Betting Momentum

After my long break, I wandered into the trading chatroom the other day, absent-mindedly placed some bets on a couple of U21 Euro Championship matches, which both lost me a bit of money - but I actually found myself watching a rather nondescript movie called The Double, starring Richard Gere halfway through the matches, and I ended-up just switching my laptop off without even trying to manage my postions.

So what was that all about then?

After thinking about it for a couple of days, I realise now what's going on. In the first instance, I'm one of those people where it takes a while to get back into the swing of things. I need a while before I'm mentally back in gear, and I have built-up enough momentum to start betting/trading seriously. I find it also takes a little while to become attuned to the prices of things again after a long lay-off.

Unfortunately that's not all. I am a football fan and with one or two exceptions, I trade football and not much else - but I realise that I'm not the type of fan that can just sit and absorb any match that's on. I have to be "interested" in the match or I can happily just switch it off.

I am interested in all the major European leagues, especially and obviously the English leagues, but I have found that interest wane considerably come mid-may when they are all done and dusted. Many of you make good money during this "off" season, when some of the lesser leagues start, and all power to you for that, but for me making money from the match is not enough to sustain me. I also need to be entertained or at least interested in the teams involved. Now that might sound all very precious on my part but that's the reality.

For myself, also, this time of year is a natural break that I look forward to. Football trading is nothing more than a hobby for me, and I don't want to risk getting bored with that hobby or to feel that it's become a duty. Also, with the increasingly good weather, I also have no real inclination to be stuck inside staring at my computer screen when I could be out with friends or baking up a storm on my barbeque in the garden. Next month, the children will be on their summer break and I want to enjoy that time with them also.

It is, afterall, all about balance. When I'm not enjoying the sun or out with friends, then I want to take the opportunity to prepare for next season. That means updating my spreadsheets, gathering more data, working on my database, etc.

So, I may dip my trading toes back into the water over the summer on a few occasions, but I will recognise the facts and largely give it a rest. That's not to say that I will completely neglect this little blog of mine. I'll try and come up with one or two posts of interest to you all, and I'll try and post semi-regular over the summer.

Good luck to all you who will continue to trade during this time.