I do get many emails asking about the Football Trading Academy that is recommended on this website. The main question is usually asking about the “System A” strategy that Richard & Co use. I am definitely a fan of “System A” and use it regularly within my own trading portfolio. Remember, this is NOT Lay The Draw but is something a bit more clever then that.

So I thought it would be good to put together an article explaining the pros and cons of this strategy so you can assess if it sounds like something you want to try for yourself. Obviously, with full respect to the FTA I can not divulge the method exactly but I am sure you will find this useful if you were considering signing up there to learn it.

Pros

Frequent Winners

This trade evolves around something that happens in a high percentage of football matches. This means that winning trades will be often which is always easier from a psychological point of view.

Does Not Matter Who Scores

When I first started using this strategy I was relieved to find that when a goal would go in it was ALWAYS good news. This is opposed to using Lay The Draw where a goal going in is not always good news if it is to the underdog. Once again, this is great from a psychological point of view as you do not get your hopes raised only to be dashed after hearing that goal sound.

The “Saver”

The cleverest part of this method is the fact that the way you trade out can actually leave you in a situation where you can still avoid taking a loss if something happens later in the match. There have been a few times where I trade out begrudgingly and mark it down as a loss only to see the “saver” crop up in the last few minutes. Always a nice bonus when that happens.

Easy To Execute

Most important is that its an easy to use method and easy to execute. No crossing different markets, no using “insurance” and no strange staking required.

Now let’s move on to the con list..

Cons

Risk-Reward Ratio

With this strategy I do find I am risking slightly more then I am potentially winning. This is not a huge problem and my winnings are usually in the 70-80% profit from my risk. This is still a good return compared to most football trading strategies that I know, however ideally you do want to be potentially winning more then you risk.

Slight Frustrations

I can imagine that beginners to football trading will find this strategy slightly frustrating due to the fact that you are waiting for orders to be matched before you get involved in the trade. A goal in the early part of the match will often mean that you do not get your trade on. This does not mean you take a loss it just means no trade. I can imagine less experienced traders wont have the patience for that. Personally, I have no problem with it as I prefer to wait till the price is right to get involved then to rush in. As they say, “Only fools rush in”.

Not Aggressive Enough

This system does encourage you to trade out at quite an early opportunity and, personally, I have adapted this to be more aggressive when I feel that time is on my side and I will get what I need by the end of the match. I understand why Richard advises to play safe as there are many beginners who use that site but personally I prefer the aggressive approach. There is, of course, nothing stopping you from doing this with your own trades.

Overall

Overall I do feel it is one of the best ways to trade football these days. As with anything, Match Selection is crucial and Richard posts his own trades up on the board so you can get an idea of what sort of matches to look for. I prefer to find my own matches to trade these days as I use other methods alongside it but the members board is definitely a good starting point.

If you want to learn System A then you can join the FTA here. It’s well worth checking out if you are at the start of your football trading life and you can cancel at any point too.

Be sure to mention that you heard about it via STL if asked 😉