Creating a Football Trading Service That Wins – Interview with Goal Profits Steve

goal profits steveThe fact that GOAL PROFITS is still running and well into it’s 3rd season of trading should show you that this is a serious service worth checking out.

These days it does seem like Football Trading Tips services are popping up all over the place but hardly any seem to stand the test of time. Plenty start and try to get clients but they inevitably shut down when all their clients leave if the service does not cut it. If any service is still going strong years down the line then that is a good sign that it is one that is making money for it’s members.

At Sports Trading Life we are always sceptical of services that make outlandish claims but Goal Profits has shown over time that it is the real deal. After requests from readers we decided to go straight to the man himself and find out more about Steve and his service.

Hello Steve, thanks for joining me and taking time to talk to the STL readers. So let’s start right at the beginning. What did you do before you became a football trader and how did you initially get into it?

I was employed by a very large retailer for fifteen years, working my way up from General Assistant to Head Office. They made me redundant due to a takeover so I started to buy and sell collectables on eBay. At first it went very well, but as the recession hit more people turned to eBay for income. Suddenly I was paying more for stock and not finding as many buyers with spare cash.

Around this time I was dabbling on Betfair. Like almost everyone back then I was laying the draw, but also getting involved in trades I shouldn’t have due to boredom and lack of discipline. I was a typical novice trader, thinking that lots of systems would make lots of profit. It didn’t take long to blow my trading bank!

I had bought a ton of systems and most of them were profitable over time, but I had stretched my trading bank too much so that it couldn’t cope with losing runs. Easy mistake to make and lesson learned.

I rebuilt my bank through matched betting and decided to give trading a real go. It was either that or find something totally new. I really did not want to go back to the corporate world having tasted the freedom of working my own hours.

How long did it take you to become profitable and was there anything in particular that helped?

I started again with a £1,000 bank and aimed to double it. I was already a member of John Duncan’s Assured Soccer Profits so I stuck with that system alone. I worked out that £2.74 profit every day for a year would double my bank, but made my target in just over seven months.

I had to learn to accept losses and trade with absolute discipline. I found it very, very difficult at first but refused to give up. Even today, I have to remind myself not to gamble or chase losses. Discipline is always work in progress!

Around this time I was in contact with Kevin Laverick. This guy’s story is incredible; blowing a £40,000 trading bank then making it all back and more. In fact Kevin is such a fantastic football trader that he has been hit by Betfair’s Premium Charge! I learned a huge amount from Kevin and started to develop my own trading strategies.

 What markets do you trade primarily and what is your usual trading style?

I primarily trade correct score and match odds markets, though in-play I also get involved with overs/unders. Thanks to the Team Stats software at Goal Profits I have been investigating other markets, especially “next goal”. We have scoring pattern data for teams which have been throwing up great value opportunities in-play, primarily because no-one else in the market has access to the numbers. It’s quite an advantage to have!

I am definitely a conservative trader. I like to limit my maximum loss to a level I’m comfortable with because it helps decision making. I have a simple saying that if I’m sweating on a goal, my liabilities are too high. When pressure is on, discipline tends to go out the window and it’s all too easy to start chasing.

There are plenty of Goal Profits members who trade my correct score selections aggressively and make excellent profits, but also hit a few bigger losses. That’s not for me personally, but everyone is different and it keeps things interesting!

 Many will ask why you would want to start a service if you are already making profits yourself?

I didn’t set out to start a service and certainly not one which has grown as large as Goal Profits. I had a lot of free time during the day midweek so I accepted a challenge to proof LTD selections. After sixty days my selections had made a sizeable profit and a small service started from there. To be honest, I fell into this out of boredom but have grown to love it. Trading can be a very lonely occupation so being able to interact daily with other traders is fantastic.

 Most will immediately look at the results of your service when trying to judge it, but in your view what are the main benefits people can gain from Goal Profits?

goal profits reviewThere is so much to Goal Profits. What started out as a simple LTD service via email has matured into a trading community where we make friends as well as profits. We use a large number of strategies, including a number which have been developed by members themselves.

New members have plenty of manuals to download. They can also watch videos of me trading and listen as I explain why I’m making particular moves in-play. On top of that, there is plenty of support in the chat room and I’m in there for the vast majority of trades.

The chat room is very active in-play, but with a different culture than most. Our primary focus is making money and we very much work together as a team; spotting trading opportunities as well as sharing knowledge. This is especially valuable on a busy Saturday afternoon when one pair of eyes isn’t enough!

Tell me more about the “Team Stats” software you mentioned previously?

I have invested heavily in the unique Team Statistics software. It has been built from scratch to my own specifications and is constantly being added to. We have comprehensive trading stats for every team in over sixty leagues worldwide and I can’t begin to tell you how valuable that is.

Of course, Team Stats has the usual information such as over/under 2.5 goals but we also have more detailed stats tailored specifically for trading. We know the probability of a first or second half goal in upcoming fixtures. If a match goes 1-0, we know what percentage of times matches between the teams have gone 1-1 or 2-0. We even know the average number of corners for each team and how many, on average, result in a goal.

A couple of recent additions to Team Stats have been correct score and lay the draw shortlists. The software searches through every fixture for the next seven days and produces a shortlist of matches which are worth a closer look. This dramatically reduces the time needed for research; particularly useful for part-time traders who don’t have hours on end to go through the numbers. The LTD shortlist works with a strategy especially developed by me and the results have been astounding!

Kevin Laverick has been using Team Stats to find value in the markets. He started 2014 with a new £100 bank and turned it into more than £3,000 before the end of March. Kevin is sharing his strategies with Goal Profits members and his aim is to mentor a number of them as they move towards turning professional. It’s a very exciting project!

 Tell us more about the goal profits service, what is a typical days trading like?

goal profits loginA typical Saturday during the winter is a very long day for me! First thing in the morning I sit down with a cup of coffee and clear my email inbox as well as read through/reply to posts in the forum. I then update a number of spreadsheets with data produced overnight by Team Stats and deal with any exception reports. This ensures that the database is 100% correct.

Next job is to look through my correct score trades for the day ahead. I spend a few minutes looking at the stats for each fixture to get an idea of how the game is likely to pan out. They don’t always go to plan, of course, but understanding what is most likely to happen gives me an advantage in-play more often than not.

I log in to Betfair and open a new browser tab for each fixture I’m planning to trade. I also fire up Fairbot and add “my markets” so I can quickly find them in-play. If markets have sufficient liquidity I open my trades, otherwise I wait until closer to kick-off.

By this time, the morning is all but gone. I look through the LTD shortlist and decide which selections I am going to trade, then it’s time to take a break while I can. My first trades on a Saturday during the winter are usually in the German Bundesliga at 2.30pm so I grab some lunch and go for a walk. It’s important to get away from the computer screens for a while, rest my eyes and stretch my legs.

I am usually trading on a Saturday from 2.30pm in Germany until mid-evening in the Netherlands. As well as managing my correct score and LTD trades, I constantly search for in-play opportunities using Team Stats. I am in the Goal Profits chat room throughout the day, answering questions along with other experienced members.

After trading has ended I send a review of the day out to members along with details of my trades for Sunday. I then post on the blog and update results on the site. Once all of that is done, I realise it was a long time since lunch and get some dinner!

 In your view, what is the main thing that prevents some traders from being successful on Betfair?

In my opinion, the main issues revolve around mindset, bank management and discipline.

Looking at mindset first, imagine Joe is completely new to trading. He goes online and comes acrosss a long sales page for a system which promises a small fortune in just five minutes per day. We’ve all seen them; they usually have a Ferrari and a swimming pool somewhere on the page. After a very short time, Joe realises that the system doesn’t work so he goes looking for another. Then another.

What’s happening is that Joe believes the hype that a system could exist which takes no effort but makes a lot of profit. The clever sales pages have led him to believe that something like this is out there waiting so he hops from one system to another, losing money. In order to stand a chance of making money from trading, Joe must stop chasing the “golden egg” and be prepared to put some work in.

 What about bank management? Do you think that is often a problem for beginners?

goal profits discountBank management should not be a problem, but so many struggle with it. If Joe has a £500 bank he cannot afford to lose £50 on a single trade, yet it happens. Perhaps this is related to mindset in that too many want to win big rather than achieve steady bank growth. They think as gamblers rather than traders.

If Joe makes £2.74 profit every day for a year, his £500 bank will have trebled to £1,500. That’s fantastic growth, yet a lot of new traders turn their nose up at ‘only’ £2.74 profit per day. Imagine that Joe trebles his bank in year two and then again in year three. £500 has now become £13,500 and he’s well on the way to making a living from trading.

Discipline is tough, no getting away from that. A successful trader does not get involved in random trades because he/she is bored, doesn’t chase losses, accepts smaller losses in some trades when that is the correct course of action, etc. There are countless dos and don’ts around discipline and what is frustrating is that most of us know them all… but that doesn’t make it any easier to master!

Some traders have a stack of money on their desk. When opening a trade, they count out the maximum loss and put it right in front of the screen as a reminder that they are risking real cash. I used to have post-it notes all over the place saying “don’t gamble”. Without discipline, there is 0% chance of becoming a successful trader so crack it – whatever it takes.

 Do you think football trading is becoming harder in recent seasons? How have the markets changed since you started?

I wouldn’t say that trading itself is easier, but with Team Stats it’s much more efficient for me. I used to spend 50+ hours per week trawling through websites and spreadsheets before even opening a single trade; I quite literally lived for trading. Nowadays, all the numbers I need are right there for every single fixture. If a game is 0-0 after an hour I can very quickly make an assessment as to how likely I think a goal will be and that has opened up in-play opportunities considerably.

Markets are forever changing and it is our job as traders to stay one step ahead. The biggest change I have noticed in recent years is liquidity in correct score markets. I used to regularly drop planned trades because there was not even £2,000 matched before kick-off but now that rarely happens.

Lay the draw has changed in a big way too. Gone are the days of waiting for 1-0 and trading out with a nice profit because the margins are not there anymore. My new automated selection process and trading strategy has given LTD a new lease of life and as I talk to you now, I’m looking back at results for the last five days; 29/30 good trades.

 What future plans do you have for goal profits and related products?

Goal Profits has developed into a fantastic community of traders and my main priority going forward is to protect that. I look forward to joining the chat room each day and I cannot imagine trading without everyone working together as we do.

Team Stats will be further developed; in fact I’m working on quite a large update right now which will be added to the service completely free to all members. There will be further automation in the future so that we can focus more on trading and less on number crunching.

Kevin’s project is in the early stages. He has released two eBooks exclusively to Goal Profits members so far which contain a total of ten trading strategies. eBook number three is already in the pipeline and will be full of “set and forget” strategies, so no need to trade in-play. He is determined to help a number of members turn pro which is now more achievable than ever.

Most of all, I want to continue to trade football because that’s my true passion. Being able to do it alongside so many great people is just the icing on the cake.

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5 Comments

  1. cayenne turbo says:

    Good interview Ben.I actually joined Goalprofits last week and I have to say Steve is a gentleman,very helpful and responds to any query promptly.Ans as for Team Stats,I honestly don’t know how I traded in the past without them.

    1. Sports Trading Life says:

      Hi Cayenne

      Sounds good. Team stats is probably worth it alone.

      Ben

  2. cayenne turbo says:

    Without a doubt Ben.

  3. Best trading service on the planet bar none. Been a member for 18 months, don’t consider anything else if you want to learn to trade football, this is the one.

    1. Sports Trading Life says:

      Hi Danny,

      Your feedback is definitely one that is shared by quite a few judging by the emails I am getting.

      Ben

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