How to be a successful football trader on Betfair
How do you trade successfully on the Betfair football betting markets? What do you need to know before you begin? Today Matt Finnigan from ProXtrading tells us how to get started as a profitable Betfair trader.
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Over the past few years I have been a successful soccer trader on Betfair and I want to give you my seven tips on how I stay ahead of the game.
1. Only trade on matches in the league you know most about
Personally I only trade the Premier League, Champions League & The Chmpionship with my main focus being the Premier League. I will trade every single live game during a season. Many novice traders fall into the trap of trading whatever game goes in-play. To me, this is too adhoc to be successful long-term.
2. Never open a trading position to make the match more interesting
If you want to be successful at soccer trading then this is a must. One of the common flaws for the novice traders I work with is them trading for the sake of something to do. You work hard to earn your money in the first place, why give it away cheaply when you dont have to?
3. Make Notes
This will enable you assess your thought process better and the state of your mind through the opening and closing a trading position (did I close to early or stay open too long? etc). This will assist you in identifying your areas of strength quicker and also give you the chance to eliminate areas of weakness.
4 Keep A Record
This dovetails with the above tip. Record the price points when entering and exiting the market, how long you stayed in the market, what was happening in the game etc. Make bullet points of key moments in the game. The bigger the profile you can build up, the better your decision making will become in the future.
5. Monitor the Markets
Get familiar with the markets. If you feel its worth noting every price point in the Under 2.5 goals market every minute, then do it! The more you know about the markets the easier it will become to spot resistant points, market over-reaction to incidents on the pitch and potential value.
6. Have a structured staking plan
If you do the above then working out what to stake when opening a position will become easier. But be consistent with your staking and respect your trading bank at all times. You should only risk what you’re comfortable to put into the market. As a trader learn to be embrace risk as well as respecting it. You have nothing to fear with risk as it’s something that can be calculated. But remember, no position is worth risking all your trading bank.
7. Dont be a Punter
You don’t have to successfully predict the outcome of the match to be a successful trader on the soccer markets. You are using a different kind of knowledge based around your research into the markets. A successful soccer trader will be able to pinpoint opportunities by predicting what punters will be doing and taking your slice of the market. Your activity is based upon low-risk trading strategies rather than an opinion of who will take three points. The outcome is irrelevant when it comes to trading.
You can follow Matt on Twitter @MattFinnigan
Or visit ProXtrading to learn more about football trading.
On the ProXtrading podcast this week, BettingExpert blogger, Andrew talks with Matt about all things football betting.
Read our new Betfair review and join the worlds largest betting exchange, Betfair today
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Hi Andrew, I have question for you. The issue is not related to this subject, but I have the impression that you are the right person that I should ask about it. It is about "Sports Spread Betting". After the last two years have been particularly good for me, I have a plan to raise my betting on a much higher level. So I decided to in the near future start to seriously deal with the Sports Spread Betting. It's much more interesting than an ordinary betting, it can also bring a much higher profit, but also the risk is much higher. I am currently in the testing phase and I'll probably start with Sports Spread Betting in early 2012. Although I am almost totally familiar with all facts related to SSB, still I must admit I had no chance to hear experiences of others who are already engaged in this type of betting. How much do you know about this, are you up to now had some experiences with Sports Spread Betting? If so, I would be delighted to hear and perhaps it would be an excellent topic for some of your future blogs. Thanks in advance for your reply and regards.
What an intelligent man, this can absolutely help everyone... Especially people which are not getting their desired results, this is genius as anyone that can't manage to win a bet, can just lay against their own opinions... As bad as it sounds I would advise everyone that knows a man that can't win a bet, to make that man your new best friend... Way of making some real change here....
Although this post is good, its definitely worth listening to the full podcast. Good job, Andrew! Best, Thomas
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Thanks for the question Maradona1. I assume by spread betting you mean +/- handicaps? Well it's the same as approaching any form of betting, your approach depends upon the sport and then it depends on the league. The one thing I will say about my own approach to handicap betting as opposed to straight up head to head betting, is that I incorporate a greater degree of trend analysis. This can mean overall league trends in particular situations or the trends of the particular teams involved. For example, the Chicago Bulls at home might be genuine 12 point favourites over the Sacramento Kings all things being equal. But perhaps the Bulls are coming off a long road stretch of games. Maybe the Kings are coming off a big home defeat and are keen to give a better performance. The Bulls should win, but perhaps they're just happy to do just enough to get the win rather than run up the score. So these are the sorts of things I take into account. As the NFL gets underway soon and hopefully the NBA later in the year, I'll be doing some blog posts on spread betting in these leagues. Hope this helps.