I had to laugh at the prices traded on Levantine in the 2:05 Newbury 29/12/07.

I had looked to oppose the favourite Helen's Vision as she was ludicrously priced after winning what I considered to be a pretty moderate affair. In that race she was given an easy lead and I felt certain she wouldn't be afforded that luxury today. The race was also won in a pretty slow time so for me theodds were cramped. As soon as she was taken on for the lead I could see that she was none too keen.

That was nothing out of the ordinary but the in running prices on Levantine most definitely were! Poor old Mike Cattermole had a 'mare as he announced Levantine was travelling well and "this was a fine training performance by Owner, Trainer and jockey M Lurcock"

As is normal in these circumstances the lemmings on Betfair followed the commentator's every word and Levantine's odds contracted accordingly. I was desperately trying to lay Levantine as Mike Cattermole had clearly identified the wrong horse and it was in fact Number 7 Khyber Kim. I just had to look at the jockey's style to see it was Mick Fitzgerald and not an amateur owner/jockey.

I then had to smile as Mike Cattermole made no apology and simply said "Kyhber Kim now takes over on the inside!" So where did Levantine go then? Did he disappear into a hole, did aliens abduct him? No, he actually fell two out!!

It's not an easy job but a simple apology during the finish would've been the least he could've done. That was left to the studio when they announced the result!

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The problem of trading....

I left a well paid position to move into full time trading and many people were aghast at the decision. The guys I had been working with knew of the potential profit I could achieve because they had talked to me at length about the methodology. There were some people who couldn't understand it, especially those who had previously worked with me.

They were amazed that I had left a lofty position to ....................what exactly was I doing? Therein lies a problem. How do you explain to people exactly what it is that you do for a living? Most conversations follow this route

"So what are you doing now?"

"Well I trade the sports markets on Betfair, mainly horse racing"

"Bet what, never heard of it"

"It's a Betting Exchange but there are no bookmakers"

"You're a gambler then?"

"No, I trade the markets, I nip in and out and then close my position"

"You mean you bet on the horses for a living"

"No, I trade them so that I win no matter which horse wins the race"

"Yeah right, of course you do...."

By the time we reach this part of the conversation I have realised it is a total waste of my brain cells and it's time to move on. Peter Webb warned me about the use of the word "betting" or "bet" when mentioning my chosen profession. He said that people would instantly call me a gambler - he wasn't wrong!

That heaps pressure on you for a while but eventually you rise above it. My wife finds it very difficult when speaking to friends and family. "So what is Dave up to these days?" She spends an eternity trying to explain but knows that 98% of people have already labelled me as a gambler. They also know that most gamblers lose so there is often a look of derision on their face. We've both given up trying now and my wife says "He's acting as a self employed consultant" They usually smile and say "Oh, I am pleased to hear that, you must be delighted?" ....if only they knew!

My close friends know that I am pretty shrewd and that I wouldn't do anything unless there was a reward. I just wish I could get that across to some of the dissenting voices but you can't get through to some people no matter what you say. Here's funny story that happened about 8 months ago..

I went to see a client with whom I had become good friends. I had discussed the possibility of moving to full time trading but he didn't really understand what I was talking about. I asked him if he had broadband and when he said "yes" I offered to show him what I meant. I took out my USB drive and loaded up Bet Angel Professional on his office PC. I looked at the next race and saw a short priced favourite. I checked the market closely and expected the price to drift. I laid the horse at 1.82 for £1000 and the used the "auto profit" function to close the trade at 1.89 for a guaranteed profit of £37.00 across the card. I guess the whole thing took about 30 seconds after which I turned to this guy and said "That's what I mean, does it make sense now?"

He stood there open mouthed - I think he was in a state of shock! I showed him the Betfair screen and explained that Green was a profit and Red was a loss. "I don't see much red!" he said " I need to work almost 4 hours to earn that amount"

"Exactly!!"

Trading is hard work. At times it can make you feel very lonely and occasionally quite stressed. People think it must be easy but trust me it isn't. It can be done and it is profitable but you must learn the correct methods and you MUST apply them yourself. There is no substitute for trading yourself - paper trading is NOT the same thing. Peter Webb told me during a meeting that I had "served my apprenticeship" and that I deserved to succeed. There were times when I nearly quit but I knew that I had to push on and try harder. There is no substitute for hard work and experience so you must be prepared to face that head on if you want to succeed. According to Peter everyone he knows that has stuck at it and "served their apprenticeship" is now making good money from trading.

You can make good money too...it just won't happen overnight!

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Angels aren't known for slaying but sometimes this particular Angel does just that!

If you look at the standard Betfair interface via Internet Explorer or Firefox then you are missing an awful lot. The refresh rate is excrutiatingly slow. You simply cannot trade efficiently because the price has long gone by the time you enter your trade and get it submitted.

On Thursday 29th NovemberI was making a small trade on Desert Star. Why? Well this horse was ridden by AP McCoy and just about all his rides are shorter in price than they should be. The bookmakers know that punters will always back a horse ridden by AP so they use that to their advantage. I simply couldn't see how this horse could win so I was planning to lay it and back it in running. I don't use huge stakes, the price whilst lower than it really should be, still means there is a risk involved.

The horses jumped off and after a short time I suddenly noticed Desert Star was available at 1000 !! I saw this as a mistake and quickly tried to place a bet. This must have been spotted by another sharp eyed trader as I got just £2.08 of the money available. Now you may be asking "why would you do that?" The answer is simple really, it is a question of risk versus reward. For £2.08 I stood the chance to make a tidy profit. I knew that all I needed was a price below 1000 for the chance to win.

About 10 seconds later prices in the 34 mark appeared and I quickly used the automatic close via the "Predicted Profit". This left me with a very nice profit across the card.

That's why you really do need Bet Angel Professional , this simply wouldn;t have been possible with other software. This wonderful software does it all for you and you just need to click the mouse once!! Why not have a trial? Just click this link Bet Angel Trial and see for yourself how this software works

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In the 2.05 Uttoxeter today there was a real drifter. Papillon de Iena went for a right walk in the market. It was as low as 7.5 early doors and even touched 20 pre-race.

It was the usual story of people jumping on the

bandwagon. If you're trading then it's great as you can jump on and then jump off when you've made a nice profit. If you are a gambler then it's not so much fun. I bet a lot of layers looking to pick up some free money felt very queasy as this horse went on to win. That's why trading is the game to be in; you make your profit, close the race and simply move on without a concern as to which horse might win.

As I always say, "Take the profit...NOT the risk!"

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The aim of this site is to build up a community of people who want to trade on Betfair. You might want to trade part time, you may have already started trading and just want some help? Who knows, we all want different things.

Perhaps you keep reading the market incorrectly? We all know that feeling - I know I suffered it often enough. You watch a horse drift like a barge and then as soon as

you place your trade it turns around and steams in. You're left with a liability and find yourself looking for the cat to give it a kick!! Metaphorically speaking.....I dont want people to think we're actually kicking cats!

Or you see a steamer and just as you jump aboard the engine stalls and it drifts the other way :(

Get blogging! Post up your thoughts, concerns or questions. If you read an article and didn;t quite understand a part of it then simply make a comment on it. Someone will read your comment and either post an answer or also ask about the same thing. The only way to get better is to learn. If you want to learn then you have to ask questions. Please don't feel embarassed to ask a question, no matter how stupid you may think it is. Everyone starts somewhere......We'll do our utmost to help you.

Remember though, this is a community designed to help you make money so please don't abuse it. If people post spam then it affects all of us. I am all for free speech but it has to be constructive.....if people abuse the site then we simply stop helping you. If I have to spend time trawling the blogs to police spam etc then it allows me less time helping the genuine people. Please help by policing the community yourself. If you see something you are unsure of then report it and either myself or a moderator will deal with it.

Want to know how it works???

Here's how.........Register your details, login and then click the "Blogs" tab at the top left of the page. Under "User Menu" you will see my "MyBlog Dashboard", click this Choose a title for your blog and simply blog away.

Happy blogging!!

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One of the best features available on Bet Angel Professional is the Bookmaking facility. When I first started out with the software I saw this in operation and I thought "What on earth is happening here?"

I simply could not get to grips with it and no matter how hard I tried I always got it wrong. There was very little help available and you really needed to get on a course with Peter Webb to get a true understanding of how to make this wonderful feature work for you. It was that or you had to try and work it out for yourself. I did the latter but I seemed to lose almost every time. It was Sod's Law personified! I would have a liability on one runner and that horse would obviously win!

Well we are here to help all you budding bookmakers! When you know what to look for and what to do then making a book is almost a license to print money. It's a bit like watching Who wants to be a Millionaire. It's very easy to sit at home screaming the answer at the TV but if you're sat opposite Chris Tarrant without a clue then it's hard. Everything is easy when you know what to do - learning it, or finding someone to teach you isn't always that easy.

Have a look at the following video and watch what I do. The purpose is to show you what to do and what not to do. It isn't a get rich quick scheme and the result is a small green amount across the card. However, it shows you the key strategies and methods required to succesfully make a book.

Bookmaking Video 1

Please bear in mind that this video is aimed solely at helping you learn to make a book on Betfair using Bet Angel Professional I can only help you if you have this software. The math required to make it work is way beyond me and this software does it all for you.

Perhaps you could take the trial version and see for yourself

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