Thanks for the advice guys.
superfrank wrote:When I started out I did the usual small stakes stuff but I found it dull and didn't really concentrate or trade properly (because, subconsciously, I knew it didn't really matter what the net result was).
I don't find trading in practice mode dull, but I do find my concentration wavers (which is something I intend to address). And that's been part of the problem. Unless you're being systematic, and saying 'I'm doing to do x today, and stick to it rigorously, and then analyse the results', at the end of the trading day you'll have pressed lots of buttons, but achieved little! You won't be any closer to knowing whether your theories work!
Another challenge that needs to be addressed (which is related to concentration) is not letting the self-critical voice inside your head sabotage you, causing you to do silly things like going in-play or increase your stop just because a spike went against you.
When I was playing with real money, my first race of the day was often profitable, and sooner or later it went downhill. That would suggest that I did well when I was mentally fresh, but lost my concentration later on. It reminds me of a line from Top Gun: 'You get bored, do something stupid, and he's got you'.
superfrank wrote:You need to get comfortable with risk
I am comfortable with risk. Until not so long ago, I was quite happy to place anything up to 100 ten pound each way bets per day, on horses up to 100/1 (the average odds were about 16/1). But the reason I was confident was that I was pretty sure I had a long-term edge.
And with Betfair, once I'm sure I know what I'm doing (and I'm not that far off), I'll be able to just ignore my losing trades, and plug away, gradually increasing my stakes.
Jeff
PS If anyone is wondering what the People's Front of Judea was a reference to (and you're not offended by blashpemous humour), have a look at this clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55fqjw2J ... e=youtu.be