any successful spread betters here?

[andrewmooton]

Hi there.

I'm not working at the moment so i have alot of time to devote to SBing.

Anyway, someone said that £500 is too small to start off with. I'm not looking to make £1000 per month from that straight away, but i thought it was possible to build up from that. i was just plannning on making the minimum bet size to begin with amd then making larger bets as my capital increases.

Anyway, I have a few more questions I was wondering if anyone could answer:

I just got week 3 of my training manual from finspreads and on the back of it and it says that interest rate announcements can affect indicies such as FTSE and Wall Street. Could anyone tell me in what way these announcements usually affect them?

Is it possible to SB profitably based on these announcements?

I got the day trading dow jones strategy from the first steps forum and it says to use and indicator called CCI, anyway, when I use this indicator on ADVFN I can see arrows and crosses. Could anyone tell me what these arrows and crosses mean?


Thanks.

 

[dc2000]

Hi Andrewmooton

CCI is explained on this thread by Bramble http://www.trade2win.co.uk/boards/showthread.php?t=10197

As for interest rate days the ones to look out for are the US FOMC days these produce the most pronounced movements sometimes 100+ points it was noted that often you get three waves after the anouncement the first wave is the true direction second is the dummy and third follows first I often use binary bets on these days as you can often pick them up for minimum outlay pre anouncement

 

[Mr Euro]

Andrew, with all due respect take your money and go on a course. Spread betting companies are crooks and prey on people who have a dream and no little about how markets operate.

To answer your questions:

I just got week 3 of my training manual from finspreads and on the back of it and it says that interest rate announcements can affect indicies such as FTSE and Wall Street. Could anyone tell me in what way these announcements usually affect them?

It depends if they are going up or down. However they will only effect the market if the announcement is a surprise tot he market. If it's expected and factored in there will be little movement.

Is it possible to SB profitably based on these announcements?

If you like to gamble.

I got the day trading dow jones strategy from the first steps forum and it says to use and indicator called CCI, anyway, when I use this indicator on ADVFN I can see arrows and crosses. Could anyone tell me what these arrows and crosses mean?

I can't of many quicker ways to lose your money than trading the Dow.

Sorry I can't be positive but until you take time and invest money in material/courses you are on a one way ticket. Becareful about posting your trades, as you also have to watch out for sharks who will take the opposite side to your trade

 

[adrianallen99]

Interest rates can either make the indices go up or down or trade sideways

Often the rise/drop in interest rates is already priced into the market, so it can go the other way to what you would expect.

As if a rule of thumb, if interest rates rise and you expect ftse to drop, it goes up and vice versa. If you try and trade that it goes other way

 

[andrewmooton]

Thanks again for your replies guys.

DC2000 - i've seen that thread but it doesn't explain what the arrows and crosses mean.

Does anyone know?

Thanks

 

[jklondon]

Andrew, with all due respect take your money and go on a course. Spread betting companies are crooks and prey on people who have a dream and no little about how markets operate.

I dont entirley agree, of course they run a business and they are out to make a profit. Intially with only IG out their they could get away with murder to some degree (and other practices) however there seems to be a good number of players out there and the spreads have narrowed. For people like myself who a) only have a few K to play with b) have a good understanding of the markets and c) like the ability to trade in many markets , its not really that bad. ...unless I am missing something here

 

[andrewmooton]

jk, would you be willing to share any strategies with me?

I only have £1000 to start with btw.

 

[Mr Euro]

JK, there is a slight difference in what we are saying

no little about how markets operate. (should be know!)

and what you say:

b) have a good understanding of the markets and

Good luck

 

[PhilHughes]

Andrew, wouldn't give up hope - i agree with some of the other comments above, from my experience - i would just paper trade for now

( maybe sign up to one of the sbetting simulators ( cityindex or tradindex are O.k for simulators - haven't tried any others, but you'll get to grips with the markets and s-betting),

I'd read up on chart analysis as well, most people use this to make their key decisions, a decent chart package required as well.

£500 would be enough to place a £10/point on a FTSE 100 company, you'll have to think about your timescales though, when do expect to see a return? ( be warned - it could wipe you out in one go though!!!!!)

I started off the same way as yourself, got burnt a couple of times, but overall not doing too bad.

Best of luck

 

[markb25]

sent u apm phil

 

[cageytips]

No, I do not think it is possible to turn £500 into £12K pa income.
You can ,however, play around on free software with imaginary sums.(and learn whilst saving up)
OR if you want to wade in you could try Deal4free and bet only £1 a point on say footsie or nasdaq but check what margin you need to do that.
Are you interested in shares, currencies etc ? If not, look to something else because its definitely not easy money!.
Best of Luck

 

[anley]

I'm reasonably successful with spread bets but then I play pretty small (my account is less than £2000) and I always use them to trade long term (average length 3-6 months) although the Gold position I have now is approaching 12 months.

However if I used them to trade short term then there's almost a 100% chance that I'd be a loser over time. The advantage of longer term is clear to me but also with not a lot of money at stake I can afford to be somewhat laissez faire which helps as well.

Short term trading is spread bets in my opinion makes the brokers rich and the clients poor.

 

[anley]

An account of £500 risking £10 a point on FTSE most probably has a 100% chance of going to zero. Might take a few weeks or 6 months but that's where it's going.

For starters it's going to cost you £40-£60 just to pick up the phone, that's 8%-10%!

 

[MysticalTrader]

Andrew, hi

IMHO, nothing wrong with £500 in the fund if you are starting. It seems to me you have 3 options though:

1. Read everything you can get your hands on about technical analysis, risk management and money management. And I mean *everything*, good and bad, so you learn how to discriminate. Then paper trade for at least 6 months before risking real money.
2. Start off with very small amounts (50p per point if you can) but make sure you control risk and losses very tightly. If you do this, bank on putting your £500 back in the fund about 10 to 15 times.
3. Forget it - put the £500 in a bank or take up a less risky living. Bank robbery perhaps.

Seriously, I think option 1 is your best bet. I wish I had done this when I started, and perhaps I wouldnt have lost £10k in my first year (Though I understand this is the low side of normal). Looking back I can see all the things I did wrong, and I still do some of them... :-(

Most of the comments you have received so far are absolutely right but most newcomers will take no notice. Really, if you do take notice you can succeed if you are determined and careful. If you take no notice you will lose your money, no if's no but's, you will lose your money. Better to send it to me right now than to give it to a SB company :-D

Good luck

MT

Hi there.

I'm not working at the moment so i have alot of time to devote to SBing.

Anyway, someone said that £500 is too small to start off with. I'm not looking to make £1000 per month from that straight away, but i thought it was possible to build up from that. i was just plannning on making the minimum bet size to begin with amd then making larger bets as my capital increases.

Anyway, I have a few more questions I was wondering if anyone could answer:

I just got week 3 of my training manual from finspreads and on the back of it and it says that interest rate announcements can affect indicies such as FTSE and Wall Street. Could anyone tell me in what way these announcements usually affect them?

Is it possible to SB profitably based on these announcements?

I got the day trading dow jones strategy from the first steps forum and it says to use and indicator called CCI, anyway, when I use this indicator on ADVFN I can see arrows and crosses. Could anyone tell me what these arrows and crosses mean?


Thanks.

 

[ChartMan]

Only 10K? I lost 3 times that as a newbie before I realised what went wrong.

 

[MysticalTrader]

Yes, I gather I have been lucky though it didnt feel that way. I know where I was going wrong alright... and I wont be doing any of those things again.
At least I am now in profit, long may it stay so. Fingers crossed

MT

Only 10K? I lost 3 times that as a newbie before I realised what went wrong.

 

[MysticalTrader]

and actually, £5k of that was in 2 disastrous days when I forgot a stop loss. On the fiorst day (in my first month) positions went south on CDWC and BBBY (Nasdaq). On the second I had a hurried long on gold, forgot the stoploss in my haste to get out for a meeting and it lost $17 in about 3 hours.

Not days I remember with any fondness, but I guess that makes me even luckier, the rest of my education only cost me £5k

MT

Yes, I gather I have been lucky though it didnt feel that way. I know where I was going wrong alright... and I wont be doing any of those things again.
At least I am now in profit, long may it stay so. Fingers crossed

MT

 

[MysticalTrader]

an afterthought, also prompted by our PM's.

You should attend the freebie from Finspreads, read everything you can get your hands on, and get a good understanding of:

Moving averages
Fib ratios
Channels
tops
bottoms
3-leg ups and downs
chart patterns in general (someone posted a great url here a few days ago - http://www.spytrdr.com/charts/ grab everything you can, but one at a time!)
How to use stops and limits (and get the levels right)
Money management
Risk/reward management

All essential - I wish I had paper traded while I was learning all that.

Hope it all helps

MT

Hi there.

I'm not working at the moment so i have alot of time to devote to SBing.

Anyway, someone said that £500 is too small to start off with. I'm not looking to make £1000 per month from that straight away, but i thought it was possible to build up from that. i was just plannning on making the minimum bet size to begin with amd then making larger bets as my capital increases.

Anyway, I have a few more questions I was wondering if anyone could answer:

I just got week 3 of my training manual from finspreads and on the back of it and it says that interest rate announcements can affect indicies such as FTSE and Wall Street. Could anyone tell me in what way these announcements usually affect them?

Is it possible to SB profitably based on these announcements?

I got the day trading dow jones strategy from the first steps forum and it says to use and indicator called CCI, anyway, when I use this indicator on ADVFN I can see arrows and crosses. Could anyone tell me what these arrows and crosses mean?


Thanks.

 

[Racer]

One thing I would do...

avoid D4F

 

[Rainmaker]

racer - ditto!