A question I often see posted around the web is “What is the secret to winning on Betfair?”. Many people do think that there is some sort of secret that all the professionals have and are keeping to themselves but it really is not like that at all. Every now and then someone might discover a loophole in the markets somewhere but these do not usually last for very long. So there is no real one off “secret” or if there is then I certainly would like to know it myself.

 One thing I can say is, that while there is no real secret to winning on Betfair there are many things that all the professionals seem to do. Since starting this blog I have had the opportunity to interview many of the top Betfair trading professionals and all their tips or “secrets” appear to be 3 very similar things that are listed below.

 Disclaimer: If you are looking for some special secret or loophole you are about to be very disappointed.

Patience

Almost every trader that makes money will someone with patience. They did not get where they did by rushing. I notice many newbies jump on board the Betfair train with a view of making certain profits by a certain amount of time. When speaking to many professionals I often find they did not set out with any profit targets in their mind at first. Most just played around until they found something that worked for them and then began to scale it up. Most will admit to taking a year or more before they became profitable and in a position to make money. This requires patience and is this definitely a secret to success in many things in life.

Discipline

 Having good self discipline is another strong secret to success on Betfair. Every professional trader I have spoken to has admitted having poor discipline when first starting out but it was by eliminating this side of it that helped them to see success. If you follow the sultan’s journey on Centre Court Trading, he often mentions having poor discipline and mindset in his early days and blowing a bank or two when on tilt. It happens but it is important you learn from these mistakes and become more disciplined going forwards. Once you do, you might actually start seeing success. If you are prone to going on tilt and doing your brains every bad day you have then you have a very long way to go. Discipline can also relate to not trading on markets you would not usually trade and also just ensuring you do all your usual research before any event you trade.

Dedication

You will not meet any professional trader that has not dedicated an awful lot of hours into sports trading before becoming profitable.

There is a theory that it often takes 10,000 hours of practice before becoming a master at something. So if you truly want to master Betfair then you will have to put in the hours. It probably does not take quite 10,000 in order to become profitable but if you are dedicated enough to get close to this figure then you will definitely become much better then you currently are.. This is also not just hours at the ladder, (although experience is a huge thing) but also hours reading and learning about strategies and betfair trading tips in general and also hours spent looking back at your previous mistakes in order to eliminate things that are holding you back.

I often get asked how long it can take to become profitable on Betfair. This is not an easy question to answer since everyone is different. We all went to school and all learned at the same pace but you will remember that some clicked with things much quicker then others. Learning on Betfair is just the same. These days it could still take someone a few years to crack it whilst it might take someone else a few months, in rare exceptions.

 SO..

 The fact is that you need all the above 3 things firstly before you will even make a strategy a winning one. If someone is given a winning strategy but does not have the above things then they will still manage to lose.

Anyway, there you have it, the secret to winning on Betfair is Patience, Discipline and Dedication. Overall, this equates to “bloody hard work”. You might find it odd that “having a winning strategy” is not listed in there.But then again, when has making money ever been easy? 😉