The Sports Trader

Wednesday 7th March 2007

More of the same for the Sports Trader today. A slow day and not a lot of trading. I managed to trade in 11 UK horse races and 2 football matches, with 2 losing trades.

My racing day was very slow to start with, I just could not get going and I therefore started with 3 small winning trades. The first race trade of note was in the 14:40 at Fontwell where I laid Daggy Boy for £55 @ 7.10 before backing back £30 @ 10.00 and £5 @ 15.00. Towards the end of the race I backed Alfadora for £10 @ 1.30 to finish the race with a profit of £23.

I followed up with another 3 small winning trades. My worst result of the day came in the 16:25 at Catterick where I laid Bright Sparky for £51 @ 4.20 and ended up backing back £47 @ 2.90 to lose £74. My next race was also a loser but this time only for £7.

In the 16:45 at Fontwell I laid Presenting Diva for £95 @ 13.50 when not looking to be enjoying the conditions and I backed back £22 @ 27.00, £4 @ 23.00 and £2 @ 380.00 to leave me with a profit of £67.

My last race of the day was the 16:55 at Catterick. I got this one wrong to start with but managed to trade out of trouble and into a decent profit. I started with a lay of £86 @ 2.94 on very aptly named Trading Trouble. I quickly backed him back for £85 @ 3.05. I then backed him again for £25 @ 3.20 and laid off £34 @ 2.60. Towards the end of the race I backed him again for £5 @ 2.30 and 100 @ 1.30 before a final lay of £27 @ 1.05 to result in a profit of £42.

I finished my race trading for the day with a profit of £68.

With my confidence to predict the outcome of football matches still quite low at present I decided not to trade on any match until well after the start. I decided to watch the match between Manchester United and Lille. My first trade was in the 80th minute, when the score was 1-0, where I backed the correct score of 1-0 for £130 @ 1.70. I laid off £50 @ 1.42, £10 @ 1.46, £30 @ 1.31 and £20 @ 1.21. Just when Silvestre was injured in the first minute of the 3 injury minutes I backed the same score line for £187 @ 1.13 and then laid off @ 1.05 when the game resumed a good few minutes later. This resulted in a profit on the match of £61.

As soon as the match had finished I switched to the extra time being played between AC Milan and Celtic. I dived straight in with a back on the under 1.5 goals for £91 @ 1.28 just seconds before AC scored. As soon as the market was reformed I backed the unders for £343 @ 2.00. I started to lay off @ 1.92 for £184. Next I backed again for £44 @ 1.97 and then followed with lays of £194 @ 1.86. The odds where all over the place and it made for ideal trading conditions. Next I backed the unders for £128 @ 1.75. I then laid off £63 @ 1.70, £15 @ 1.64, £50 @ 1.58 and £50 @ 1.57. With just 3 minutes left I backed the unders again for £217 @ 1.39 and laid off £217 @ 1.31 and with only seconds to go I backed again for £187 @ 1.13 and laid this off @ 1.05. The end result was a profit of £60, which considering I had been wrong footed in the first minute was a decent result.

My day has therefore finished with a profit of £188.

Tuesday 6th March 2007

It has been another slow and frustrating day for the Sports Trader, caused by a lack of decent racing and a visit from my estranged wife. The first problem should be resolved next week with the Cheltenham Festival on, the second in the divorce courts later this year. The net effect today was that I only traded in 8 UK horse races and 1 football match.

My first trade was a small winning one in the 13:40 at Southwell. In the 14:30 at Newcastle I had my first losing trade for three days. I laid Flake for £9 @ 7.00 quite early in the race with the intention of backing at a higher price but never got a chance due to having a discussion with my visitor, so I lost £53.

In the 16:00 at Newcastle I laid Formal Cliche for £15 @ 21.00 towards the end of the race, when well behind the eventual winner, to win £15. Next was another small winning trade.

My next trade was in the 16:30 at Newcastle where I laid Crackadee for £3 @ 1000.00 when being pulled up. I also laid Iron Warrior for £3 @ 15.00 when many lengths behind the leaders. Between the last two fences I backed Trisons Star for £11 @ 1.40 and then at the last backed him again for £94 @ 1.20 to result in a profit of £28. Next was another small winning trade.

My best trade of the day was in the 17:00 at Newcastle where I backed the short priced favourite, Starting Point, for £200 @ 1.85 before laying off £100 @ 1.56, £2 @ 1.15 and £20 @ 1.01 to leave me with a profit of £113. My final race of the day was another small winning trade.

The result for my horse trading was a profit of £111.

With 4 brilliant football matches on tonight I plumped to watch the Liverpool v Barcelona game. I didn't trade until well into the second half when I decided to back the under 1.5 goal market for £127 @ 1.16 with about 3 minutes left to play and the score standing at 0 - 1. This produced a profit of £20. I also backed the correct score line of 0 - 1 for 48 @ 1.30 with a few minutes on the clock. I later backed again for £50 @ 1.26 and laid off all my liability @ 1.16 to leave me with a profit of £11.

My trading day had therefore finished with a profit of £142.

Monday 5th March 2007

The Sports Trader is becoming hooked on David Stewart's HorseGraphs.com site. He has managed to make a profit for the 5th day on the trot, this time with The Fisio winning the 3:30 at Lingfield.

It has been some time since we have lost so many race meetings due to the bad weather and there are inspections due for both of the National Hunt meetings tomorrow morning. My style of trading does not work as well on the all weather tracks so I have had a slow day with just 6 races traded and 1 football match and again with no losses.

I started with the 14:00 at Lingfield and managed to back Our Kes, when challenging for the lead, at the furlong marker for £445 @ 1.30. There was never a moments doubt once she had her head in front and this resulted in a profit of £134. I followed this up with 4 small winning trades.

My final race trade was in the 17:00 at Lingfield where I started with a lay of £77 @ 3.85 on the favourite, Saucy. I backed her for £10 @ 4.20 and 14 @ 4.10 to partially offset my liability and ended the race with a profit of £53.

I had finished my race trading with a profit of £203.

I had a good look at the stats for tonight's Championship match between Preston and Southampton. The conclusion on SoccerSTATS.com was for an under 2.5 goal game but I disagreed and therefore started trading quite cautiously. In fact I only backed the unders for £35 @ 1.85 pre kick off. I laid off £24 @ 1.63 and then backed again for £9 @ 1.68. I then laid off the rest of my liability @ 1.52. So when the first goal came I had no liability.

Things really got going for me after the market was reformed. I thought the price should have been around 1.70 at most, but there was plenty of money put up @ 1.80/1.81 so I backed the unders for £317 @ 1.81 and £389 @ 1.80. I immediately put up lays at 1.70 and got matched for £250. Then another chunk of money appeared @ 1.80 so I backed a further £137 @ 1.80. Soon after another £393 of my lay @ 1.70 was taken. I then lowered my lay price to 1.68 and got matched for £101 I laid the rest of my liability @ 1.58. 

The second goal came and again I had no liability. When the market had been reformed, the price appeared to be too high again and I backed the unders for £207 @ 3.17 and a further £72 @ 3.10. I quickly put up lays @ 2.78 and got matched for £168 before lowering my lay price to 2.63 where I was matched for £100. I then proceeded to green up with lays @ 2.57 down to 2.15 and by the 63rd minute of the game had a position where I made £102 whatever the result. I sat back and watched the rest of the match.

That was the best football trading I have done for a long while. Whilst I will be the first to admit that the goals all came at exactly the right time for me and that very generous odds were available. I am always happy to get such a good result trading on the under's, but when three or more goals have been scored.

My day has finished with a profit of £305.

Sunday 4th March 2007

With only one UK horse racing card beating the weather it has been a disappointing end to the week. I traded in 6 races and three football matches, with no losing trades.

I started with the 14:20 at Bangor with a small winning trade. In the 14:50 I started with a lay of the aptly named Heavy Weather for £120 @ 1.60 and backed back £80 @ 2.20 and a further £10 @ 1.80 to result in a profit of £30.

My next was the 15:20, where I backed the short priced favourite, Classic Fiddle, for £250 @ 1.40 and laid off @ 1.31. Later I backed her for £41 @ 1.10 and laid this off @ 1.02 to result in a profit of £26. My next two trades were both small winning ones.

My last race of the day was the 16:50 and here I laid Lifes A Flyer for £88 @ 6.50 before backing back £50 @ 7.60, £17 @ 9.60 and £2 @ 6.00 to leave me with a profit of £19.

My race trading day had finished with a profit of £77.

I had a lot of other things to do today so I only played with a few trades on the football today. The first match I traded was the Birmingham v Cardiff clash where I only caught the last 10 minutes of the game and I backed the correct score line of 1 - 0  for £85 @ 1.26 before laying off £62 @ 1.23 and £23 @ 1.13. In the final minute of the match I backed the correct score again for £83 @ 1.08 and put up a lay @ 1.02. I only got matched for £48 when the final whistle was blown and I ended with a profit of £11.

My next match was the Real Madrid v Getafe one and here I also only caught the end of the match. I backed the under 2.5 goals for £90 @ 1.23 and laid off £50 @ 1.10 to leave me with a profit of £15.

My final trade of the day was in the Recretivo Huelva v Atletico Madrid match. With one minute to go plus injury time, and the score at 1 - 0, I backed the under 2.5 goals for £310 @ 1.06 to result in a profit of £19.

I finished my day's trading with a profit of £122. Added to the rest of the week's profits I ended up with a profit for the week of £1629. A pretty good result when you take into account the £1K I lost to a trap bet earlier in the week.

The 'Computer Kid', aka David Stewart and his HorseGraphs has been at it again today with another impressive performance, I make that a 50 point win in the last 4 days. I really do believe he has an excellent system and it's not like he just tells you his lays or backs for the day he clearly shows why they are his selections with his graphs.

There is another new blogger on the block today, but, what makes this one stand out is that the author Gavin, has, like me, chosen Betdaq as his preferred Betting Exchange and I like the name of his blog - The Purple Layer. Good luck Gavin I hope all goes well for you.

Saturday 3rd March 2007

The Sports Trader has had a decent day with 19 UK horse races, 1 Rugby match and 3 football matches traded and only two losing trades all day.

I started with the 13:35 at Newbury where I backed Minella Tipperary for £50 @ 2.50 before laying off @ 2.21. I also laid La Dame Brune for £50 @ 2.21, £90 @ 3.24 and £25 @ 22.00 as she weakened out of contention and I backed the eventual winner when jumping the second last fence and going into the lead for £222 @ 1.71 to start the day in good style with a profit of £278.

My next trade was in the 13:50 at Kempton where I laid Cathedral Rock for £50 @ 2.68 then backed back for £50 @ 2.72. I had a further 6 similar trades to net myself a profit of £19.

The 14:25 at Kempton was my next race and here I had 10 small trades on Tallow Bay to result in a profit of £27.

My first loss of the day was in the 14:30 at Navan where I backed Valain for £50 @ 2.00 and later backed Alqaab to end with a loss of £45. Next I traded in 11 races that all resulted in small profits.

I made a complete mess of the 16:20 at Newbury by backing Illicit Spirit for £265 @ 1.45 when well in the lead and just clearing the final hurdle only to see him headed near the finish with no possibility of trading out to cost me £265. Ouch. I followed this with another small winning trade.

Then my best result of the day came in the 16:55 at Newbury. I laid Procas de Thaix for £270 @ 4.50 soon after being headed on the run in to result in a profit of £270.

My final race of the day was the 17: at Navan where I laid Woodbine Willie for £40 @ 2.10 and backed back £35 @ 2.40. I then backed Kimberlite King for £10 @ 1.50 to result in a profit of £10.

My race trading day had finished with a profit of £333.

As soon as the racing had finished I listened to the Radio 5 commentary on the Portsmouth v Chelsea match. After the first goal had been scored I backed the under 2.5 goals for 52 @ 1.90 before laying off £22 @ 1.80 and £30 @ 1.64. In the final few minutes of the match I backed the unders again for £20 @ 1.13 and laid off £3 @ 1.07 to finish the match with a profit of £13.

I then watched the live Rugby Super League between Salford and Catalans. There was a surprising amount of liquidity on this game but I ended up just having a small trade by backing Salford on the -4.5 point handicap market for £20 @ 1.25 and £17 @ 1.02 to finish with a profit of £5.

Next I watched the Valencia v Celta Vigo football match. I only caught the last 15 minutes of the match and backed the correct score line of 1 - 0 in the final few seconds for £258 @ 1.03, to result in a profit of £8.

My last trade of the day was in the Sevilla v Barcelona match. I watched the match with no trades until after the first goal had been scored. I then backed the under 2.5 goals for £183 @ 2.52 before laying all off @ 2.30. After the second goal had been scored I backed the unders again for £45 @ 3.75 before laying this off @ 3.50 I then greened up to leave a profit of £15 whatever the result. I also backed Sevilla in the match result market for £110 @ 1.56 and laid off £49 @ 1.53 and £60 @ 1.48. Later I backed Sevilla again for £20 @ 1.52 and laid this off @ 1.42. I finished this trading with a profit of £7.

At the end of the day I had made a total profit of £382.

Friday 2nd March 2007

After yesterday's mishap the Sports Trader was in consolidation mode. My Au Pair was off all day which meant I had to spend a lot more time than usual looking after the children's needs. I therefore only managed to trade on 6 UK horse races and i football match.

My day started with the 14:00 at Newbury where I backed Signs of Love for £50 @ 2.14 and followed this with a lay of Peacock for £4 @ 2.42 and a further back of the eventual winner, Signs of Love for £50 @ 1.05 to result in a profit of £63.

In my next race, the 14:30 at Newbury, I backed Money Order for £300 @ 1.15 when just getting to the lead in the final 20 yards of the race to result in a profit of £44. I followed this up with a small winning trade in the 16:25 at Wolverhampton.

My next trade was in the 16:40 at Ayr where I backed Nevada Red for £100 @ 3.00 before laying off £70 @ 3.50 and a further £10 @ 3.00 to result in a profit of £20.

In the 16:50 at Newbury I backed Coolefind for £176 @ 1.14 when going over the final fence and well in the lead to land me a profit of £24.

My last trade was in the 17:10 at Ayr and here I backed Quws Law for £15 @ 1.50 and then on the run in when the race was already in the bag I backed him again for £1500 @ 1.01 to result in a profit of £22.

I finished my race trading day with a profit of £177.

I had a very small trade on the Derby v Colchester match and as I was going out I only traded for the first 15 minutes, which is probably just as well as I would no doubt have lost money due to the amount of goals scored. I backed the under 2.5 goals for £7 just at kick off and laid off £5 @ 1.81. The first goal was scored in the 2nd minute and soon after I backed the unders for £57 @ 2.74 and laid all my liability off @ 2.48. I decided to go for a shower before getting ready to go out and when I got back to my office I saw that the score was now at 3 - 0. I switched the TV off and thanked my lucky stars that I had taken a shower. I ended up with a few pence profit.

My day of trading had therefore ended with no losing trades and a profit of £177.

I have added a new link under the Links heading for a very good free site called Sports Betting, Trading and Arbitraging. This is a brilliant site with real practical advice from a full time online sports trader. All the information is offered free of any charges and is updated regularly with the latest trading developments. I would recommend everyone to have a browse of the site to pick up on new ideas for making your trading pay.

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.

Wednesday 28th February 2007

After a very good start to the week The Sports Trader has had one of those days where nothing went well. It's been a frustrating day, full of interruptions and I just could not get into the grove.

I ended up trading in 11 UK horse races and 2 football matches. My first trade was in the 13:40 at Folkestone where I backed Captain's Legacy for £61 @ 2.00 and put up a lay @ 1.40. I got matched on £19. I later laid him for £8 @ 8.00 to result in a loss on the race of £34.

My next was in the 14:10 at Folkestone and here I backed Ballyrainey for £37 @ 1.50 when in the lead and going well only for him to weaken on the run in and finish second to cost me another £37. I then had 4 small winning trades.

My next race of significance was the 16:05 at Downpatrick where I backed Cake It Easy for £50 @ 2.60 and a further £4 @ 2.96 and again I put up a lay @ 2.40 but only got matched for £2 to result in a loss of £52. I followed this up with a small winning trade.

In the 16:35 at Southwell I laid Global Strategy for £30 @ 3.50 and £20 @ 2.97 before backing back £10 @ 4.00 and £7 @ 3.80 to result in another loss of £66.

My next was the 16:40 at Downpatrick where I laid Freneys Well for £45 @ 3.00 before backing £16 @ 3.50, £7 @ 6.70 and £5 @ 2.85. I then laid Howryafeelin for £5 @ 3.20 and backed him back for £3 @ 4.50 to result in a profit of £19.

My final race trade of the day was in the 16:55 at Folkestone where I backed the short priced favourite, Nike Walker, for £208 @ 1.30 before laying off @ 1.18. Then going over the last I backed him for £668 @ 1.03 to result in a profit of £45. This left me with a loss on the days race trading of £110.

I decided to trade on two football matches at the same time tonight. One was the Motherwell v St.Johnstone FA Cup Fifth Round match. I started with a back of the under 2.5 goals for £200 @ 1.90 pre kick off. I then had a lay @ 1.70 for £50 and had further lays of £25 @ 1.66, 1.50 and 1.43. When the first goal came I had a liability of £75. I backed the unders again for £76 @ 2.12 and laid off £51 @ 1.66 and £25 @ 1.63 . When the second goal was scored and I still had a liability of £75. I didn't think the odds where good enough after the second goal so I hung on to try and lay off later in the game but a third goal came which had therefore cost me £75.

I then turned my attention to the under 3.5 goals market and I backed the unders for £41 @ 1.30 and with 90 seconds plus injury time left I backed the unders for £499 @ 1.15 which resulted in a profit of £88. I had therefore made a profit on the match of £13.

In the Blackburn v Arsenal match I backed the under 2.5 goals for £100 @ 1.68 soon after kick off. With two matches running together I thought I would try a different strategy on this game and simply set up lays of £25 @ 1.59, 1.50, 1.40 and 1.30 and left them alone and watched the other game which I had more money on. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, if only I had been more heavily involved on this game, but the end result was that I made a profit of £23 on this match.

I therefore ended my trading day with a loss of £74.

I have completed a very successful February with a total profit of £7,188.

Tuesday 27th February 2007

Very little trading again today for The Sports Trader with just 10 UK races traded and 2 football matches.

My day started with the 14:20 at Leicester where I backed Caribou for £200 @ 1.50 before laying off @ 1.27 to result in a profit of £46. Next was a small winning trade.

In the 15:30 at Lingfield I laid Pawan for £60 @ 41.00 when making no headway approaching the final furlong to result in a profit of £60. My next race was the 15:40 at Catterick. I backed Ring The Boss for £50 @ 1.70 before laying off @ 1.43 to leave a profit of £13.

My next race was my best result of the day. It was the 15:50 at Leicester and I backed Brumous for £2000 @ 1.30 in the final furlong when four lengths in the lead. I thought that Esprit Saint had got up on the line and tried to lay off in the photo finish market but didn't get matched. When I saw the still TV pictures of the finish I started to take comfort that I was safe and then the result was announced to my great relief. I had therefore made a profit of £600 on the race. I know that Matt and Boycee go on a lot about the At The Races video service, but it is very good, and the abillity to re-run races soon after they have finished is brilliant. Take a look at this close finish in the 15:50 at Leicester.

In the 16:20 at Leicester I backed Irilut for £90 @ 1.40 when just clearing the last fence and in the lead, I did lay of @ 1.01 just in case to land a profit of £35. I had 4 more small trades, one of which was a loser and the others all winners.

My race trading day had finished with a profit of £765.

I decided to watch the FA Cup replay between Reading and Man.U. I backed the unders for £46 @ 1.86 just before kick off and had put up a lay @ 1.74 but the first goal came very early and caught me out. The market had just been reformed when the second goal came along so I had not backed the unders any more. The same happened for the third goal which probably saved me money as I would have bet the unders again if the goals had not come so quickly. Anyway I had lost £46 on the under 2.5 goal market.

Later in the game I laid the correct score line of 0 - 3 for £23 @ 10.00 and backed back £10 @ 12.00. This resulted in a profit of £13. I also backed Man. U. to win for £314 @ 1.06 in the final minute of injury time and laid off £164 @ 1.03 to result in a profit of £14. I had therefore ended the match with a loss of £20.

After this match I listened to the Radio 5 commentary of the West Brom v Middlesbrough match and traded on the To Qualify market whilst penalties were being taken and somehow managed to lose £15.

My result for the day was therefore a very decent profit of £730.

Monday 26th February 2007

The Sports Trader's day was shorten due to having to take relatives back to Prestwick Airport. I only managed to trade in 3 UK horse races and on 1 Football match, however I had no losing trades and a decent result in the end.

My first race was the 15:40 at Hereford, I looked for a decent opportunity of backing the favourite, Officer De Reserve. This came as Water Taxi, the leader at the time, blundered and fell and I took all that was on offer on Officer De Reserve. I backed him for £1430 @ 1.34 and very quickly put up a lay for the full amount @ 1.21, this was taken and I ended the race with a profit of £188. Please take a look at the Hereford Racecourse website by clicking on the link as the owners have put together a decent promotional video of their facilities which is worth looking at.

My next trade was in the 16:50 at Plumpton where I started by laying The Hairy Lemon for £34 @ 6.10, then I backed for £30 @ 7.10. Later I laid him again for £25 @ 6.00 before backing him for £14 @ 8.60 to leave me with a profit of £15.

My best result was in my last race, the 17:00 at Wolverhampton, where I backed Our Kes for £259 @ 2.60 just as he challenged for the lead at about a furlong from the finish and looked to be going the best of the front runners. This resulted in a profit on the race of £414.

So my short race day had ended with a profit of £617 and still with no commission thanks to Betdaq's 0% commission on all UK in-running horse racing markets.

I had a look at the stats for the televised football match between Stoke and Barnsley on the SoccerStats.com website and decided to trade on the under 2.5 goals. It was predicted to be a low scoring match. I missed the start so my first trade was at around 8 minutes into the match where I backed the unders for £43 @ 1.75. I laid this off @ 1.65. I backed the unders again after the goal had been scored for £103 @ 1.72. I then laid off in £25 chunks @ 1.68,1.60,1.52 and 1.46, to result in a profit of £20.

With 3 minutes of the match left to play I also backed the under 1.5 goals for £7 @ 1.50 to result in a profit of £4. I therefore ended the match with a profit of £24 to bring my day's total profit to £641.