I know it’s been quite a while since I last posted anything. My life just seems to get busier and busier these days. Still maybe one day I’ll be spread betting for a living then I can spend more time on the site and improving my knowledge.
I was looking back through an old 2009 diary the other day and I seen some notes from my first trades as a spread better. I opened my first live spread betting account with paddy power on 12th February 2009. I funded the account with £50 and shortly after added another £50. The interesting thing is some of my first trades were in the FTSE. “What?” I hear you cry. “You spread bet the FTSE with only £100 in your account. Nutter!” Looking back now it certainly was a crazy time for me. I think the only reason I didn’t lose it all in one go was because I used stop losses right from the very beginning. This would seem to be something that is engrained into me. I think I’m very cautious when it comes to risk, which I guess is a strange statement for a spread better to make.
I soon realised that if I continued to “gamble” then I was going to get no where and I would be out of the game before I’d given myself a fair got at it. So I brought a book. The financial spread betting handbook by Malcolm Pryor. I don’t recall how I discovered the book, I think I must have just been Googling around or stumbled across it on Amazon. I was fascinated by this book, and still am. I personally think it’s one of the best resources for a spread betting beginner. It contains so much useful information and gets you started with some excellent strategies.
So why am I recapping my spread betting history? Well I seen a post over on spread betting central from a newbie to the spread betting world. He is basically on the path I was two years ago. When you start to read and study the art of spread betting it can get very complicated, very quickly and unnecessarily so (In my opinion). If Gary is reading this then I would emphasise the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) philosophy. Don’t get bogged down with to many indicators and think that one holds all the answers and is the key to the ‘Holy Grail’. I think the ‘Holy Grail’ is a state of mind. You first need to conquer yourself and learn how you operate in order to succeed at spread betting. Accept that losses are a fact of life and are unavoidable. Accept that you will be tempted to over trade. Learn to wait for the right opportunities to come along, never trade for trading sake. These are just some of the lessons that need to be learnt on the path to successful spread betting.
You may think I am rambling on about the same old things here but for the spread betting beginners out there such as Gary these are important lessons and the earlier you learn them the better. The overall goal of this spread betting blog is to help others avoid the same mistakes I have made.
Recent Spread Betting activity
So onto the good stuff. My latest trades. Well unfortunately there have been no new trades for me. I’ve been adjusting stops but even that has stopped with the recent dip in the market. To be honest at the moment I just haven’t had the time. My problem is I keep taking on more and more things and I just seem to be getting less and less done. Still when I’m spread betting for a living I’ll have much more time to dedicate to spread betting. It’s funny financial spread betting has really become a passion for me. I enjoy everything about it. Hopefully one day I’ll make a career out of it.
Until next time,
“May the markets be with you!”
Harry,
The Spread Betting Beginner
