Thursday 1st March 2007

Well it has not been a good day for the Sports Trader. I got caught by a trap bet that cost me £1K. To who ever put it up I just want to say well done, enjoy it, but remember, I have only lent that win to you and I will get it back. I traded in 13 horse races and 2 darts matches.

I started with a small winning trade in the Betdaq First For Multiples Novices Hurdle at Ludlow. My next trade was in the 14:20 at Taunton. I backed Storm Prince for £27 @ 1.51 when challenging for the lead at the last hurdle but could not get his head in front and cost me £27.

In the 14:40 at Ludlow I started with a small lay of Petite Margot for £3 @ 3.00. At the last fence I backed her for £300 @ 1.40 to result in a profit of £114.

My next race was the 14:50 at Taunton and here I laid Nemetan for £52 @ 3.25 before backing back for £25 @ 3.00 and £12 @ 7.00 to leave me with a profit of £15. Next I had a small winning trade.

In the 15:50 at Taunton I laid Nobody Tells Me for £5 @ 2.20 and backed back £4 @ 3.00. Later I laid him again for £50 @ 2.70 and backed him back for £30 @ 3.50 to result in a profit of £21.

My next was the 16:00 at Lingfield, where I backed Kabeer for £13 @ 3.75 with the intention of laying off but could not get matched so I lost £13. Next was a small winning trade.

The 16:10 at Ludlow proved to be a difficult race for me as I started with a lay of Highland Games for £80 @ 3.40 and then backed him back for £20 @ 8.00. I cancelled my lays as it looked as if my money was safe but later when I realised I was in trouble I could not get matched so I took a loss of £52.

My next was worse as I laid Paktolos in the 16:30 at Lingfield for £21 @ 4.60 to lose £77. In the 16:40 at Ludlow I laid Galik Dawn for £10 @ 8.00 to win £10.

My disaster of the day was in the 16:50 at Taunton. I had got myself into a decent winning position by Laying Sea Snipe for £36 @ 5.20 before backing back £20 @ 5.60. I then laid her again for £119 @ 4.70 and backed back £35 @ 5.50. Now came my big mistake. I was already showing a profit of £100 on the race but in the closing stages a back came up on the screen for £1000 @ 1.10 on what I thought was the horse going on to win, Royal Scandal, but in fact it was on Holly Walk which was the next one on the card and in my eagerness to make a bit more profit I took the bet and it was only just after the finish that I realised what I had done.

I was more than just a little mad with myself for not double checking before placing the trade. It's not the first time I have done that sort of thing and I am sure I will do it again. You know what it is like, in the heat of the moment, when you are having to make split second decisions, and eager to take a bet before someone else beats you to it. I was mad with myself for at least an hour after the event for being so stupid and for ruining a potentially good week. I am over it now though and back into my normal mode.

I had one more race trade and it was in the 18:20 at Nad Al Sheba where I backed Eu Tambem for £56 @ 1.50 to win £28. My race trading result for the day was a loss of £878.

I like Thursday night's because of the Premier League darts matches. I think it is a brilliant format and it is, as one of the Sky commentators said tonight, 'a similar concept to twenty twenty cricket'  in that it is played over much fewer legs than normal darts matches and you have the real possibility of a draw.

I traded 18 times in the Lewis v Scholten match, mainly because I had taken the wrong view early on, but I did end up with a profit of £7.

The match that I was really looking forward to was the Barney v The Power match. After seeing the improvement in Phil last week over the way he had been playing for a few weeks I really thought that Phil would win this one. I took what I think were the best odds I have ever seen on Phil the Power before a match of 2.20 for £200.  I laid off £16 @ 1.90 and £54 @ 1.85 as Phil broke in the first leg. I then backed Phil for £500 @ 1.80. Well I thought I was wrong again as Phil went form being 1 leg up against the throw to being 5 - 1 down. With the odds changing so quickly in the match I had no option but to sit and hope & prey that Phil could turn the match around.

After the interval Phil started playing much more like himself and if anything I would suggest that Barney looked as if he didn't want to win. Anyway Phil started to win and when the match was all square at 5 - 5 I laid off £32 @ 2.60 and then with the score at 6 -6 laid a further £274 @ 1.59. I also backed the draw for £170 @ 2.33. With the score at 7 - 6 to Phil and him leading in the 14th leg I backed Phil for £1000 @ 1.40. The end result was an 8 - 6 win for Phil and a profit of £522 for me.

My day had therefore finished with a loss of £349.

It was good to see David Stewart get back to winning ways today after a difficult few days for his Horse Graphs. He only went and landed a near 40 point win by backing Cinematic in the 5:00 at Lingfield. His system clearly had Cinematic as the best rated horse in the race but the odds on offer were around the 44/1 mark and even higher at times.

Comments

[The Gambler.]

An up and down day then Ray.

[Ray]

Hi John,
Yes. not the best of days, but the darts did make me feel a lot better.
Ray

[Rob]

Hi Ray
Don't worry about the loss, its frustrating, but with the speed that you take bets, its paid off over the months, so a few snags are only to be expected.

The darts last was brilliant entertainment, hopefully the power is back or will be soon back to his best, as the comp with Barney is superb.
GL Rob

[Ray]

Hi Rob,
Thanks for your comments. The Power did say it would take him a few weeks and then he would be back better than ever. I think darts is very similar to this trading in that your mind set has to be spot on to do well. You can often see by the expression on the dart players feaces wether or not they are up for it. Good Luck.
Ray

[Dublin Goat]

Ray

Was the darts was verging on chasing the days earlier hit? Thankfully your self imposed sweat was landed and the day didnt go from bad to worse. Did you feel like you were chasing and if the £1k hit had not been made earlier would you have got in so deep and exposed with the darts? I really want to avoid reading about red days and fully appreciate the fine line between red and green. Do you have any self imposed exposure limits? Best of luck today.....

Regards from dublin.

Gareth

[Ray]

Hi Dublin,
I had been looking forward to the darts match and fully expected Phil to win so my initial £200 bet was not chasing. After Phil had broken on Barney's first leg I took the £500, you could argue that this was chasing but I think I would have taken this anyway as Phil was looking very good. Within minutes I thought I had done wrong and as soon as I had a chance to get out of this I did when the match was tied. The final bet I took for £1k @ 1.40 was not chasing it was simply too good to miss as Phil was well ahead and had six darts to win the match, he does not normally give up such a good opportunity.
We have to expect red days when trading, it is a part of our trade.
I do have limits that I will expose my self to, but if a good trade is presented to me with little risk I will go beyond my limits.
Good Luck.
Ray

[Sokyola]

Ray,

Sorry to hear what happened to you but I am sure you wont get caught again.

I myself did something silly also last night, which was bet whilst drunk. I had built up my very small bank into something reasonable over the last 2 weeks - but alas, its almost all gone. At least there is a small amount in the account - so I have something to work with.

Anyways, onwards and upwards!!!!!

Sokyola

[Ray]

Hi Sokyola,
Thanks for your comment. I hope you have better luck today and start rebuiding your bank. Leave the drink alone when trading they just do not mix.
Ray

[Brian]

Hi Ray

Any news from Russ about his meet with ATR Bit strange as you said he was going to mention the ATR Extra fiasco in his blog. Can't find it. Was he tortured do you think? Does he seem like a changed man in any way.

Brian

[Ray]

Hi Brian,
No news but I will attempt to speak to Russ in the morning and see what has been happening.
Ray