A diary of learning

[Caan Berry]

Hey all,

Thought id do a diary for a month, updating almost every day if possible (work permitent) as im new to this game although very interested and think i could posses some of the good charachteristics that alot of these threads talk about in becoming a trader, along with that and a great desire to succeed we'll see how i get on.

Ill post up my record each day along with what if anything i felt i learnt that day in the hope it will be a good exercise for me too to analyse my progress.

My overall target for the month i do this (19th May - 19th June) i hope to make £30 profit using NO MORE than £5 per stake at a time! an ambitious goal i believe seeing ill only be trading horses pre-race and currently have about a week or so of proper pre-race horse trading.

Chuck

19th....

Horse Racing: £2.98 | Tote: | Total P&L: £2.98

Market Start time Settled date Profit/loss (£)
Horse Racing / Sedge 19th May : 2m5f Hcap Hrd 19-May-10 21:00 19-May-10 21:09 0.60
Horse Racing / Worc 19th May : 2m NHF 19-May-10 20:50 19-May-10 21:00 0.13
Horse Racing / Worc 19th May : 2m7f Hcap Chs 19-May-10 20:20 19-May-10 20:31 -0.01
Horse Racing / Worc 19th May : 2m4f Hcap Hrd 19-May-10 19:50 19-May-10 20:02 0.49
Horse Racing / Worc 19th May : 2m7f Beg Chs 19-May-10 18:50 19-May-10 18:58 0.01
Horse Racing / Sedge 19th May : 2m1f Nov Hrd 19-May-10 18:30 19-May-10 18:41 0.23
Horse Racing / Worc 19th May : 2m Nov Hrd 19-May-10 18:20 19-May-10 18:26 0.29
Horse Racing / Good 19th May : 7f Mdn Stks 19-May-10 16:20 19-May-10 16:25 0.46
Horse Racing / Ling 19th May : 6f Sell Stks 19-May-10 16:10 19-May-10 16:19 0.15
Horse Racing / Ling 19th May : 1m2f Hcap 19-May-10 15:35 19-May-10 15:42 0.48
Horse Racing / Good 19th May : 6f Mdn Stks 19-May-10 14:00 19-May-10 14:04 0.15

Found today today little frustrating a few times i started off with a few ticks loss and so was fighting an uphill battle but being patient helped me through, still havent learnt to read all the signals but was important to almost completely ignore the WOM today.

[neeeel]

Thats good going with £5 stakes. Did you read Trading in the Zone?

[Drifter]

Good Start Chuck :Thumbs

A sensible approach to trading I think. At this point all you should want to do is stay in the game and learn how the markets work.

Good Luck

[TRADER68]

Best of luck Chuck look forward to updates.

[Caan Berry]

i started reading it neeel but realised there are alot of sentences randomly missing :s i might but the book does look well worth the read, as it says i realise alot of its to do with state of mind. im gonna have a go on the evening meeting tonight so ill update after.

[johnsmith]

and here's me thinking you didnt read books, you just stared them down and got the info you wanted

welcome chuck

[neeeel]

i started reading it neeel but realised there are alot of sentences randomly missing :s i might but the book does look well worth the read, as it says i realise alot of its to do with state of mind. im gonna have a go on the evening meeting tonight so ill update after.

wierd, I read it and didnt notice any missing sentences

[Caan Berry]

20th Results

Horse Racing: -£0.88 | Tote: | Total P&L: -£0.88

Market Start time Settled date Profit/loss (£)
Horse Racing / Salis 20th May : 1m2f Class Stks 20-May-10 20:45 20-May-10 20:50 0.64
Horse Racing / Sand 20th May : 1m1f Hcap 20-May-10 20:35 20-May-10 20:43 -0.46
Horse Racing / Salis 20th May : 6f Mdn Stks 20-May-10 20:15 20-May-10 20:20 -0.88 <------ 8.15 race
Horse Racing / Sand 20th May : 1m2f Mdn Stks 20-May-10 20:00 20-May-10 20:11 0.51
Horse Racing / Salis 20th May : 1m4f Hcap 20-May-10 19:40 20-May-10 19:46 -0.74
Horse Racing / Sand 20th May : 1m2f Hcap 20-May-10 19:25 20-May-10 19:30 0.00
Horse Racing / Sand 20th May : 5f Mdn Stks 20-May-10 17:50 20-May-10 17:54 0.01
Horse Racing / Hayd 20th May : 6f Mdn Stks 20-May-10 13:50 20-May-10 13:59 0.04

Today was nowhere near as good as yesterday, i found the progress quite slow with the 'trends' chopping and changing alot with no clear favorite in most of the markets i traded, this made it alot more difficult. A couple of times i found that i was 60 - 70p up with a couple of minutes to go and one big unexpected move put me in the red.... 8.15 in particular, think it happened twice... it will be interesting to see if my profit threshold improves as tim goes on as i often struggle to get over 80 - 90p in the 10 - 20 mins before im trading.

Chuck

Yes odd neeel but still interesting in places where there are not bits missing! lol

[Caan Berry]

Hey all,

Have been deep in thought today about both yesterdays trading and my first day at this little challenge I’ve set myself, this is what I feel I’ve learnt……..

Firstly I didn’t realize it yesterday and being new to trading didn’t see it as a problem although now I do… yesterday before I started trading a couple of things happened that I think had an impact on my physical state, on the way home my car broke down and overheated.. a minor problem although at the time it really stressed me out and continued to do some time after…. Also I’d had a physical day at work and was quite dehydrated… obviously affecting my concentration levels and judgment… so now I think about it I was onto a looser before id started!!, maybe I should of re-hydrated and relaxed a bit and maybe only traded a few races?!?!

Secondly…. My mental state, was not ideal to trade… firstly because I was stressed about the car, also because I had the added strain of the hormonal pregnant missus adding ‘oh your not trading loads tonight are you?’ when really I wanted to, I think now if your mental state is really not correct then it could possibly best be left alone?! ….after all isn’t it strange how when you wasn’t planning to trade and you think oh ill just have a quick dabble, results are often of a good standard??

Ok, situation assessed how did it go and where did I go wrong?? …. Firstly I looked at a couple of races as I always do before starting and there was no clear indication as to if the 1st 2nd and 3rd fav’s price would change and if so which way, after looking at graphs aswell no real clues and so… why did I get involved? Its worth noting these were my worst trades of the day and I should have left the market altogether or at very least watched for some time first. Also due to my lack of concentration I believe I found myself ‘chasing’ a wave and getting on to late… just in time for it to go the other way…. Lack of concentration for them mistakes… this is something I made sure I did not do on the first day and hence the more success I believe…. As it was more like trying to ‘force trades’ instead of waiting for the opportunities….. and that’s pretty much what I think was key to my problems were…. It’s worth noting too in the last race I made the most after starting off -50p… this is when id calmed down a little and my wife knew I was amost done…. Less pressure!!

Anyone’s view would be appreciated!

Chuck

[jimrobo]

most traders are creachers of habit. They have a routine that they like to go through before they start trading. It might just be something simple like turning the computer on at the same time each day or it may be a whole list of things they like to do in a certain order at certain times. It helps us get focused and ready for trading. I find any disruption to my routine really impacts my ability to make good profits.

[TRADER68]

Its hard to find a balance with family life and trading.My wife still has a good laugh when i green up for 50p.At times i was grabbing every chance i had to trade.Staying up late trying to get a start for the next day by taking a price i felt sure would shorten in the morning.Then not sleeping properly for thinking about the trades i had made.I think you reach a point where you start to see grabbing every ten minutes that are free
are probably better spent watching a market or reviewing your past trades.Its easy to burn out when you see things coming together but the learning never ends for anyone imo.And there will always be another market when you feel prepared.Dont let things get you down.
Good luck

[Caan Berry]

Evening all...

yes i know what ya mean trader68.. when your keen it can get a bit much, today was alot better for me as i didnt start untill i was ready and relaxed, made a few mistakes. Ill give it deeper thought dont think anything major to report today was just a case of experience... made a few daft mistakes although i find when im behind i focus more.. something i should focus on being more consistent.

Results 21st

Horse Racing: £1.41 | Tote: | Total P&L: £1.41

Market Start time Settled date Profit/loss (£)
Horse Racing / Hayd 21st May : 1m2f Hcap 21-May-10 20:30 21-May-10 20:36 0.28
Horse Racing / Towc 21st May : 3m Hcap Chs 21-May-10 20:20 21-May-10 20:27 0.46
Horse Racing / Muss 21st May : 5f Sell Stks 21-May-10 20:10 21-May-10 20:16 0.05
Horse Racing / Hayd 21st May : 1m Hcap 21-May-10 20:00 21-May-10 20:05 0.11
Horse Racing / Towc 21st May : 2m Hcap Hrd 21-May-10 19:50 21-May-10 20:00 0.12
Horse Racing / Muss 21st May : 7f Hcap 21-May-10 19:40 21-May-10 19:45 -0.56
Horse Racing / Hayd 21st May : 6f Class Stks 21-May-10 19:30 21-May-10 19:34 0.28
Horse Racing / Towc 21st May : 2m3f Mdn Chs 21-May-10 19:20 21-May-10 19:31 0.56
Horse Racing / Catt 21st May : 1m4f Hcap 21-May-10 16:20 21-May-10 16:28 0.14
Horse Racing / Yarm 21st May : 1m Hcap 21-May-10 15:00 21-May-10 15:04 -0.20
Horse Racing / Yarm 21st May : 6f Mdn Stks 21-May-10 14:00 21-May-10 14:05 0.17

Chuck

[Caan Berry]

Only grabbed a little time here and there to trade today... think it done me some good though as i was more relaxed and didnt finish one market down.... also learnt the short priced favs not always worth trading much for couple reasons... if real short price each tick is minimal profit even if minimal loss (probably good to learn with) sometimes with my £5 stake only 3p profit! also favs can be little jumpy in price before the off and for minimal profit probably not worth 'risk'.

Results 22nd

Horse Racing: £0.84 | Tote: | Total P&L: £0.84

Market Start time Settled date Profit/loss (£)
Horse Racing / Ling 22nd May : 1m Mdn Stks 22-May-10 19:30 22-May-10 19:38 0.06
Horse Racing / Newb 22nd May : 1m Hcap 22-May-10 19:05 22-May-10 19:10 0.19
Horse Racing / York 22nd May : 5f Hcap 22-May-10 15:40 22-May-10 15:45 0.00
Horse Racing / York 22nd May : 1m6f Listed 22-May-10 15:10 22-May-10 15:15 0.06
Horse Racing / Hayd 22nd May : 5f Grp2 22-May-10 15:00 22-May-10 15:07 0.19
Horse Racing / Chest 22nd May : 5f Hcap 22-May-10 14:55 22-May-10 15:02 0.10
Horse Racing / Hayd 22nd May : 1m4f Hcap 22-May-10 14:00 22-May-10 14:05 0.24

Chuck

[bazbaz]

Hey all,

Have been deep in thought today about both yesterdays trading and my first day at this little challenge I’ve set myself, this is what I feel I’ve learnt……..

Firstly I didn’t realize it yesterday and being new to trading didn’t see it as a problem although now I do… yesterday before I started trading a couple of things happened that I think had an impact on my physical state, on the way home my car broke down and overheated.. a minor problem although at the time it really stressed me out and continued to do some time after…. Also I’d had a physical day at work and was quite dehydrated… obviously affecting my concentration levels and judgment… so now I think about it I was onto a looser before id started!!, maybe I should of re-hydrated and relaxed a bit and maybe only traded a few races?!?!

Secondly…. My mental state, was not ideal to trade… firstly because I was stressed about the car, also because I had the added strain of the hormonal pregnant missus adding ‘oh your not trading loads tonight are you?’ when really I wanted to, I think now if your mental state is really not correct then it could possibly best be left alone?! ….after all isn’t it strange how when you wasn’t planning to trade and you think oh ill just have a quick dabble, results are often of a good standard??

Ok, situation assessed how did it go and where did I go wrong?? …. Firstly I looked at a couple of races as I always do before starting and there was no clear indication as to if the 1st 2nd and 3rd fav’s price would change and if so which way, after looking at graphs aswell no real clues and so… why did I get involved? Its worth noting these were my worst trades of the day and I should have left the market altogether or at very least watched for some time first. Also due to my lack of concentration I believe I found myself ‘chasing’ a wave and getting on to late… just in time for it to go the other way…. Lack of concentration for them mistakes… this is something I made sure I did not do on the first day and hence the more success I believe…. As it was more like trying to ‘force trades’ instead of waiting for the opportunities….. and that’s pretty much what I think was key to my problems were…. It’s worth noting too in the last race I made the most after starting off -50p… this is when id calmed down a little and my wife knew I was amost done…. Less pressure!!

Anyone’s view would be appreciated!

Chuck

It's good that already you realise how important being in the right physical / mental state is. Really to get the most out of this you have to be like an athlete in that you need to be pretty meticulous in your preperations and find ways that work for you to get you into the best mindset etc. Today I had a similar problem in that recently I had been travelling quite a bit and by the end of today it was really catching up with me and in the end I made a ridiculous mistake which pretty much cost me all of my days profits in one race. You're constantly having to fight this battle and the more self aware you are and the more you learn what affects you and how you can deal with that personally then the better. The trouble with trading is that its so competitive and unforgiving that you cant afford to be at even 90% or you'll lose money.

Interesting read anyway good luck with it

[Caan Berry]

Thanks for your reply bazbaz, i've read through your threads and found them of use... from what i've seen so far i think them two factors are more important than learning about the market alone, a case of mastering yourself before constant success on the markets maybe! .... Yourself trading full time... do you always keep to level stakes when trading?