What Should My Betfair Bank Be?
I have lost count of the amount of times over the years I have heard this, in fact if I had a pound for every time I’d heard it I would've doubled my bank.
I think the first thing you need to get into your head is that it’s not a one time thing; you will not deposit £200 into Betfair once and grow this to a solid bank, this is not the norm. The norm is that you will blow it.
I totally understand why people ask this question though. Over the course of this post I’ll cover questions I get asked about starting banks like: “How much can I make?”; “I’m skint - how can I trade?” and a few misconceptions people have regarding their initial starting bank.
Firstly let me start with this…. It doesn’t matter how big it is (sorry couldn’t resist!).
The best thing about trading on the exchange is that you can and should start low. Stop thinking you need a big bank to profit large. In reality you're not ready for that, but one day you will be.
So stop cranking those stakes up so you can double or treble your bank in a month - it won’t happen. Did you know if you grow your bank by 3% a day for a month it would have doubled? Now even that is bloody difficult. Concentrate on finding an edge, making consistent profit and leaving the money in your Betfair account. You’ll be amazed at what compounding can do.
Do you think the pros lose a trade then go straight to the next one with 200% higher stakes? No, and neither should you.
“I’m skint!”
This is one of the misconceptions. People have seen trades live and seen the big money that can be made from trading, but no trader has ever sat where you are now, traded £500 stakes straight away and been able to profit and handle themselves. So forget about the potential financial gain that may help you in your life.
If you really are skint, you’ll never be able to trade clearly if you're doing it for a quick buck. Many people are also desperate to leave the job they hate and rading can do this for you, but it takes patience and clever staking.
Related article - Top 5 Mistakes Betfair Traders with a Small Bankroll Make....
“I’ve built a bank from matched betting, now I want to trade. How much should I stake?”
This is becoming a lot more prevalent now that the bookmakers are closing matched betting accounts. I get it guys, you understand Betfair and how laying works but that doesn’t mean you understand trading - so please, even though you may have a few thousand in the account at your disposal, don’t come into Betfair trading and start throwing stakes around or you’ll lose that bank you worked so hard to create. A fool and his money are soon what? Parted YES!!
Drop the stakes, concentrate on what you can do around your matched betting so you keep getting the income and work on getting profitable with your chosen sport first.
“How much can I make from trading?”
Now this one is the one, I saved the best one till last didn’t I? Well it’s true, trading can make you a lot of money but never ever will you get there if you’re focusing on the potential gain of any trade. I know sounds crazy hey?! “Don’t focus on the gain? Ryan, you’ve been doing this 8 years; how can you say that?”
The potential gain means nothing to me. I do not open a trade thinking “wow, if this moves 20 ticks I’ll make ££££’s!” I am all about the edge: Does this fit my trading style? Yes; is the market going the right way? Yes; do I think I know why the market’s going that way? Yes…. These are the kinds of questions I am asking myself, not “if I trade this I’ll make £££’s!”
The thing to take from this is that you will be disappointed with trading at some point. I’ve had huge losses but what is the plan for after that? One of my favourite quotes ever comes from Mike Tyson:
“Everybody has a plan until you get punched in the face.”
Never a truer word spoken when it comes to trading ey? When you get punched in the face take it like a man, get back up off that floor, remember why you're here, keep yourself going, think about that long term, don’t withdraw and let that money compound.
You’ll be amazed at how much it will grow.
Related article - Top 5 Mistakes Betfair Traders with a Small Bankroll Make....
