Rules of Tennis Trading


The following article includes 10 of the most important rules to follow while trading on any match!

BEFORE TRADING, MAKE SURE YOU ARE USING A PLATFORM SUCH AS FAIRBOT / BETANGEL FOR TRADING. THERE ARE FREE TRIALS OF THE PLATFORMS AVAILABLE.

THE 10 RULES OF TRADING:

Rule #1: Approach trading with a calm mind!

This is the most important rule for me! We are all human (I hope), so controlling our emotions is most important. You would be amazed how well you trade when you are not distracted and not jumping around.

If you are trading with High Stakes, I highly recommend sorting your mental state  before you trade! If you are overconfident or overly anxious, you are not in the right frame of mind.

Staying focused is absolutely vital. This is the biggest weapon you can have as a trader!

Rule #2: Set yourself a REALISTIC target for the day.

It is very easy to feel invincible when you’ve made some money. However, most people don’t realise that its easier to lose than to win. Always, and I mean ALWAYS, set yourself a target. If your bank is around 100 units, targeting 5% or 5 units a day enough! That may seem like small change, but when you build your bankroll, your returns will be much greater. You only know the value of 5 when you have made 10 out of it!

Or if you prefer, you can set a target of ‘x’ amount of traded matches each day – let’s say I give ten tips. It’s not really possible to always trade them all. Take 5 or 6 matches from these ten. Choose any Back Heavy or Hot Tips first if you can, and choose another couple beside these. If I haven’t included any Hot Tips or BH, just choose them by time or by the tips that you prefer to play. You might like to watch a certain player playing and so you choose that tip.  

So you’re target can be % or time or number of matches – you choose, but always be realistic.

Rule #3: Research the market!

Once you’ve set a target, the next job is to find a suitable market. Some of the most profitable professional traders on any market (FINANCE or otherwise) are those who follow the markets well. Since we deal with Sports Trading and specifically on Betfair Tennis Trading, it is important to check anything you possibly can find out about the market before you trade it. If for example, you think the market is strangely priced, Google that particular match to see if there are any injury issues. If possible, check the website of the player or his/her social accounts. Every bit of information is worth looking into.

While ‘researching the market’ is mostly optional, it is highly recommended if you plan on trading with high stakes!

Rule #4: Decide your stakes wisely!

As a rule of thumb, I advise entering a market with lower stakes most of the time. This gives you a better understanding of the players. For instance, if a player has played amazingly the previous day, it doesn’t always mean he will play the same way today.

Once you are confident of the situation, you can increase the stakes accordingly and put your money on the right player!

Rule #5: Give advance prices!

Always give prices in advance once you’ve entered the market. If you’ve backed Player A @ 1.5, and want to profit out a specific amount early, give an advance lay price (e.g. lay@1.2). There is no point in thinking about it and witnessing in real time that the price hit your specific target and then it never came back again! Make note, this is also applicable for trading out losses early such as executing Loss Limits!

Rule #6: Don’t hesitate when trading out!

This is the hardest one to implement as it does take time.

The majority of the traders I’ve known have the habit of waiting and waiting. While a few times this may work in your favour, in the long run, this one factor can be your ultimate DOWNFALL! Always consider trading out if you are not sure about the market, especially if it’s acting very wild or you cannot decide on which player to put your money. First, get out of the market, then think!  More often, you will have saved yourself a lot of money. Trust me on that!

If you can trade out with a small loss consistently, it is a stepping stone towards becoming a serious trader.

So bear in mind, RULE #6 is one of the hardest to set in motion!

Rule #7: Green out a decent profit while the possibility exists.

Always Green out a profit which you think you are happy with. For example, if your target for a particular match was 5 units and the market constantly fluctuates around a profit of 3 units, take that 3! Most of the time, this is an indication that there maybe something drastic about to happen, like the favourite being pushed to a tie-breaker. You may very well make the extra 2 in another match with far less pressure. So adjust to the situation by making the right decisions…

Rule #8: Accept a bad day!

It’s likely that even with the best of strategies you may end up on the wrong side someday. You should accept this. Some markets behave very wild and if you think you had done everything you could to possibly escape problems, then just accept that it wasn’t your day and move on!

Rule #9: Make a note of your profits/losses.

It’s a very good practice to make a note of your overall P/L on a daily basis. Betfair itself has this implemented on their website, but if you do it manually, it just makes you a much more focused and organized trader. You can always look back at those pen on paper scribblings and smile!

Rule #10: Take it one step at a time!

As the story of the Hare and the Tortoise goes, ‘Slow and Steady wins the race!’

There is absolutely nothing wrong with sticking to small targets initially. As you get more experienced, you can increase your stakes, but the inner feeling should always be to Green out in the long run. Keep the pace slow but steady!

A few other obvious rules while trading as follows:

DON’TS:

DO NOT DRINK WHILE YOU ARE TRADING

DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE WHILE TRADING

DO NOT SWEAR AT YOUR PARTNER WHILE TRADING (THEIR RESPONSE COULD MAKE YOU LOSE MORE!)

DO NOT BANG YOUR COMPUTER SCREEN (THE POOR THING DOESN’T DESERVE IT)

DO’S:

ORGANISE YOUR WORKSPACE – NO UNNECESSARY DISTRACTIONS

DO HAVE STRAWBERRIES WITH FRESH CREAM WHILE TRADING

DO LISTEN TO JAZZ WHILE TRADING

DO KISS YOUR COMPUTER SCREEN WHILE TRADING

MAKE YOUR OWN LIST OF RULES AND KEEP THEM CLOSE. NOTE YOUR WEAKNESSES AND STRENGTHS. PLAY TO YOUR STRENGTHS AND WORK ON ELIMINATING THE WEAKNESSES.

If you follow these rules, I expect you to make money Trading Tennis on Betfair! And if you have anything you would like to add please feel free to leave a comment or get in touch with me!

6 Comments

  • johnny Posted August 15, 2013 11:00 am

    Cheers Patrick,i agree with everything apart from listening to jazz 🙂

    • Patrick Ross Posted August 15, 2013 5:25 pm

      But if you were to listen to something while trading, make it easy going! Listening to Marilyn Manson wont help!! Glad you like the article…

  • ZamaTrade Posted August 16, 2013 11:52 am

    Hi Patrick, everything ok, except rule # 6 for me … is the most difficult, I’m trying to learn how to get out early from the market, there is now another game to recover …
    you could write a rule stop profit% (rule # 7, expand)
    thank

    • Patrick Ross Posted August 16, 2013 4:23 pm

      Hi Zama – thanks for the comment. I’ll write another article soon which will expand a bit on rule 7 – I’ll mail members as soon as it’s ready..

  • Daniel Posted February 19, 2014 1:38 pm

    Identify a target for the day does not think it’s smart. You’ll be looking for that goal, and if you reach will stop trading? And if you can not will continue until not even worth getting into this game? You need to go into every game that is possible and worthwhile. Always studying the games of course, nothing more normal than that to have long-term profit.

    • Patrick Ross Posted February 19, 2014 6:12 pm

      Hi Daniel – you are correct in one way – everyone should go into the next match with a positive mindset and look to earn more profits. However, I still feel it’s necessary to have a plan for the day. Setting a minimum goal is a good strategy. It’s up to each individual to decide if they want to continue trading after reaching their goal. As Daniel says, study the games (or follow my tips) and there’s no reason why you cant keep trading and making more profits…just don’t be over-confident and stick to your staking plan…

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