having an edge.
8. Believing that being right all the time is important is another bad habit. Successful traders know that making a profit means admitting when you’re wrong quickly and staying right for as long as possible. Changing your mind mid-trade is normal, being flexible is important.
9. Failing to do any research on the market limitations and characteristics. They are key attributes that affect Betfair trading, not all betting markets are the same. Failing to plan is planning to fail as they say.
10. Being focused on how much money can be made is a bad habit. However, pro Betfair traders are more concerned about how much they could lose if they’re wrong.
The key to making a profit is admitting when you’re wrong quickly and staying right for as long as possible whilst repeating the process. Monitoring our own internal dialogue while we trade the betting exchange markets is crucial, these habits actually benefit us beyond trading too. Take some time to think about your habits, are they helping you?