Make the most of your screen space
Paul Shires, owner of the Tradeshark tennis trading blog, discusses how to get the best out of screen space when trading on the Betfair Exchange.
When they are trading sports most people will be using just one screen, but if you are trading In-Play you need as much information available to you as you can get.
As an example, tennis is a fast moving sport where the momentum can shift between the two players within just a few points. We need fast information regarding the current score. Also useful is a live video stream that makes analysing the players' form, body language and possible injuries much easier. You may also want to monitor the live scores of other matches that you are interested in.
We also need to be able to place our backs and lays as we try to secure a profit on the match. For some sports the Betfair website is fine but, for tennis, you really need to be using trading software. You may well want to have the markets for several matches open at the same time.
So that's quite a lot to fit onto just one screen!
Some people like to minimise windows and open them when they need to check the information. Personally I like to be able to monitor all the information at the same time so my decisions can be made slightly quicker. The windows that have the scoreboard and the live stream can be reduced in size so that only the information that we need is visible.
When we are choosing trading software we all have different requirements. First and foremost I want software that is fast, reliable and has the functions that I use.
There are several that fit these requirements. However because of the way I want to set my screen up I am also looking for software that allows me to customise the size and functions on the ladder interface.
Geeks Toy does what I want and the way I want it. I don't need a lot of the bells and whistles that the software offers but being able to customise the look and size of the ladders and also the ability to hedge a two-outcome market with one click when trades have been placed on both players makes this application my weapon of choice.
If you get a little more serious about trading and have extra screens then being able to have several markets open at the same time allows you to have the same screen set up for more than one match.
For any advice on tennis trading, feel free to check out my blog or e-mail me at tradesharktennis@gmail.com
