Update 18

10th September - 28th November 2013:

Australian wallet:

+£649.40

A couple of accumulators as well. I rarely do them, but I did one a few days ago (Accumulator 2) that won and have another for tonight's Europa League games. Like I said previous, when I do them I will put them on here, win or lose.

Accumulator 2:

Accumulator 3:

Updated 17:13pm:

Free £10 '5 fold' bet from Betfair from one of their promotions.

Life-time Betfair Profit & Loss: 2007-2013

Account 1)

Account 2)

 

 

Account 3)

Total Profit & Loss: +£21,672.00

Starting Bank

30 Day Update

It's getting a bit like Groundhog Day now, but I might as well keep the updates coming. Like I say, the same old story - using a small bank size and it's having an impact on how well I could do. The rest of this year is pretty much damage limitation now or trying to get a big enough bank size ready for the start of next year because getting over 1k is not going to come the easy way. I think March is the last time my Betfair account saw that much which is quite disappointing, considering how well I did in 2010, but you live and learn by your mistakes.


One bit of luck I did have was, I saw one of those 'one off' £5 free promotions Victor Chandler sometimes offer, so I did what I don't usually do and stray away from Betfair. So I opened an account, got the free £5 bet and placed a 7 match accumulator not really expecting anything to happen. Well it just so happens it won (£68.80) thanks to Aguero's last minute goal for Man City against Villarreal. Nothing to write home about, but it came in handy. I withdrew it all straight away of course and called it a day on Victor Chandler.

I don't use normal online bookmakers such as William Hill, Ladbrokes or Victor Chandler as I feel there is only one place your money will go more often than not, and that's to the bookmaker itself. The odds they all offer are very poor compared to a betting exchange such as Betfair - where you are betting against other people, and your chances of making it pay long term is actually possible because of having the option to 'trade out' of your bet.

My plan now is to somehow acquire the bank size I need, and once I do, trade as I did last year. Whether that happens in the next week, or the next few months, I'm not sure, but the sooner the better. Ready for next year is probably realistic at this stage, but you never know.

18th Sept-18th Oct 2011: (including the Victor Chandler win)


Australian wallet:


Total P&L: +£127.42

30 Day Update

It's been an up and down last 30 days, and a very frustrating one. I've never really had the betting bank-size I used when I was making the kind of numbers you see below (from April 2010), which is my fault as I have been asking the same questions for too long now, when getting a job for a few months would have given me a bank size of 1-2k+ to get going again.


When I was making the likes of above (if you look at the very earlier entries of this blog) I never had any outsides debts and from memory was using around 5k and building gradually through trading - there were rarely any gambles involved. I've just made so many mistakes in the past few months and one of them was playing with a number of small banks and trying to get to 1k+ the fast way, which was not the way to go in hindsight. Another has been waiting for someone to step forward with a couple of grand based on what you can see in the earlier entries of this blog, but there were no takers and in the process I've gone into big debt. Which I only blame myself for.

I'm at the stage now where I need to ask myself questions, and think about how I can go about this realistically as it is having a negative impact on real matters which is not a good thing.

23rd June - 23rd July 2011:


Australian wallet:


Total P&L: +£106.95

7 Day Betfair Update

I'm hesitant to keep updating this in truth because it does not feel right, especially in the difficult times in which we live in. Win or lose it seems a bit tacky and might come across as boastful - but I've started so I will probably continue for a bit. Maybe in future I will start giving more updates on the sports I bet on as opposed to just a straight profit and loss screen-shot. Just to show this isn't guess-work, or a '2 flies on a wall' job. Perhaps when I'm back on track and playing with a the bank size I aim for. In the mean-time, I hope continue to build things gradually.

29th June - July 6th 2011.


Australian wallet:


+£491.36

3 Month Update

This shows the extent of the damage really - the numbers I mean. The losing has gone on far too long, especially if this is your only form of income, like it is with me.

You're probably bored of hearing this as well, but I could have resolved this ages ago, if only I had the bank size to do so, but this is partially my fault. I'm not blaming anyone. It's just been a dodgy couple of months outside of using Betfair. On the other hand, I know it can change quite quickly so hopefully things start going in the right direction from now on.

26th March - 26th June 2011:


Australian wallet:


Total P&L: -185.82

Roland Garros Latter Stages

I have to confess I was one of those tricked into thinking Andy Murray was injured during his match with Viktor Troicki, especially after Troicki went 5-0 up in the first set. After that it was all change; Murray somehow found his way, winning 4 consecutive games before finally losing the set 6-4. So they stand at 2-2 with the decider today - god knows who will win this. The market favours Murray @ 1.38 purely based on ranking and the fact that Troicki isn't the most trustworthy player when in this position. The way this has gone anything can happen.

Anyway, the woman's quarter-finals start today and I think an upset isn't out of the question in the Pavlyuchenkova v Schiavone match. I've seen quite a few of Schiavone's matches during the run-up to the French Open and she wasn’t at her best, and despite raising her game during the last few rounds, it wouldn't surprise me to see Pavlyuchenkova win this one. I'm hoping she does anyway. I think Schiavone and Kuznetsova are decent lays in the outright. I'm liking the look of Azarenka this year, although her match with Na Li is a tough one. The winner of the French will come from Azarenka/Na and the Petkovic/Sharapova matches in my opinion so the 'New Winner' Market on Betfair is worth getting involved in @ 1.33-1.4. If I had the bank I need and was happy to tie money up, I would be betting a significant amount on this market as there will be trading opportunities available. I do not think Schiavone or Kuznetsova will win it, and they are the only 2 previous winners of the event.

I won't predict the men’s, as like most, I think the winner will come from either Nadal or Djokovic. If Djokovic is finally going to lose, the chances are it will be on this surface to Nadal and they're due to meet in the final if both make it that far.

Update Wed 8th June: I retract the comment above about Andy Murray not being injured. I never saw his match with Berrer, where he twisted his ankle and never knew the extent, so apologise for that. Thanks.

Update

Last 30 Days: 3rd April - 3rd May 2011.


Australian Wallet:


-£83.52

Last 3 Months Profit & Loss

I've been putting this off for a long time, but it's best to keep things honest and show a true reflection of how bad things got. Bear in mind none of the big losses have been recently. Most of the damage was done during the Aussie Open Tennis and the Super Bowl back in late January/early February which was documented on here. I won't dwell on those mistakes, but I got a bit greedy and was aware of the risks I was taking at the time. Unfortunately I never prepared myself for the problems this would cause in the following months, but that's done now. I'm now at the stage where I have to basically start again and build from scratch. It's been a good week, so hopefully things start going in the right direction from now on.

Jan 14th-April 14th 2011.


Aus wallet:


-£3,800.51

Any constructive opinions or comments are welcome.

Starting Afresh

I'm going to draw a line over the last 2 months and start afresh. It’s been a forgettable last few months due to a combination of things but that's no ones fault but my own. It's the risk you take when you choose this route as your only form of income. The good thing is the World Snooker Championship starts this weekend and I usually do well on frame betting, so it's a good place to start.

I've not had a bet since late Thursday, but will be starting again tonight with the NBA. The break has done me good, so hopefully things start to go in the right direction from now on. I just need to kick things off, get to the bank size I feel comfortable with and go from there. I'm not silly enough to persevere with something I know I have no chance of profiting from. Despite all this, I am still in debt, so my priority is to pay these off before anything else.

That's it for now. Oh, btw, look at the ticket below. This shows the extent of how quickly things went wrong. I was going to the Aussie Open in January and didn't even end up selling the ticket. I wish I did now, as I could have done with the money.

March Update 4th-21st

Overall it's been a good week, although as always it could have been better. The World Cup Cricket match between the West Indies and India caused me one or two problems. Someone who's won me quite a bit of money in the past, Kieron Pollard, had the opposite affect this time. His decent fielding and some poor shots from the likes of Yuvraj and Pathan meant that I lost on the 275 runs or more market from a position they should have really passed. Especially with the batting they had to come. Pollard then went on to get caught for 1 run during the West Indies run chase, which meant I also lost on the 39.5+ run-line for the West Indies as they were pretty much bowled-out for nothing after that.

I'd say that's as negative as it got, as there were a lot of positives and some decent wins - which is a first since around mid-January. I even had a winner during the Cheltenham Festival picking 'Sizing Europe' to win the 'Champion Chase' meaning I could trade-out quite early after it led. Despite Horse-Racing being one of my weakest sports for anything betting related.

March 4th-21st 2011:


Australian Wallet:


Total P&L: +£1,348.40

Betfair Down Again

It's been almost 4 hours since the site went down. It's never been down this long since I started using it, so that's a record. They couldn't have timed it any worse actually, with all this sport on. The weekend is their most profitable time as well. I'm not blaming anyone, but I know there are many who have been affected by this financially, with no option to trade-out of bets they made earlier in the day. This could potentially cost someone thousands and is one of the possible pitfalls of doing this full-time. Thankfully I have not been affected, although I feel as if I've missed out on a few decent money-making opportunities, especially on the Rugby League (Super League) game between Castleford and Catalans. I was hoping to get involved in that one. Betfair offer a great service and a great product, but it's not been their best month. Especially with the site going down so frequently.


There are other alternatives, although not as good as Betfair. Betdaq for example is another betting exchange along the same lines as Betfair, only with less liquidity and less markets. It's only a back-up in my view and that's all. Although if there was a lot more money in the markets, it might be a different story.

7 Day Update

4th-10th March 2011:


Australian Wallet:


+£18.10

January Update 1st-25th

Ok, this is going to be very ugly viewing. There are few positives that can be taken from this obviously, but I know where I went wrong and was happy to take these risks at the time. Basically, I had a very big bet on New England Patriots to win their AFC Championship NFL game with New York Jets and paid the price. Tom Brady who is usually very reliable and trustworthy had a very poor game and looked passionless throughout. This cost me dear, as I was trading out for a big loss before half-time.

To make matters worse, I also lost big money on Venus Williams a few days later. That really did put the end to the worst week I've had since this time last year. It was really bad timing at its very worst. Venus Williams lost the first set on a tie-break to Sandra Zahlavova then got injured at the start of the second which resulted in her barely being able to move, let alone swing her racket. Everyone thought it was game, set and match, so they piled into Zahlavova at very short odds. However, after a 10 minute injury time-out, Williams came back to miraculously win the set 6-0 then go onto to take the match. This cost me well over 1k. Saying that, all it has done is wipe out my January profit. I can take this hit and start again. Any other questions or comments, let us know.

Btw, I have 2 Betfair accounts, so because this was such a bad week, I started to use my alternative account from the 24th onwards - so that's why you see 2 different accounts below.

January 1st-24th 2010


Australian wallet:



January 24th-25th 2010:


Australian wallet:


Total P&L: +120.12

January Update 1st-14th

I'll keep this short and to the point. It's just been a really good start to January, although there have been one or two dodgy moments; Canada vs Hampshire in the Caribbean Twenty20 tournament to name but one, where I lost over 1k due to a terrible collapse by Hampshire, but apart from that, it's gone very well.

January 1st-14th 2011:


Australian wallet:

Total P&L: +£3,447.99

The Last Few Months

2011 has started off quite well and has helped me overcome a disappointing 3 months at the back end of last year on Betfair. Since the 1st Jan 2011, I've somehow managed to make £2,986.71 in total which has more than helped things. I now have the bank size required to make this work, as opposed to taking more risks with certain bets in order to try and boost my starting bank.

Jan 1st-6th 2011:


Australian wallet:


October through to December was pretty much a disaster from a trading point of view. Very few things went right and I was forever making silly gambles in order to try and reach a workable bank size, which resulted in the inevitable. Ever since I came back from the US Open in New York in fact. That's why you see some terrible losses below, especially on the NFL. I'm now past that and feel I have the bank size required to make this work. My 3 month total currently stands at £2,772.64 which as I said above - is only there because of a very good last week.

October 6th 2010 - Jan 6th 2011:


Australian wallet:

January Update 1st-4th

It's been a good start to the new year so far, especially on the American Football.


Total P&L: +£1,643.75

January Update 1st-2nd

Total P&L: +£1,026.24

Tennessee v North Carolina - NCAA College Football

Complete carnage in this game with odds of 1.01 done on Tennessee. Betfair suspended the market on a Tennessee win, not knowing a play was being reviewed at the end of the game, only for it to be overturned, which lead to NC getting the field goal they needed to tie the game. North Carolina then went on to win the game in overtime.