More Fun than Forex?
by Christopher Temple
Most traditional financial traders seem to be blind to other, more interesting, trading opportunities that are available to them.
I love to trade in the Forex markets (well it is my job) but I also enjoy trading stocks, shares, commodities, soccer, or indeed any sport. In fact I like to trade any market where there is high liquidity, and where the numbers tell me that I have a very good chance of financially coming out ahead over the long term.
I love investigating trading systems. Better still, I love testing and developing other people's systems to the point where I myself am absolutely confident that they will work for me and (equally important) make me lots of money. I don't mind whose the system is, and what market it is in, just so long as it works, or I can modify it to my requirements and make it work for me.
A few weeks ago a good friend of mine asked my why I didn't trade horses. Well - I've never been on a race course, and I used to think that people who enjoyed horse race betting were all mad - why bet on something as iffy as a horse race where even the tiniest problem (such as the weather, a cold, a trip, or even a loud noise) can bring about a catastrophe?
To be honest, I thought it was impossible to win money betting on horses. Far too many variables!
I have to admit that I've changed my mind. I like a challenge and have been carefully investigating the horse racing market (only as a trading exercise), and I have become confident that it is relatively easy to win big time in racing, although you must have the right information and the right system.
The internet supplies me with the statistics, (much more data than I can cope with), and the problem is not in finding the data I need to design a profitable system, but to discard the nonsense and retain the useful information I seek.
This is a HUGE multi billion dollar industry and a lot of people make a good living supplying and managing this information. It's all good, useful stuff too, but all I want is the smallest amount possible that still leaves me able to trade at a profit.
I have located a really useful site with reviews and articles on the best horse racing betting and wagering strategies, which links to over 35 modestly priced (no more than $100) horse racing betting systems sites. Here I invested in some horse racing betting systems which seemed to offer me a serious advantage both for "first " and "place" betting wins.
Even more recently I stumbled across the world of Betting Exchanges. These are internet betting and trading sites where I can avoid the bookies and pit my wits against other punters just like me, and on a totally level playing field (and without paying the bookie's usual huge premium). By using my Bet Exchanges, I can bet not only on a horse to win or be placed, I can also assume the bookie's role and lay a horse, that is to bet on it to lose.
I've invested in a Lay Betting system to add to my collection, and have been studying it and practicing with it ever since, and not doing too bad.
So now I have several horse racing trading systems at my disposal, all of which give me (according to my calculations anyway) a statistical probability of winning over the long term. Now, when things are slow on the financial markets I can dabble with my horse racing gambling systems and make a few dollars there too.
I much prefer to think of this activity as trading even if others see it as gambling, and - although I have still never been to a race course, and only occasionally watch racing on TV - the whole procedure does seems a lot more fun than my Forex Trading. Maybe it's because its all quite new to me and still a novelty!
Maybe that's because its new to me and the freshness hasn't yet worn off! So here's a message for my trading friends -widen your trading markets and have some fun while you work. Be a horse trader as well!
Mmmm that doesn't sound right, but you know what I mean!
Chris Temple has a successful forex career. He writes books about Forex, winning horse racing systems and on finding the best winning horse racing betting systems You are welcome to reprint this article - but get your own unique content version here.
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