The responsible gambling slogan advises punters to quit gambling when it stops being fun. The trouble with this is that some people are attracted to gambling because for them the so-called fun is the chaos that is involved, when losses are chased and when there is a roller coaster of fear and excitement associated with getting even.
Call Noel now on 07852407140 for help with gambling problems, whether you yourself are suffering or if you have a loved one caught up in the addiction.
Betting exchanges such as Betfair allow users to act as the bookmaker (by laying) or as the punter (by backing), or a combination of both. Laying means a user covers the liability for a winning outcome in return for the (backer’s) stake. Trading is the process of lying and backing to make a profit, often by high frequency trades that produce a small profit each time. A trader is not necessarily concerned with the outcome of the event but is mainly focused on taking advantage of the movement of prices, typically before an event starts, but also involving in-running betting. In-running betting is highly volatile and can see markets swing wildly. Sports trading is similar to financial trading when stocks or funds are bought and sold to make a profit. A trader is seeking a short term profit whereas an investor would typically take a long position when buying a stock and holding the position (going long).
Arbitrage trading can best be described as the simultaneous buying and selling of a commodity to profit from a difference in the price on separate platforms. It can involve a trade that produces profits by exploiting the price differential of identical or similar financial instruments on different markets or in different forms. Known as ‘arb’ traders, these users often skillfully avail of best prices with fixed odds layers and then offset their liabilities by laying on Betfair.
A small percentage of traders hold a long term winning strategy on the Betfair Exchange. What might seem like easy money to be made (when easy trades are made) is actually a very difficult mission to achieve in the long term. But if you do manage to win over the longer term a premium charge is potentially triggered by the Exchange.
Problem gambling could be defined as an activity that sees greater preoccupation, increased obsession, ritualization, loss of control and adverse consequences on other parts of life. This is when an individual relies on the activity to help deal with stresses in life. A successful trader, on the other hand, will be able to have some periods not gambling and will be someone who can stick to a winning formula by concentrating on specialised markets. For them, the trading is not an emotional activity but more like a rational set of choices. They invariably will enjoy what might be termed an edge. In-running traders with access to fast pictures, or real time action, will have an edge over traders, for example, with slower pictures.
A problem gambler may start off as an ‘arb’ trader but will lose discipline and will gradually enter into more and more risky behaviour. They will often be considered ‘good‘ gamblers, in that they can identify winners and losers, but can’t maintain a winning discipline in the longer term. The problem gambler will become moody and agitated if there is restricted opportunity to gamble and will find it difficult to adhere to a winning strategy. They will create a betting bank and will try to stick to a pre-determined staking strategy with stop losses in place but will, in reality, end up replenishing their betting bank on a regular basis as their betting activity becomes erratic and reckless. They will become increasingly desperate when gambling and will chase losses in a bid to cover deficits.
Here are the common pitfalls when trading on Betfair which might help you to decide if you have a problem with gambling:
1. Not seeing money as real
A form of disinhibition can occur with online gambling in general. The figures involved might not feel real as they are can appear to be just numbers on a computer screen. This can mean you can take greater and greater risks in the pursuit of a winning trade and end up getting into trouble.
If you were to hand over a bundle of notes in the betting shop to place on a horse to win you might feel a bit more cautious about staking so much of your hard earned money. However, such reality testing is often missing when it comes to online gambling. There are profit and loss statistics to keep abreast of trading but these are often ignored by a problem gambler. A successful trader can stop when they have achieved their goals and financial targets.
2. Picking one selection to lose
Laying might seem like easy money. You have the field running for you if you select one horse to not win. However, the odds can be cramped. Take, the example, a 5-1 chance in a race. You are essentially backing a 1-5 shot by laying it. You are taking £1 and if it wins you are paying out £5 (plus the £1 you took). This means that you are, in effect, putting on £5 to win £1. It may seem easy to pick a loser but maintaining it over the longer term will be extremely difficult. The odds are not in your favour. A successful trader will seek to ‘green up’ their positions, meaning there is no liability on any one outcome.
3. Not trading out to profit before the off
Successful traders might trade more than one in the field and will lay low and back high in order to achieve what is called a ‘green book’. A green book is when a profit will be locked in regardless of the result. A skilled trader will aim to use scratch trades to maintain a winning strategy as part of a risk averse way of trading. They are not remaining in trades for too long. A green book occurs when the market moves quickly and a trader will cover their liability by taking advantage of a favourable price. If the market moves against them they will typically trade out to a small loss.
The problem gambler might start off trying to achieve a green book before the off but will eventually lose their discipline and will risk greater and greater liability in order to try to win more. When the market moves against them they might let the bet run, thereby risking a big percentage of their bank in the process.
Achieving a green book when markets are tight is very difficult. The over-round in the win markets on Betfair (excluding the commission) is close to 100%. That is very tight compared to racecourse books which can see an over-round of anything between 110-160% depending on which track and the nature of that market. This means it is far easier to produce a green book on course compared to tighter markets like on Betfair.
A typical example of an over-round at a race track for a 2 horse race would see both horses on offer at 4-5. The layers are guaranteed a profit with any result, given those odds, if they take equal amounts for each horse.
4. Laying outsiders
Sometimes it can seem like easy money to oppose the rank outsiders, in win or place markets. This can produce a long winning sequence but laying big prices means there is little margin for error. It only takes one wrong move to wipe out months of profit.
5. Chasing losses
Chasing losses is when bigger and bigger bets take place to correct a bad trade. The opportunity to trade on another event is almost instant on Betfair. There is always another event to bet on and almost immediately. This means there can be less opportunity to pause and take stock of your staking strategy. You might not immediately chase your loss in the betting shop but somehow online gambling restricts the opportunity to take a pause. Successful gambling is all about maintaining discipline and not entering into irrational decision making and this requires the ability to keep a clear head. However, the temptation to become emotional is rife given that we feel the pain of a loss more than the pleasure of a win which might explain the phenomenon of chasing losses.
Cognitive distortions can take place when chasing losses. Cognitive distortions are inaccurate thoughts that convince us of something that isn’t really true. This is when a gambler might think the favourite can’t keep winning on a racecard (jumping to conclusions), the losing streak can’t keep occurring (overgeneralisation), fearing one’s total betting bank will be lost (catastrophizing), holding others responsible for losses such as tipsters (blaming) and a need for perfect staking (black and white thinking).
6. Changing a winning staking strategy
Successful traders will maintain strict adherence to what works, where they feel like they have an edge. They won’t deviate from this in spite of short term setbacks. The person with the gambling problem will eventually panic and will adjust their staking strategy in order to cover the pain of a losing trade. This is when someone will suddenly change sport or the type of bet. They might, for instance, begin to lay rather than back and this change in strategy will occur for no other reason than to chase losses. They will also change stop losses and readjust risk appetite when trades are incurring losses.
7. Believing that BOTs guarantee success
Gambling bots are software which utilise a gambling website’s application programming interface (API). It is a common misconception that anyone using a BOT whilst gambling will win. Yes, they can potentially increase the speed of placing bets based upon a gambling system or betting strategy when deciding which bets to place. However, they can be incorrectly programmed and can go wrong for a number of reasons. Someone using a BOT also needs to exercise greater discipline when sticking to a strategy.
8. Not keeping time discipline
There are no stop rules on Betfair. It is possible to bet 24/7 whereas the traditional bookmaker shop at least closes its doors at some point, just like reaching the last race at the track. Halting a trading session on Betfair must involve self-discipline. It can feel like a potential stop when the last race on the card takes place but for those chasing loses there are always more opportunities to continue betting into the night. Problem gamblers will start to bet on unfamiliar markets whereas successful traders will have the discipline to wait for their preferred markets to restart.
9. Not specialising
The problem gambler will typically bet on many events available including obscure markets especially when chasing losses. The successful trader, on the other hand, will maintain a strict discipline and will prioritise well researched betting opportunities and where they feel they have an edge.
10. Betting on the go
Fast mobile broadband, as well as greater functionality on smartphones, now offers more appeal to bet on the go. This can be especially appealing with the added attraction of live video. However, discipline can be seriously compromised when betting at work and on public transport.
Call Noel now on 07852407140 for a private and confidential chat about gambling problems.
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