Can you really make money spread betting

I have recently started spread betting having spent months studying the subject. I started with £300 and within 1 week had lost the whole lot! My best position was £5 in profit. The rest just ran at losses even though I studied the charts for ages. I am concerened about putting more money into this without knowing if it really is as good as the companies say. I read on msn a recent survey of the spread betting firms that said 90% of traders lost their money and that companies such as IG index are seeing massive growth in their profits. Is there anybody out there actually making money spread betting?

bluedental said:

I have recently started spread betting having spent months studying the subject. I started with £300 and within 1 week had lost the whole lot! My best position was £5 in profit. The rest just ran at losses even though I studied the charts for ages. I am concerened about putting more money into this without knowing if it really is as good as the companies say. I read on msn a recent survey of the spread betting firms that said 90% of traders lost their money and that companies such as IG index are seeing massive growth in their profits. Is there anybody out there actually making money spread betting?

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Give it a couple more years and you may get the hang of it.

£300 isn't enough to get you started in my opinion, i think a lot of people try trading with out doing adequte research and preparation. as the saying goes - fail to prepare , prepare to fail. I think there are porbably far more losers than winners, but what's most important to me is how I'm doing. I have more of a discilpined approach now and my trading is getting better, I tend to use more CFDs than spread betting, but use spread betting for positions i am holding for a few weeks, overall i am up but a fair bit on my account.
Good luck

bluedental said:

I have recently started spread betting having spent months studying the subject. I started with £300 and within 1 week had lost the whole lot! My best position was £5 in profit. The rest just ran at losses even though I studied the charts for ages. I am concerened about putting more money into this without knowing if it really is as good as the companies say. I read on msn a recent survey of the spread betting firms that said 90% of traders lost their money and that companies such as IG index are seeing massive growth in their profits. Is there anybody out there actually making money spread betting?

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Studying charts mean nothing if you don't know what you are doing, no amount of studying charts will help.
It would be worth your while to let us know what exactly you study in these study in these charts,
look at captain currency's thread or newtrons system it might help you.

gamma said:

Studying charts mean nothing if you don't know what you are doing, no amount of studying charts will help.
It would be worth your while to let us know what exactly you study in these study in these charts,
look at captain currency's thread or newtrons system it might help you.

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I beg to differ.... looking at someone else's charts will teach little other than how they trade and possibly give you some ideas.

I cannot think of anything better for a newbie than spending 6 months studying charts. The only way imo you can truly lean and understand what it is you are actually watching is by, well, watching them, thinking about what is actually happening, who is behind it, why and where and how it moves etc is more important than someone elses methods.

Understanding the market and the players is the most vital first step imo.

Bluedental,

Lets start off with the fact you say 'you've studied the markets for months'.

You know extremely little or next to nothing about trading. Sorry bud, if you did, you'd know that £300 just isn't enough. Also, if your reluctant to put more in because of rumours about people not making any money....why put any in at all?

You mention also, 'the rest just ran losses'......traders dont run losses, they run winners and cut losers.

At this moment in time you are in the majority that lose money by believing they've 'cracked it' or 'it aint that hard, the market only goes up and down' ect, hence why you gambled your dosh.

If you wish to change this and not be on the opposite side to a winner then you need to join them and have the experience they do. Trading takes many, many months to understand, let alone know enough to be successful, this takes years.

Good luck with your studies and research if this is the career you wish to succeed in.

Trading is easy....keeping your balance profitable is when it gets a little tricky.

bluedental said:

I have recently started spread betting having spent months studying the subject. I started with £300 and within 1 week had lost the whole lot! My best position was £5 in profit. The rest just ran at losses even though I studied the charts for ages. I am concerened about putting more money into this without knowing if it really is as good as the companies say. I read on msn a recent survey of the spread betting firms that said 90% of traders lost their money and that companies such as IG index are seeing massive growth in their profits. Is there anybody out there actually making money spread betting?

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Is it spreadbetting that's your problem or could it be that you haven't yet developed a satisfactory trading system? If you don't understand how to trade then the vehicle you use is immaterial. If it's cost you only £300 to learn that then you have done well!

Plenty of good stuff on this forum to get you going in the right direction. Good luck (though good traders work on probability and luck shouldn't come into it).

This is how I lost my money. I would look at FTSE 100 shares that had crossed their 40 day moving averages. Then I would look at the MACD to confirm the movement in that direction. I would then look at the candlestick chart for confirmation and also a guide to where to put the stop loss. Then the trade was placed and hey presto, it goes the other way and I lose!!

A friend of mine has been trading for years but will not spread bet, he says it is safer to actually buy the stock and then sell at a higher price and reckons the best way to lose money is to spread bet.

Any thoughts on this and my useless chart analysis method?

bluedental said:

This is how I lost my money. I would look at FTSE 100 shares that had crossed their 40 day moving averages. Then I would look at the MACD to confirm the movement in that direction. I would then look at the candlestick chart for confirmation and also a guide to where to put the stop loss. Then the trade was placed and hey presto, it goes the other way and I lose!!

A friend of mine has been trading for years but will not spread bet, he says it is safer to actually buy the stock and then sell at a higher price and reckons the best way to lose money is to spread bet.

Any thoughts on this and my useless chart analysis method?

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Lol,

Either your mate is not a full time trader or you have taken him entirely out of context and got confused.

Any way, this ain't about your mate, its about you. Why dont you ask him how to 'trade' and earn money that way, if he's successful, and I can only assume he is by the way you speak of him. If he's your friend...get him to teach you what to do...simple, or...do what he does...then you make money, right...

Hi bluedental - The only way to lose the game is to get knocked out. But there are many ways of making a profit, as long as you have preserved some capital to do it with. You need to develop a plan, back-test it, modify it, back-test it more, then maybe paper-trade it to either destruction or profit: if its profitable, trade the plan with tiny stakes (because the game changes when you put real money in), then ramp up your stakes until you're making a decent income. I hope to be doing this myself soon.

Reading the right threads and books accelerates progress but cannot carry you as a passenger. I humbly offer my Rules of Trading for your consideration
The Trade
1. Trade with the trend – no trend, no trade
2. Plan the trade, trade the plan
The Entry
3. Wait for the signal
4. When the signal comes, don’t wait
5. A weak signal is still a signal
6. Trade what you see, not what you think
The Exit
7. Never let the profit go back into the market
The Stop-Loss
8. Set a stop-loss on the entry
9. Always obey the stop-loss
10. Don’t wait for the stop to be hit, close or cut losers early
The Sins of Trading
1. Trading against the trend
2. Trading without a stop-loss

The Rules of Trading will keep you alive, the Sins of Trading can kill you. Don't give up.

bluedental said:

This is how I lost my money. I would look at FTSE 100 shares that had crossed their 40 day moving averages. Then I would look at the MACD to confirm the movement in that direction. I would then look at the candlestick chart for confirmation and also a guide to where to put the stop loss. Then the trade was placed and hey presto, it goes the other way and I lose!!

A friend of mine has been trading for years but will not spread bet, he says it is safer to actually buy the stock and then sell at a higher price and reckons the best way to lose money is to spread bet.

Any thoughts on this and my useless chart analysis method?

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Your analysis method is not useless.
the important thing is you have a method and although it is not working its a question of tweaking it and trying to improve on it which I am sure you will do in time.
I do not trade the ftse so unable to give positive criticism.
I would suggest tweaking your method on a demo account.
After 10 years of trading I still use a demo account to try out different methods first to see how effective it is.
You are on the right path I am sure you will get better Good Luck!

bluedental said:

This is how I lost my money. I would look at FTSE 100 shares that had crossed their 40 day moving averages. Then I would look at the MACD to confirm the movement in that direction. I would then look at the candlestick chart for confirmation and also a guide to where to put the stop loss. Then the trade was placed and hey presto, it goes the other way and I lose!!

A friend of mine has been trading for years but will not spread bet, he says it is safer to actually buy the stock and then sell at a higher price and reckons the best way to lose money is to spread bet.

Any thoughts on this and my useless chart analysis method?

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1. Did you backtest the method over a period of time to see if it was profitable?
2. Did you forward test the method on paper to gain confidence in it?
3. Are you trading with money you can afford to lose?
4. Are you trading for excitement or taking it seriously as a business?
5. Have you looked at methods freely available on this website and elsewhere on the net?
6. Are you prepared to commit loads of time to learning to trade?

[ps: yes you can make money spreadbetting shares, just don't try and scalp]

Demo demo demo demo Demo, man!

Thanks for all the tips and advice guys, I think I need to do loads more practising before re entering the lions den! Sounds like you boys spend alot of time working out what to do, maybe I believed the ads 'make £400 a day spread betting' a little too easy, thanks Vince Stanzione!!!

bluedental said:

Thanks for all the tips and advice guys, I think I need to do loads more practising before re entering the lions den! Sounds like you boys spend alot of time working out what to do, maybe I believed the ads 'make £400 a day spread betting' a little too easy, thanks Vince Stanzione!!!

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rags2riches provides a good summary of were to start, this is really hard work contrary to whats advertised by all the system pushers out their. Most make money selling systems and don't even trade real money!! Think about that before forking out your hard earned money for some "get rich" system. Their are some good ones out their for newbies very inexpensive, but if you can learn this yourself in a demo account..

Yes you can make 400.00 a day spreadbetting, BUT don't think your going to do that with a 500.00 account.

I personally look over a 3 month period or around 60 trading days to analyze how I'm doing with my basket of stocks swingtrading in and out sometimes getting stopped the 1st day other times 2-3 weeks in a position. During that period I can be down 5,000.00 on the day and 2, 3 weeks later back up twice that. It takes a really long time to get here, some do it allot quicker, few are really lucky..

Like I say It's really hard work BUT don't give up, once you "get-it" and your finally making money you'll never look back or worry about a job again..

The traders here in T2W will point you in the right direction I'm sure.

Oh one last thing, spreadbetting is very highly leveraged, before you do anything learn what a double edge sword leverage can be..

shadowninja said:

Demo demo demo demo Demo, man!

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So, if one can make money on demo consistently, can one trade?

Reverse your signals.

FXSCALPER2 said:

So, if one can make money on demo consistently, can one trade?

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Maybe not, but if you CAN'T make money on demo then the opposite will never be true with a live account.

Yes you can if you pick your spots. But if you trade everyday or short term then it's very very hard to make money because the cost of doing business will get ya.

Remember, this game is not just about buying low, selling high, costs are of CRITICAL importance as well. Most when they start out don't realise this which is why they're often scratching their heads as to why their account balance doesn't look that pretty.

Good luck anyways

I think the reason why a lot of people lose money is because when a position moves against them they panic and chrystallise a loss. Setting stops too tight for the volitility of the market is also not good, the spread betting companies love it though. I hedge my positions now rather than using stop losses as I find I get stopped out too often using them.