Which is the best spreadbetting site?

I'm currently using a demo account 'tradindex' which to is so simply presented and easy to grasp that many of the other spread betting sites. And you don't have to sign up to get access to their financial information.
I'm thinking about transferring to a real account, is tradindex the best site out there or is there better?


Does anyone know of websites that give release dates of us/uk economic indicators and oil inventory reports?

Which are the best spreadbetting books out there to read?

What’s the most anyone has ever made in the one and also lost in one trade?
Any of you lot dared to try £100 per point yet?

Can you actually make money stock indices or is it complete gambling because of how unpredictable it is?

Do anyone of you lot do spreadbetting for a living?

If there was another september11 and everyone shorted dowjones, would a spreadbbetting company be forced to closed its website to stop them loosing huge amounts of money?

When making a trade, how much background research do you do?
Have you got a strategy?

I'd very grateful if you could answer some of those questions

I am just about to give up on finspreads and have just opened a Capital Spreads account, which suits me as it seems easier to use and has only crashed once but was back working quite quickly today.

The Financial Spread Betting Handbook
A guide to making money trading spread bets
by Malcolm Pryor is a good read with some chapters on technical analysis and lots of how to do practical stuff!

I lost a £150 the first time I spreadbet on a binary and I've only just started to bet again now but I am much happier and even made a few quid this week (then lost it, then won it...) So I am just a novice amateur!!

I have a friend who lost a LOT on 9/11....couldn't close out his position. Which is why you only spreadbet with money you can afford to lose, I suppose!

Been reading lots of books....will formulate a strategy before I bet more than I have at present.

beebop said:

I am just about to give up on finspreads and have just opened a Capital Spreads account, which suits me as it seems easier to use and has only crashed once but was back working quite quickly today.

The Financial Spread Betting Handbook
A guide to making money trading spread bets
by Malcolm Pryor is a good read with some chapters on technical analysis and lots of how to do practical stuff!

I lost a £150 the first time I spreadbet on a binary and I've only just started to bet again now but I am much happier and even made a few quid this week (then lost it, then won it...) So I am just a novice amateur!!

I have a friend who lost a LOT on 9/11....couldn't close out his position. Which is why you only spreadbet with money you can afford to lose, I suppose!

Been reading lots of books....will formulate a strategy before I bet more than I have at present.

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Pardon me butting in, Chris and beepop . It's the same old advice, nothing new but put a stop on.

If you feel that you can stop out ok, manually, put a stop on, anyway, farther away- one that you don't expect to get hit (but outside spike range, if you can figure that out). Those site crashes happen and, when they do, you rest easier if there is a stop on. Otherwise you could be one of the mob trying to get through on the telephone. An unpleasant experience when a lot of money is at stake.

Split

Yep, but I'm making a different point about Finspreads, I'm fairly calm about trading, it's the continual issues I have with not being able to log on the irritate me...

I would stop using this forum or my online banking if I couldn't log on all the time, I think 7 or 8 attempts just to get into your account is pathetic.

A couple of books I'd recommend:

John Murphy - Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets (every thing you need to know about TA and then some).

Josh Lukeman - The Market Makers Edge (covers lot of useful stuff like risk management, entry/exits and psychology, as well as a different view of the market).

Avoid the scam merchants offering "get rich quick" systems, if I found an infallible system why would I waste time selling it to you for £50, I'd be trading it.

To me SB's are the same as any other trading, read books and these fora, have a trading plan and most importantly as Split points out, always use stops.

What happened to tradindex new site?

Its was easier and faster to use plus it included personal account feature. Now they've took it off and stuck with the old version.
Are they planning on introducing another new site layout?

chriz0528 said:

Its was easier and faster to use plus it included personal account feature. Now they've took it off and stuck with the old version.
Are they planning on introducing another new site layout?

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I've no idea. Perhaps contact them about it. I did like the look of their new site, but I notice that they only allow classic. Their front page seems to imply that they are ironing out a few kinks on the new platform and will have it working soon.

Unfortunately the spreads on some of their markets are just too wide, and the minimum stop distance is too far away from the market for most purposes. On the daily Dow future contract, you cannot set a stop closer to the market than 30 points at any time during the trade, and you also have to pay a 5 point spread, against 4 points at CMC, IG, or Capital Spreads.

Some answers, and some suggested reading

chriz0528 said:

I'm currently using a demo account 'tradindex' which to is so simply presented and easy to grasp that many of the other spread betting sites. And you don't have to sign up to get access to their financial information.
I'm thinking about transferring to a real account, is tradindex the best site out there or is there better?

That depends on which markets you want to trade, but in general it pays to shop around. You might find TradIndex margin requirements (compared to CMC or IG) useful if you trade a small account though. The spreads are a little wide. Perhaps if you are looking to trade indices you should stick with Dax and FTSE with Trad.

Does anyone know of websites that give release dates of us/uk economic indicators and oil inventory reports?

Try the Trade2Win Calendar, or the ForexFactory calendar.

Which are the best spreadbetting books out there to read?

I think this has already been answered, but I'd recommend the Elder Alexander books "Trading for a Living" and "Come into my trading room"

What’s the most anyone has ever made in the one and also lost in one trade?
Any of you lot dared to try £100 per point yet?

I still don't trust the bucketshops enough to do any decent size. I've done £9pp on the Dow with TradIndex, and £15pp on the Dow once with London Capital Group.

Can you actually make money stock indices or is it complete gambling because of how unpredictable it is?

I've made money on indices. I know others here have too. It is a unique market because of the relationship between the futures market which is traded directly and the equity markets in which the constituent stocks are traded in. I'd recommend a purer market for a beginner, but ironically I've never seriously traded anything other than indices. I suggest that if you are considering indices you learn as much as possible about how the futures market relates to the cash index.

Do anyone of you lot do spreadbetting for a living?

I've been trying to, and I've had mixed successes. It is generally best to try spreadbetting to see if you are any good at it first, and consider your money management and risk / reward etc, see how your account grows, before putting pressure on yourself to make X pips / pounds per day to live off. It can be done, yes, but trying to support yourself initially when you have not proved to yourself that you have an edge will create all sorts of psychological problems which lead to trading errors and losses.

If there was another september11 and everyone shorted dowjones, would a spreadbbetting company be forced to closed its website to stop them loosing huge amounts of money?

I don't know of any firm who have pulled their markets during the February mini crash or indeed in the last week. I think you would find they are probably within their rights to do this though. These events are so rare that perhaps it is best not to worry too much about them. Just be sure that for every trade you make you can afford to cover a sudden 300 pip spike against your position without going broke, and you should be fine.

When making a trade, how much background research do you do?
Have you got a strategy?

I have several strategies, rules, and principles which I try my best to adhere to when trading. You need an edge in the markets- research a market which interests you until you notice patterns, and then devise rules for trading those patterns. Backtest and paper trade your system until you are confident that it has a positive expectancy, and then trade it. Remember, you do not need to know what will happen next to make a profit on a trade. Also, you will never know the outcome of any trade with any certainty. Just remember that if you are trading a system which has an edge over time, trade the system correctly and over a large enough sample size (ie enough trades) you should make a profit corresponding to your edge. A casino has an edge in roulette, but it has no way of knowing the result of any given spin. It does know that over a long enough time period and a large enough sample size (ie bets) it will make a profit according to the size of its edge.

I'd very grateful if you could answer some of those questions

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I hope this helps you somewhat. Dig around T2W, continue to ask intelligent questions, then question and understand everything you read, and you will be on the right path. Read as much as you can until you have a passion to learn everything about the markets which interest you. Don't expect to make money right away. I am a fairly mediocre trader who has only been spreadbetting for 8 months, and I've just broken even within the last month. I lost almost £2,000 before finally showing some consistency. Perhaps you may wish to look at my journal (link in signature) if you are interested in learning some more about the typical pitfalls new traders have, along with some very good advice given by experienced traders on these boards. There are even a few trading systems posted there - some work, some need tweaked, and some don't work. Good luck in your journey!

Really helpful, thanks Lurkerlurker.

chriz0528 said:

Really helpful, thanks Lurkerlurker.

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Pleased to hear it, good luck in your trading.

Spreadbetting books

There's a spreadbetting book called 'An insiders guide to spreadbetting' by B.Patel and Conor Foley. There's no picture of this book and no reviews on Amazon. Has anyone bought this book?
Is it worth buying?

chriz0528 said:

There's a spreadbetting book called 'An insiders guide to spreadbetting' by B.Patel and Conor Foley. There's no picture of this book and no reviews on Amazon. Has anyone bought this book?
Is it worth buying?

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I wouldn't think so. The authors are both involved with WorldSpreads. Also, you don't need a book on spread betting. Once you understand the ways in which spread betting differs from trading the underlying, you then need to know as much as possible about trading the underlying. If you are looking for a good beginners guide to the markets, could I suggest that you read some of the articles and the Wiki here, a few technical analysis sites (I think stockcharts.com is quite good), and some other beginners resources for trading?

Then perhaps you may wish to consider spending some trading capital on books. I think Elder Alexander's "Trading for a Living" is as good a place to start as any. After that, you may wish to consider "Trading in the Zone" by Mark Douglas, the website of Brett Steenbarger, and perhaps some books by Jack Schwager (his first, "A Complete Guide to the Futures Markets" is indispensable if you are interested in commodities). You can find these books and other related items on Amazon.com. (oh, and if you fancy some light relief while still learning about the markets, read Reminiscences of a Stock Operator - a timeless classic - you will see how the practices of spreadbetting firms haven't changed much in 100 years)

As for which is the best spreadbetting site - I think IGIndex probably has the best platform, and has pretty good spreads and a wide range of markets. CMC also offer competitive spreads and a wide range of markets, although I don't like their platform as much. TradIndex have helpful customer service, but a terrible web platform, bad executions, and make markets wide enough to drive a bus through. As for Capital Spreads, E*Trade spreadbetting, or any other spreadbetting outfits run by London Capital Group, I would consider avoiding them (for various reasons all down to my own sour experience with them).

Regarding IG Index, I would suggest applying for a Standard Account. The limited risk account isn't much good. Unless you are trading shares or commodities, you don't really need a guaranteed stop, which is a form of insurance (which you pay through the nose for). You can still use a GSO when required on a Standard Account. On a Limited Risk account, you must use it each time, which is ridiculous for indices or currencies which are liquid enough. If you don't qualify for a Standard Account, try CMC who should give you an account which does not require GSOs (although, again you can use them if required).

I hope this helps.

lurkerlurker said:

As for which is the best spreadbetting site - I think IGIndex probably has the best platform, and has pretty good spreads and a wide range of markets. CMC also offer competitive spreads and a wide range of markets, although I don't like their platform as much.

I hope this helps.

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It's a shame that IGIndex don't do a demo account as I would be interested to see their dealing platform first hand.

What advantages have you found using the IGIndex platform over the CMC platform?

Over the past 7 years I have had accounts with IG, City Index, Finspreads, Cantor, and CMC. Their 'tactics' all encouraged me to eventually open adirect access account with Interactive Brokers.
I opened an account with Capital Spreads about a year ago with a small amount of money to test out some methods and I can tell you that C.S are the best outfit for spread betting....IMHO.

Slorm said:

It's a shame that IGIndex don't do a demo account as I would be interested to see their dealing platform first hand.

What advantages have you found using the IGIndex platform over the CMC platform?

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Yes, but you don't need to deposit funds into your IG account to use the full features of the platform! You can just open a limited risk account, which isn't too much hassle, and see the platform for yourself. If you want to trade, call them up and have them upgrade your account to a standard account, register your card details, make a deposit, and trade.

The IGIndex platform is slightly more advanced and easier to use - it is also a good deal faster, and runs from within a browser. I use Linux as well, so it is rather annoying for me to get CMC loaded up. The charting at IG uses the same provider as CMC from what I can tell, and the features are more or less identical. IG seems to be less resource intensive, and loads charts faster in my experience. Further, I find the dealing platform a lot easier to use, and the ability to place contingent orders etc is very useful - CMC lacks this. Try both and see which you prefer....

Ian - the bucket shops are much of a sameness really. Serious traders should get a direct access account once they are fully comfortable trading a full lot size.

My experience mirrors Lurkerlurker's. I find IG Index's platform better than CMC Markets, although I do prefer the news feed from CMC.

lurkerlurker said:

Ian - the bucket shops are much of a sameness really. Serious traders should get a direct access account once they are fully comfortable trading a full lot size.

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Er, yes...I know that already.

rnl16616 said:

My experience mirrors Lurkerlurker's. I find IG Index's platform better than CMC Markets, although I do prefer the news feed from CMC.

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Many thanks and to Lurkerlurker for your comments.

I'll give IG a look, I'm currently using CS but the platform is pretty basic. TBH reliability is my main concern but having a decent platform is a major plus.

Since the upgrade, IG Index's platform is much improved. Not noticed any bugs to be worried about. (There is a slight one in the records that rounds up when you are betting just 50p/pt until you refresh; so minor I can't be arsed to report it.)

I find IG's new platform much *better than the old one. CMC's platform is too resource hungry and the charts, although from the same provider, look weird at times.

*eg runs on Firefox without frequently crashing.