What a rollercoaster ride I had with BetsForTraders this morning!
I only found out about them through reading the only book currently in print on the subject - aptly called "binary betting" by John Piper.
Incidentally, his website is well worth a look - click on John Piper's Home Page and then when you get there, click on the word "Academy" (just under his left hand) & scroll down this long single page - it's fascinating.
I was so taken with his piece about "taking just five points" out of the market that I've written a spreadsheet which shows a fictional trading account where 5 points are taken by six £100 contracts a day.
Click this link to just view the external appearance of the spreadsheet and to scroll down and see the numbers inflate
http://member.thinkfree.com/show.se?f=1f5a319efe54ee46a419bb2805ca16e5
After glancing it, you can understand why Einstein said that the most amazing thing on Earth was compound interest. You start making a small profit consistently, and as this is regularly added to the Total Capital sum, so those 5 points return more actual cash - and then it snowballs!
I know you seasoned traders out there will say:
"Consistent regular profits, even of just 5 points, are a pipe-dream",
but its still interesting to examine how quickly the small figures become big ones.
Anyway, back to BetsForTraders. I'm only used to trading screens like binarybets, where they always quote a buy and a sell price.
Imagine my horror when a trade started to go against me, and I realised there was no "Sell" button to get me out of the trade with only a small loss - it was heart-breaking watching an early profit of about £25 on a bet of £244 start to turn around and show a loss increasing as prices lower than the purchase price started to move across the screen:
229, 221, 219, 214...
Desperately I phoned their 0800 number and was promptly connected to a knowledgable man - "Sorry, but if the conditions aren't met at the end-time for the trade, then I'm afraid you lose the lot. We are investigating adding a resale facility to that Binary Range trade you've entered, and Selling is available on the trades you can see when you click on the link marked Binary Bets".
So that was that - the FTSE had moved out of the 30 point range I'd setup and so naturally the price was dropping.
Yes, you've guessed it - during that panicky time the index had moved just above the 30 point upper limit, and as the closedown time of 12:05 approached, it slipped nicely back into the zone and they returned £300 on the £244 bet.
The various ways you can arrange to show prices and to run a betting market are quite fascinating.
The other good thing about BetsForTraders is they will let you trade pretend money known as Virtual Dollars (so don't be surprised to see a large number of V$ on your statement when you open it.
And please - play around with them before you rush into a trade - don't follow my example.
If you'd like to see the formulas and stuff in the spreadsheet, then I can send you a copy if you send me your e-mail address and put the word (Spreadsheet) in brackets next to it.
Farewell from a Newbie Binary Bettor.
I only found out about them through reading the only book currently in print on the subject - aptly called "binary betting" by John Piper.
Incidentally, his website is well worth a look - click on John Piper's Home Page and then when you get there, click on the word "Academy" (just under his left hand) & scroll down this long single page - it's fascinating.
I was so taken with his piece about "taking just five points" out of the market that I've written a spreadsheet which shows a fictional trading account where 5 points are taken by six £100 contracts a day.
Click this link to just view the external appearance of the spreadsheet and to scroll down and see the numbers inflate
http://member.thinkfree.com/show.se?f=1f5a319efe54ee46a419bb2805ca16e5
After glancing it, you can understand why Einstein said that the most amazing thing on Earth was compound interest. You start making a small profit consistently, and as this is regularly added to the Total Capital sum, so those 5 points return more actual cash - and then it snowballs!
I know you seasoned traders out there will say:
"Consistent regular profits, even of just 5 points, are a pipe-dream",
but its still interesting to examine how quickly the small figures become big ones.
Anyway, back to BetsForTraders. I'm only used to trading screens like binarybets, where they always quote a buy and a sell price.
Imagine my horror when a trade started to go against me, and I realised there was no "Sell" button to get me out of the trade with only a small loss - it was heart-breaking watching an early profit of about £25 on a bet of £244 start to turn around and show a loss increasing as prices lower than the purchase price started to move across the screen:
229, 221, 219, 214...
Desperately I phoned their 0800 number and was promptly connected to a knowledgable man - "Sorry, but if the conditions aren't met at the end-time for the trade, then I'm afraid you lose the lot. We are investigating adding a resale facility to that Binary Range trade you've entered, and Selling is available on the trades you can see when you click on the link marked Binary Bets".
So that was that - the FTSE had moved out of the 30 point range I'd setup and so naturally the price was dropping.
Yes, you've guessed it - during that panicky time the index had moved just above the 30 point upper limit, and as the closedown time of 12:05 approached, it slipped nicely back into the zone and they returned £300 on the £244 bet.
The various ways you can arrange to show prices and to run a betting market are quite fascinating.
The other good thing about BetsForTraders is they will let you trade pretend money known as Virtual Dollars (so don't be surprised to see a large number of V$ on your statement when you open it.
And please - play around with them before you rush into a trade - don't follow my example.
If you'd like to see the formulas and stuff in the spreadsheet, then I can send you a copy if you send me your e-mail address and put the word (Spreadsheet) in brackets next to it.
Farewell from a Newbie Binary Bettor.
