My Trip Through Trading
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@matt-wood Think I'll print that last sentence out and stick it on my laptop
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@chris-osborne said in Can I even trade...:
Patience is a virtue, summer leagues are starting to hit filters and over the next 6 weeks or so winter leagues will be starting hopefully with fans in most countries which will make a big difference.
Indeed, hopefully we will get something like a 'normal' season this year. There will be a temptation to trade everything appearing on filters now after such a drought. I must keep in mind to ONLY trade it if it meets all the inplay requirements and not just because its on a filter.
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Patience is a virtue, summer leagues are starting to hit filters and over the next 6 weeks or so winter leagues will be starting hopefully with fans in most countries which will make a big difference.
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Yes mate. Less is more. No trade is better than a losing trade.
It can be hard with nothing on your filter but if you can beat the mental side of this then the rest is quite easy.@matt-wood said in Can I even trade...:
So very little trading for the first half of this month, this has been a very valuable lesson for me.
I am not a person who does well with inactivity. If I am sitting still doing nothing in particular I start to feel guilty and look for something productive to be doing. Productive here is with a pinch of salt as I am also a great procrastinator of things I dont like
Apply this to trading and the temptation to hunt for a trade when there has been such a drought on my filters has been huge. I am pleased that I have actually learned the lesson that people like Darri, Keith, Ryan and others have been preaching and avoided doing any trading. Instead I have been learning more to satisfy the guilty feelings. Looking more closely at the Football Ratings system on here and seeing some huge potential in that once I learn the ins and outs a bit more.
Less is more has been the order of the month so far and I am sure in the past I would have lost money on hunted trades that were stupid.
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So very little trading for the first half of this month, this has been a very valuable lesson for me.
I am not a person who does well with inactivity. If I am sitting still doing nothing in particular I start to feel guilty and look for something productive to be doing. Productive here is with a pinch of salt as I am also a great procrastinator of things I dont like
Apply this to trading and the temptation to hunt for a trade when there has been such a drought on my filters has been huge. I am pleased that I have actually learned the lesson that people like Darri, Keith, Ryan and others have been preaching and avoided doing any trading. Instead I have been learning more to satisfy the guilty feelings. Looking more closely at the Football Ratings system on here and seeing some huge potential in that once I learn the ins and outs a bit more.
Less is more has been the order of the month so far and I am sure in the past I would have lost money on hunted trades that were stupid.
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@matt-wood I've been re-reading Mark Manson's "The Subtle Art..." (which I know Darri has mentioned before) and he talks about Alan Watt's "Backwards Law". When we focus on only positive outcomes, it is in itself a negative outcome. When we focus on negative outcomes, it is in itself a positive.
From reading what you've said it's not just about focusing on what you do right, but taking responsibility for what you do wrong. I went back over all of my trades over the past 3 months and realised that a handful of silly mistakes cost me 20pts! Sometimes you just need to get out of your own way.
I'm really looking forward to following this and excited to see how you get on
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@darri Thanks Darri. It does feel good to put a round up of things on here. Especially the things I have not done so well. I think you posted some time back on your blog about recording mistakes. I had started doing it after reading that but I am making a much more focused effort on the things done wrong now. Plugging the holes in the bottom of my bucket will help it fill with water just as fast as pouring more in the top.
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@ryan Thanks Ryan. I love them as well (others blogs' that is lol). I have got so much out of reading other peoples efforts on here that I thought I should offer a contribution too. Also it should help me with my trading as a Brucey Bonus
(feckin hell, showing my age there!) -
@matt-wood your most recent post is actually very significant in terms of you understanding how to progress. Like iv said a few times, finding a profitable strategy is easy, all you have to do it tweak the data until you have something. Its the management of that strategy and when to employ it that matters long term. Clearly you understand that as your already able to be honest with yourself when you F up. Im a stubborn learner too at times its why it took me ages with trading and other things, im working on that tho. What really helped me was just write down my previous mistakes and put them on a pad in front of you. Every time you go to make a trade look at that sheet and ask yourself is this trade better than these/am i doing the strategy correct/is my research in line. Once you do this for a month or even 20-30 trades it becomes automatic in your head. The amount of borderline trades we go its close so ill place it when we should avoid, when really we should be yes this trade is a cracking opportunity lets take it because we only get on trades that fit 100%. Its why lots of people have struggled at euros because its less filter orientated.
From there you then target the next weakness and so on until trading is just an automatic process in your mind. See value, place trade and continue. I just already like the way your wording these posts, open and honest. It will probably feel anxious writing your failings but actually rewarding to get it off your chest too. Now its out there you want to improve, its why blogs are fantastic for your trading development, there is a certain accountability of oh yeah ill need to post about that mistake, means in the moment youll stop to consider your next trade. Its al about being 100% confident in a trade. You wouldnt buy a house for your family if there was doubts about the neighbourhood, structure etc, so dont treat investing in a trade differently, make sure it fits what you are looking for.
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@matt-wood nice work mate and I’ll be following with interest and hope it all goes well. You’re a good member of this community mate and would love to see you succeed.
Glad you’ve found a strategy that’s working for you we’ve all been bouncers bro 
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Month round up: JUNE (month 2)
Total trades: 94
I feel like this is too much, time will tell me what an average looks like though. Plus with the Euros on June is a little unusual.Winners: 66
Fairly happy with this given the Euros and the fact that I have traded them as a learning experience.Mistakes: 4
- Was an off plan lay of U1.5 goals in the Copa America. Uruguay vs Paraguay. I should not have placed this as it was unplanned. I did research it but still should not have traded this one. 0.9pts red from this.
- England v Croatia in the Euros. Was again a lay of U1.5 and to add to this a staking mistake too. I laid for 1pt in stead of for 1pt liability. 2.25pts red from this. Although the Euros I intended to treat as a learning experience, this still should have at least been staked properly.
- Another off plan trade here. Lahti v HIFK in Finland. Off plan, simply should not have done it. 0.7pt red from this one.
- Another off plan trade here (can you see a pattern yet? ) Lillestrom v Rosenborg in Norway. Should not have placed this trade either. 0.54ts green from this one.
So the number of mistakes I am just about ok with for a month. However the pattern is there for all to see, cut out my off plan trades and I have reduced those mistakes by 75%!!! Total 3.31pts red from mistakes this month.
Total p/l for the month is not quite accurate as there are some outrights yet to conclude on the euros but will be fairly close to 2.35pts red. I am ok with this given the learning process around the Euros.
Key points for the month would deff be DO NOT TRADE OFF PLAN!. Also learned a lot from the Euros. For me at least I think careful outrights at the start and then ULTRA careful picky trades during the competition is the way.
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Thanks gents appreciate all of the well wishes. Still very early days in my journey so much learning to be done yet.
A couple of points to record here so I cannot hide from them.
I know myself pretty well now (41, so I damn well should do lol).
I know that I can be lazy once I think I have attained a level of consistency at something. Complacency creeps in and I can take my eye off the ball. I will need to constantly guard against this.
I am a stubborn learner at times.
I joke about being slow to learn, probably am with some things, but my real problem is I have to prove things to myself before my brain will let it go. Frustrating as hell this, especially when I already know what the outcome will be. My brain still has to be shown that outcome.I can be lazy at times.
I have an annoying habit of sometimes only doing the minimum needed. Again this is frustrating as I can see what that bit of extra effort might get, but I dont do it. Think this stems from school. I managed to coast through o-levels/GCSEs without putting in any real effort (I was a proper Dick at school). Got decent grades, but should have done loads better.I can put a lot of pressure on myself to succeed.
This helped as well as hindered me in the past. It helped me build up a good PT/Nutrionist business. Also caused me to fall totally out of love with it.
This is also more true than ever now. I want to take the reliance off of my good lady's business (I work for her as an assistant) with a second income from trading. We do ok with this business and have built up a good client base but I would love to be in the position in 10 years time where she could think about slowly lowering the number of hours she works.Something I have seen in the last 12 months, from my own experiences and from others on the forum. Trading really is all about the mental side of things. Discipline and consistent behaviour are the real secrets to success. The actual mechanics of trading are not really that difficult to grasp with some effort. Keeping your own demons out and being consistent is the tough part.
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Good luck Matt, will be reading with interest. So much of what you’ve said I can relate to in so many ways.
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Good luck with it, it reminds me to update mine for last month!
I definitely reiterate the point about one strategy, we all hear it and probably know it to begin with but still go down the path of bouncing around numerous strategies. I like the fact you see it as a learning process, I think that will help you out, most of us are too impatient at times to crack it straight away
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@matt-wood said in Can I even trade...:
Month Round up for May (month 1)
May I spent trying to cut out the mistakes. This was the real focus for May as cutting out mistakes will be as profitable for me at this stage as winning trades.
I had tracked the number of mistakes from the previous 3 months. These included stupid staking errors, jumping on trades with no plan, taking trades from my test filters and chasing loses.
These 3 months average out to just over 12 mistakes a month. FAR too many.
Mays target was to quarter that number.At the end of May I had made two mistakes. One of these was jumping on a trade from the forum with no plan, after a loss. The other was over staking because I 'knew' there would be a goal and didnt want to take a loss.
Happy with this though and it will be a target for months going forward.
Trades for May was 49, 38 winners. 3pts green. Happy with this as its green.
green is green
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Month Round up for May (month 1)
May I spent trying to cut out the mistakes. This was the real focus for May as cutting out mistakes will be as profitable for me at this stage as winning trades.
I had tracked the number of mistakes from the previous 3 months. These included stupid staking errors, jumping on trades with no plan, taking trades from my test filters and chasing loses.
These 3 months average out to just over 12 mistakes a month. FAR too many.
Mays target was to quarter that number.At the end of May I had made two mistakes. One of these was jumping on a trade from the forum with no plan, after a loss. The other was over staking because I 'knew' there would be a goal and didnt want to take a loss.
Happy with this though and it will be a target for months going forward.
Trades for May was 49, 38 winners. 3pts green. Happy with this as its green.
