Daily Journal

When it comes to trading and betting I find that I am still very risk adverse. I think that I've always been this way in all aspects of life. Nobody likes the feeling of getting something wrong, but some people handle this better than others. The easiest way of avoiding being wrong in this game is not to trade at all. You'll never be wrong but you'll make fuck all!

One of my biggest objectives is to trade in a less risk adverse manner and to do this consistently, even when losses occur. I think that I'm pretty good at dealing with losses already, and I don't beat myself up when I get a loss, unless I've made aright ball-up of things. However I'm still working on the 'see it ... click it' approach. Once I get that nailed then I'll be much more effective. To win big at this game you have to be prepared to take a few hits along the way. A bit like boxing I suppose. Think of great fighters like Muhammad Ali, Manny Pacquiao and Frank Bruno ... they were all great, but they all took a few shots along the way. They never gave up or cried when they got hit did they?

So I thought that I'd stick up daily journal covering my days between now and the end of January. I'll be recording how I get on both money wise and emotionally, and if I take a kick in the bollox along the way then I'll let you know about it. It will be interesting to see how many times my risk adverse mentality kicks-in and how I deal with it, and if it does I'll be able to see at the end of January how much this costs me. We'll see how it goes, and as long as I can get a good week then I'll be looking to increase my stakes and aggressiveness at the end of the month, maybe even before.

PS I'm also going to lose some weight this week! So here we go:


Monday 23rd January 2012 - 96.4kg

• had a good session in the gym and now I'm going to have a cuppa, study some AW form and trade the early greyhounds.
   
• we only have 2 meetings today, Wetherby and Wolverhampton, so it'll be a case of taking whatever comes along. So I'm not going to shout and scream if I can only nick £50, although I might stay late and trade the evening greyhounds as well.
   
• nicked a few quid early doors on the horses and greyhounds but just lost £200 laying 'Mission Complete' in the 14:15 at Wetherby. Didn't seem like a bad bet at the time and could have taken a green but felt comfortable with the position. That jockey Mr A Berry gets me every time!
   
• just had a quick look at tomorrows cards and 'Opus Maximus' and 'Veroon' (owes me money from it's last run!) could be interesting runners in the 16:30 at Kempton as 'Tewin Wood' should take them along at a tasty pace. I'll be taking a closer look at this race this evening in between the greyhound racing. I think I'll be looking to be a backer at Leicester as the track players will be there in their millions and I've found it pretty much impossible to lay anything there recently.
   
• well it's 21:50 and I'm finished for the day. Ended up £174.53 down. There were a few half chances today but nothing that really caught my eye. It goes like that some days. Let's see what Tuesday brings!
  
   

Tuesday 24th January 2012 - 94.3kg
 

• having a little trade of the early greyhounds and made a schoolboy error of trying to back my way out of a bad trade. Of course the mutt lost and I did more cash than just taking the red. What a tosser! Think I'll just go and flush my head down the loo (and if you've seen the state of the bogs around here that's not a nice experience ... not that I've ever tried it before of course).
   
• see it ... click it!
   
• just backed 'Warden Bond' for a place in the 14:30 at Kempton. A strong galloping sort, but for some reason the jokey thought he was on a Suzuki and never got it prominent at all, hoping instead that it would suddenly sprout an extra leg in the final 2F.
   
• backed 'Mottley Crew' over 5F at Southwell when it jumped and was prominent. Stays 6F at Southwell so was well pleased at backing one early and actually winning some cash. It's funny that it can sometimes seem like weeks since you've had a winner (unfortunately for my Dad it's more like months) ... come on Dad,  pick up the phone and get stuck in!!
   
• anyone for 'Plum Pudding'? Sometimes you get days where you're just a lucky fucker. The 15:40 at Leicester, 'Toby Belch' starts slowly and doesn't seem to be too keen in a 3 mile chase in the soft. The price drifts and then I spot good old Toby coming back on the snaff, so I take advantage and back him at 3.0 for a place. I'm feeling well pleased as now he's looking well happy and jumping like Pegasus. Strangely, though, his price isn't shortening, in fact no one wants to back him. On closer inspection I now realise that I have in fact backed 'Plum Pudding' who is slowly disappearing out the back on the TV. Bearing in mind we have 50in widescreen plasmas that's a fucking long way behind! So I sit there for the next mile of the race watching him struggle around, almost tailed off. I don't even bother watching the last few furlongs as the pain is like a hot knife to the testicles. Then, as I cast my eyes to the screen here he comes! Good old 'Plum Pudding', sprinting as fast as 'Choisir', leaps the last like a gazelle and romps into third place! What price for the Grand National??
   
• ended up £223.21 up and completely cream crackered!
  
   

Wednesday 25th January 2012
 

• studying the AW form and about to have a cuppa. Today should be a bit better as we should have some more opportunities with 2 RUK meetings and Lingfield on the AW. Let's see how it goes.
   
• up and down like a yo-yo at the moment, but definitely playing more aggressively. All I need now is a few winners! (or losers if I'm laying 'em).
   
• it's 19:30 and there's one more left at Kempton. I'm knackered and the A13 has come to a grinding halt so I'll have to give it 30 minutes and play a few dog races before I head off home and hit the sack.
   
• ended up £271.60 up and the A13 was as clear as a bell. Got stuck into a few more pages of 'The Daily Trading Coach', a must read for anyone serious about their trading. Night night ...
  
   

Thursday 26th January

• feeling on top of my game and having a good look at Kemptons card tonight. Might have to tread cautiously though and not get too excited!
   
• it's been a tough day already, and it's only 15:31! Patience is the key. Opportunities will be along soon ... (I'm an optimistic bloke).
   
• my concentration has been so bad today. I've missed the start of at least 3 races by fucking about doing other things, like watching the poker WSOP on ESPN. That's a really unprofessional approach. I'm not going to win money watching the telly.
   
• well pretty much a non-event today. Concentration levels were poor and I never really got into the groove. The markets at Kempton were also shite, so even though we picked a few good bets the markets presented no opportunities in-play as they were so weak. The final tally was a small loss of £15.82. A fair card tomorrow so maybe I'll be able to nick a few quid and boost the monthly total to something a bit more respectable.
  
   

Friday 27th January

• finally got around to subscribing for the Timeform in-play cards and they've already saved me a bundle. Will be interesting to see how I change my plan of attack over the sticks now that I'm armed with a bit of information as to how these beasts normally run. I'm already experiencing the conflict of what the form is telling me against what my eyes are telling me .... should be an interesting day!
   
• this Timeform service is a real eye opener, especially as I know nothing about jumping form. To coin a phrase from one of our well known money making machines 'I feel like a dog with 2 cocks'.
   
• you've got to be in it to win it. Well I'm not in it and I'm not winning it ... what a pillock!
   
• well that was a long good Friday. Won a few shillings at Dundalk which meant that I ended up winning £103.92 on the day. Not a brilliant total for 12 hours work, but felt strangely super motivated for the task ahead and ready to smash it tomorrow.
  
   

Saturday 28th January

• not a lot of smashing going on so far ... typical Saturday for me really.
   
• no AW cards tomorrow so that will give me a chance to study Mondays card at Wolverhampton and now I can stay one day ahead of the racing.
   
• had a dabble on the greyhounds this evening. Only playing £50 a click but managed to scrape a few extra shillings into the P&L. Got a nice cuppa on the brew and then a few more pages of 'The Daily Trading Coach' while contemplating my days winnings of £125.39.

Sunday 29th January

• well it seems as though Jack Frost is about to get busy in February in an attempt to scupper my plans. I'll have to double-up my AW analysis and start smashing into a few as it looks as though we'll lose a few jump meetings this month.
   
• Ffos Llas (impossible to get any cash there) and Leopardstown (almost impossible) today. So it's a case of sitting tight and waiting for a nice opportunity to come along ... and maybe trading a few dog races in-between.
   
• roll on the Summer. Two meetings today of crap racing and to really rub it in the SIS crew have decided that it's time we watched racing from Dortmund. Next week they're showing Yak racing from the Outer Hebrides. This means that we only get snippets of the greyhound coverage, making it harder to trade. And when they do decide to show the greyhounds it's over the top of the horse racing. These sort of days make me wish that I had a 12 gauge auto loader, a 45 long slide with lazer sighting, a phased plasma rifle in 40 watt range and an Ouzi 9mm, althogh that lot would probably cost me more than the £94.93 that I won today .
  
  
   

Monday 30th January

• I once knew a young Portuguese guy who was always saying 'I'm very tired'. I now know how he feels.
   
• all I need is a bigger pair of bollox and I'll be making as much cash as 'The Printer'. I'm going to really have to concentrate on developing a much more aggressive stance as my spineless method of playing is really holding me back, as today's winnings of £81.79 testify.
  
  
   

Tuesday 31st January

• not much to report today. Finished off the month up £142.54 today.