Do the horse racing tires you?

[LuckyYou]

I've recently started to trade actively horse racing. I am still with low stakes, but I already feel the pressure to be concentrated non-stop for 3-4 hours. Just wanted to ask do you rest between some of the races and what are you doing with the stress and all that stuff?

[doubleback]

I can flick my trading, mental state, On and Off now:





I last about 6-7 races before I need to take a walk around the house, or similar. Not the park, btw.........

[LuckyYou]

Well I last longer. I mean I am willing to trade every race which makes me very tired in the end...

[loktari]

I just browse the web, listen to some music or play games when there are 15 minutes of dead time between races. If I feel tired I take a walk around the house or go walk my dog.

[shadowninja]

I found this with horse racing. I was doing ok but it was very draining compared to trading football.

[LuckyYou]

I found this with horse racing. I was doing ok but it was very draining compared to trading football.

Yeah the football so much lower in terms of pressure. But I have to admit - If I want to make more money I will have learn the damn horses which I am doing ATM.
Would be great if I can trade football + horses all day long :Kerching Just want more green lizards

[bazbaz]

Tires me too at times. I think it's different for everyone as everyone has different levels of stamina and different people get stressed in different ways etc. The important thing IMO is to learn what tires you the most, how much you can trade without it affecting performance levels and from there how to manage yourself best.

It took me ages to get to a point where I was being most effective (still not there now perfectly really because you are always fighting this battle.) At the start I would trade every race most days and after so many days in a row my brain would be knackered and I'd be liable to make a bad and costly mistake. Personally I know when the best days are when I'm likely to make the most money (saturday being the best by far) and when I'll make less (monday etc) and just plan to work more when the profitability is going to be best. Ideally I wouldn't do any more than 4 days in a row, but often I'll just trade tues, wed, fri and saturday which breaks things up nicely and leaves me mostly fresh mentally..... any more could be counter productive.

One thing I've found is that the ability to calm down after a trading session is key to how you recover for the next day, the quicker the better. I think the body has kind of a 'trading mode' which is kind of intense and competitive and is almost like the fight-or-flight response and needs to be turned off quickly after a session or you'll just wear yourself out and if you're too tired the next day then you're less likely to be able to produce the kind of energy required to go into that kind of intense zone (the whole thing sounds extreme but I mean it in a subtle way) and you'll just trade poorly. So name your poison and give it a go after trading to wind down, beer, meditation, weed, whatever works for you.

I do pretty much every race which isn't the smartest thing in the world but a break half way through has worked very well when I've done it - if theres certain types of races that you're not so good at then it might be a good idea to plan ahead and avoid those.

I think a lot of people don't realise that in a way being a trader is a bit like being an athlete in that you're always trying to get the best out of yourself and having to balance things to try to get peak performance. Other stressful things outside of trading will at times affect your trading too of course.

Hope this helps!

[LuckyYou]

I am starting very hard every time don't know why. I know what to do - I am pretty sure I have an edge but when I heat up it ussually takes time so I am losing on 4-5 races in a row which is a lot for some people. After that I am just starting to delete the loses and get in a profit in the end of the day. But today I've felt exhausted at 14:00 UK time so I've just decided to stop and not push myself to limits by risking to lose the day gains (Its a coins but this is the root and this is the most important before I start to trade with higher amounts)... Thats why I am asking that question actually. Its pretty important IMO...

[loktari]

You also have to set some rules on your lifestyle, you need a good night of sleep before every trading session, you need to be well nutritioned, hydrated and have a clear mind. It's amazing how very small and subtle differences in body chemistry affect your trading and your decisions.

[LuckyYou]

You also have to set some rules on your lifestyle, you need a good night of sleep before every trading session, you need to be well nutritioned, hydrated and have a clear mind. It's amazing how very small and subtle differences in body chemistry affect your trading and your decisions.

Well the same aplies for football, but the stress at the horses is much higher I have few times of amazing loses just because of bad mental state already so I know what your talking about. Absolutely right!

[custard]

I agree. I have become totally jaded by trading the Over 2.5 goals market, for over three years, and have decided to give it a break for a couple of weeks. I haven't had any luck just recently and that doesn't help, but I know that I am making a mess of things at present. My closing trades are "all to hell" and I need a break from it to get back to where I was.

I think I'll revert to ordinary match result betting. I was once reasonably successful at the Asian markets and might go back to them.

[1/4 of a millionaire fund]

It's probably tiring you out because you don't know what you're doing yet. That's not a dig but when you start doing something new you're not used to your minds working overtime. Once you've a set plan of how to play it's a lot less stressful , for me it's more of a problem trying to maintain some focus as even though we're only playing 3 hour stretches it does get dull.

I just play guitar , listen to music, watch crap on tv, pop out for a smoke etc between races if I've no need to get involved to early. It's a fine balance to be able to switch off when needed to avoid continually being stressed and switching back on that concentration to trade effectively.

[Caan Berry]

i know how that feels too LY although over time with the horses ive come to learn like baz and MF have said its best some times to 1. know which races are for you and how you will perform in them, sometimes i just skip the irish ones as i know what i do dosent always work as well .. particularly if their only 5 mins appart, i wont miss much and the break is a help, and 2. knowing when your playing as mf said, if your only playing for a few minutes its far less draining and emotional than the whole period it is 'possible' to play. The same goes for in running, just 1 trade can be enough, getting that right consistently is far easier than trying 5 crap trades and blowing a stake.

[1/4 of a millionaire fund]

I'd agree with chuck sometimes you're better off looking for quality rather than quantity depending on your style of play. I'm assuming you pick and choose your current football markets beforehand and might be worth applying that style to the racing when you know the market mechanics better.

Some people excel under pressure but there's no way you'll last long spending a constant 3 or 4 hours day in, day out under that pressure. I know we always say it so it appears clichéd but the only way you'll ever do well is by using a trading style that suits you and your mentality rather than what others are doing.

[LuckyYou]

I'd agree with chuck sometimes you're better off looking for quality rather than quantity depending on your style of play. I'm assuming you pick and choose your current football markets beforehand and might be worth applying that style to the racing when you know the market mechanics better.

Some people excel under pressure but there's no way you'll last long spending a constant 3 or 4 hours day in, day out under that pressure. I know we always say it so it appears clichéd but the only way you'll ever do well is by using a trading style that suits you and your mentality rather than what others are doing.

My style on football is - bet on every possible game and I am doing so, actually I don't care whos playing as long as I have the liquidity needed to trade out! I am betting on the odds not on the games after all. And the odds moving the same way every time, just like the horse racing. I will try to excel it for sure...Maybe not the smartest idea but If I manage to optimise that - everything will come in its place and I would be profitable on the horses as well...