Spread betting Answers

Answers

You can make a lot of money spread betting, but you can also lose a lot. I personally think it’s a bad idea to make a lot of money quickly spread betting. If you make a lot of money in a short space of time then you will probably end up getting over confident and lose all that you have made and more. You need to find a strategy that suits you and that gives you an edge over the 50/50 odds that you would have if you just randomly enter trades.
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You don’t actually need that much to start spread betting. I started with £50 back in Feb 2009. I think you can even open an account with £0 to take a look at the platform etc. You won’t be able to trade of course but at least you can get a feel for how to make trades. Most spread betting firms offer an introductory offer to get you started. These typically require that you open an account, fund it with £XXX and make N trades to qualify for the offer. They vary from firm to firm but you can check out my list of latest spread betting offers.
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It’s certainly possible to make millions from spread betting. In fact if you do some searching on the internet you will find a few success stories about people becoming millionaires via spread betting. I think however these people are the exception not the rule. If you enter the world of spread betting with the view to becoming a millionaire in a few weeks, months or even years I think you are in for a bit of a shock. If it was really that easy to make millions spread betting then everyone would be doing it.

If you are sensible there is no reason that in time you could not become a millionaire. All the successful spread betters that I know of have a trading strategy in place that they stick to. It governs everything about their trading process and indicates when to enter & exit trades, how to position size appropriately and much more. If you are searching the internet for a get rich quick scheme then spread betting is not for you. If you’re looking to get rich quick then keep searching. In my experience there is no such thing as a get rich quick scheme. Usually if something sounds too good to be true it usually is.

Spread betting will take time, effort and lost of self discipline to master. If you can get that far then the rewards are obvious. There is certainly money to be made from spread betting but how much depends on the individuals risk tolerance and money management capabilities. If you haven’t been scared off from spread betting and would like to learn more about it then you can start with my free beginners guide. If you still have questions join the free spread betting forum and ask any questions you may have. There will be someone on there that can answer your question I’m sure.
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Since spread betting is covered by gambling law in the UK you need to be over 18 to trade.
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No. Spread betting is classed as gambling in the UK therefore any gains you make are tax free. Laws can change so this could have changed since I’ve written this answer. If this answer is out of date please let me know.
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Probably not. Spread betting is covered under gambling law and is classed as gambling in the UK. If you really think about it any for of trading is really gambling. There is no such thing as a sure thing in the stock market so any trade you make will be a gamble.

If you have a gambling addiction, like any addiction you need to seek help from the correct channels and should also quit the thing you are addicted to. Easier said than done I know, but until you admit to yourself you have an addiction you will probably struggle to get help with it.
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You can’t. There is no one on the face of the planet that can guarantee anything in the stock market. Even Warrent Buffet cannot give you a guarantee you will make money from one of his share tips. The only thing that is guaranteed is that sometimes you will make money and sometimes you will lose it!
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I’m sure trading systems work for some people, personally I have never tried one and have no desire to do so. If it was that easy to make £100 to £2000+ per day then everyone would be doing it. Most professional fund managers aim for a 1% return per month. If we take the minimum £100 per day that works out to roughly £2,000 per month. 1% of £200,000 = £2,000. I don’t know about you but I don’t currently have £200,000 to spread bet with.
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To be honest this is what I did. I couldn’t wait to start and rushed into spread betting. I now regret it as I made unnecessary losses which could’ve been avoided. I would strongly suggest you do some more research and reading about spread betting before wading in. It takes time to hone and develop the skills required to spread bet. Take your time there is no rush. You are missing nothing. There will still be potential trades tomorrow.
Why not start your reading with my beginners guide to spread betting.
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It’s certainly possible to become rich spread betting. If you are just starting out though it’s probably going to take you a while, if it ever happens. I started spread betting with the get rich quick mindset but soon realised that it’s not going to be the case. If you are to ever get rich spread betting it will take time, discipline and hard work.
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I have no idea how much most people make spread betting. There are figures out there that suggest 80% of all spread betters lose money not make it. You have to view spread betting as a business and treat it like wise. You need to find the strategy that fits your trading style and stick to it. All full time spread betters have a trading plan that covers all areas of their trading. As the saying goes “Failure to plan is a plan to fail”.
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You should NEVER spread bet with money you cannot afford to lose. No one likes losing money, I know I don’t, but If you can’t realistically afford to lose it then you should not be trading with it. Don’t risk your kids college fund, your house, your life savings on spread betting. If you lose the lot then what are you going to do!!!
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If you get a buzz or thrill when spread betting then you are probably gambling and should reassess your reasons for spread betting. I spread bet to try and make some additional income. I get no thrill from it what so ever. Of course it’s nice when you make a profit but you need to try and remove all your emotions from your trades.

When I first started trading this is something I really struggled with. I would get really depressed when I made a loss and really happy when I made a profit. This was something that I had to work on personally to get where I am today. Alright I’m still not a profitable spread better by a long shot, but it no longer affects me when I make a profit or loss. I’m fairly emotionless which ever way the trade goes. Of course I’d like them all to be winners but losses are a fact of life in spread betting. The quicker you can accept that and learn to take the rough with the smooth the easier you will find it in the long run.
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There is no sensible amount really. The most important thing to remember is you should only risk what you can afford to lose. If this is £10 or £1000 the so be it. Never risk money which you need for rent, mortgage payments, food, clothes, bills etc. Take care of them first then think about money you can risk on spread betting.
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This can be a tricky situation, and can be a slippery slope to the poor house. If you’ve lost all you can afford to lose then take it on the chin and sit it out until you have more money you can afford to lose. If you have more money you can afford to lose right away I would take a step back, possibly paper trade for a while until you develop a strategy which will give you a positive expectancy in the long run. Once you are happy you have a strategy that fits your trading style then try it with a live account but start small. Only risk a maximum of 1% of funds or less. 0.5% and 0.25% are other good amounts to start with.
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Not really but in my opinion it can be helpful. There are many technical indicators and oscillators that you can use to aid you in spread betting. It can be helpful to fully understand the maths behind these so you get a really good grasp of what they are telling you. All indicators are based on some or all five elements of price. These elements are, open, close, high, low and volume.
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There are many books out there which can aid spread betting. I would recommend Malcolm Pryors spread betting handbook to get you started. Take a look at my reading list to see other titles that I suggest.
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There is no such thing as the best strategy to make money. If you speak to 10 traders about spread betting they probably trade using 10 different strategies and all make or lose money. Everyone searches for the ‘Holy Grail’ of trading. The one strategy that will make consistent profits above all the others. Sadly there is no such thing. You may find a strategy that works really well one year and not so well the next.
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It could do, it depends. It basically all comes down to you. Trading needs to be treated like a business. If you treat it any other way then you will probably lose money over the long term. If you take is seriously, put in the time and effort, learnt your craft then there is no reason you should not make it to spread betting success. Even if you do all that it’s still not guaranteed but it will help you a lot.
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In my opinion there is no such thing as a “Most profitable spread betting strategy”. A spread betting strategy is as much about the individual that trades it as it is the strategy itself. Two spread betters can trade the same strategy and get entirely different results. I think it’s important to have a trading strategy but I am a big believer that your strategy needs to fit you. You can buy strategies or trading systems from a third party but I would suspect you will end up making adjustments to it to suit you. If you would like to develop your own strategy you can read my strategy development guide to help you get started. It’s a work in progress but it will allow you to get going.
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As far as I’m aware most spread betting companies have dedicated trading desks that will take orders over the phone. It’s best for you to check that your spread betting firm allows this. I personally trade online as it’s the easiest and most convenient way for me to trade. Online trading means you can see all your trades live in real time and manage them accordingly.

Other benefits of online trading are you can check them on the move via your phone, at work or any time of day or night as long as you have a computer and an internet connection. One drawback with online trading is “What if my internet connection doesn’t work?”. I personally have broadband at home and internet access through my phone so if one or the other doesn’t work than I have a backup. If none of them work then I would probably get in the car and drive to my nearest McDonalds with free Wi-Fi.

Online trading is a great way to spread bet and with the internet going from strength to strength online trading is only going to become more and more common place in years to come.
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Yes, yes and yes. Every spread betting firm offers a different range of instruments that you can trade so you need to check with them to see what they have on offer. Some have more instruments than others and some try to specialise in certain areas. For instance some only offer FOREX and indices as these are the most commonly traded markets in the world. Some offer more in the way of Equities listing AIM stocks. As I said you need to check with your spread betting firm to get a complete list of everything you can trade with them.

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If you have a question you would like me to answer you can either ask it over in the forum for contact me directly.