Cheltenham Trading

[bazbaz]

How you guys finding it? Volumes held up pretty well I think. Sweet week why can't it always be like this

[jimrobo]

seems easier than last year for me?? Maybe I am just a little more experienced this year??

[bazbaz]

Yeah I've felt like it was easier, but then last year felt harder than the year before. Maybe its all just subjective, though I have traded a little differently than previous years

[Punk Rock Warlord]

I found it a bit frustrating. I have only been trading for about 6 months so haven't seen such volumes. I wasn't sure how to trade with such big queues so was putting treble my usual amounts into queues of 4K upwards, figuring I wouldn't get caught out by any quick moves with big sums around.

The problem was as my money got to about a grand away from being matched the price moved away, this happened several times.

On the few times I got matched I did make a profit and didn't have any losses at Cheltenham today.

Any advice on this would be helpful.

[KOTBIIAJIbTO]

There's too much money at Cheltenham imo, so i trade on the place market

[bazbaz]

Yeah that happened to me a few times, I'm not sure theres much you can do about it unfortunately. If you dont have a big bank you could always try the place markets. I havent seen them but it makes sense that with the big traders clogging up the main markets there might be plenty still to make on the place markets?

[bazbaz]

There's too much money at Cheltenham imo, so i trade on the place market

Damn I didnt see this, was busy thinking, thanks for making me look stupid

[Punk Rock Warlord]

Thanks Kot and Baz, will take a look at place markets. Was making over £1 a tick which usually I would be pleased with but not when waiting to get matched and then the market moving away so I was only getting bets on in a few races. I usually trade in the sparse markets where I get matched in seconds (and often lose in seconds too ).

[KOTBIIAJIbTO]

Damn I didnt see this, was busy thinking, thanks for making me look stupid

Anytime Baz

[AnyGreenIsGood]

I find the big meetings, with the highly liquid markets, are far less risky than a Monday afternoon at Wolverhampton. It takes longer to get matched, but with all the money around, I find you nearly always do.

[Caan Berry]

Yeah i'd agree and i think a big bank is essential .... 10k would be nice so untill that time im just putting in as much as i can on both sides, occassionally i dont have to scratch 90% the stake on the back side lol... 4.00 today was a dream with the runner i was on, just wish i had that 10k bank.

Anyone ever have a go at doing 2 runners at once?

[bazbaz]

Actually thinking about it Punk Rock it all depends on what you're hoping to get from your trading long term. If you just want to make a few quid now then sure go for the place markets, but if you're looking at this as a long term thing then really I think its probably best to stick to the main market and get more experience of that for future years when hopefully you have a bigger bank / more experience

[Punk Rock Warlord]

Thanks Baz, I agree completely on this. Making or losing a few quid a day is neither here nor there to me, I would long term like to make it worth my while. I can see that the trading I have been doing so far is fine with small stakes and to gain valuable experience but is not really scalable to using larger stakes.

Currently my bank is about £400 and my bet size is £10 - £20 to make 40p a tick. Trading on the horses with less volume it's not really possible to get more than maybe £50 on without risking a swing the wrong way and not being able to close the bet swiftly enough due to lack of money to get matched.

I think I will try on the horses with the larger volumes and while it may take longer to get matched it does seem safer as the prices don't move so suddenly and it would be easy to get out with a one tick loss. If the stakes are larger then just making 2 or 3 ticks a race would be fine.

Do you find it better to put both sides of the trade on at the same time or just the first part and then wait to be matched before placing the counter-bet? I have just been putting the first part on which obviously means waiting twice as long for both to be matched but I am concerned about keeping my eye on both prices and queues at the same time in case a bet gets matched and the price goes the wrong way.

Thanks for your advice.

[KOTBIIAJIbTO]

Trading on the horses with less volume it's not really possible to get more than maybe £50 on without risking a swing the wrong way and not being able to close the bet swiftly enough due to lack of money to get matched.

Fair point. That's why i've recently switched to the main market. But i still consider trading on place market a valuable experience from the point of view of learning the ropes and understanding the market mechanism. It's not as fast as the main one and is pretty transparent so you can easily see the volumes affecting market behaviour.

[phil]

Hi this is my 3rd Cheltenham and I just find the same problem I wait to be matched several minutes then it moves away just before it gets to mine dont know how any one makes that type of market pay perhaps my bank isnt big enough to make it worthwhile - Phil