From Civil Service To FULL TIME Football Trading – Scott N! [Trader Talk]

This week’s Trader Talk I have Scott N joining me.

Scott has been a UFT member pretty much ever since the initial opening so he is a bit of a veteran!

Today he trades football and racing full time and makes a “comfortable 4 figure profit” doing so.

It had been a while since I had spoken with Scott so it was good to catch up with him and find out more about his story and share it with you guys.  

Grab a cup of tea, coffee or a nice cold beer and let’s get into it!

Hey Scott. Many thanks for sitting down for this interview for the Sports Trading Life readers

So you have been trading football full time for a while now and you are doing a “comfortable four figures” profit monthly from it.

So firstly, tell me what you were doing before you got into the football trading?

I used to work in the Civil Service for quite a while after University. Different places up and down the country, then after the financial crash cuts were made, I was working longer hours and had a young family and the pay didn’t reflect what I was putting in.

Like most who are reading this, I always dabbled in having a bet on the football on the weekend, thinking that I had an edge because I’d watched football from being young. The truth was, I had no edge and I was essentially hoping for something to happen to make me a few quid, and it rarely ever did.

The area I used to work in, was at times quite high pressured with the nature of what I was dealing with and so I have always worked well under pressure even from being at school(homework, coursework, revision, always done the day before thanks) and this has helped with my trading.

So for me, I can handle a lot of the pressure that comes from in play trading. Even if I’m waiting on a goal in the last minute to give me a bigger green (free bet of course!) then that’s fine with me; besides, they’re the best ones right?

So what led you into football trading of all things?

As I mention, I used to have a bet on the football, mainly English football, because like most, I thought I knew everything!

Then by chance, I stumbled across one of your videos on YouTube. I think it was the Under 2.5 market, that lead me to more, then more and then the World Cup was upon us and you’d just opened up the UFT course. I grabbed that straight away, went through everything and your pre World Cup webinar and the course paid for itself in one game.

I went full time and I have been trading from the last world cup and I wouldn’t change a thing. Well, probably some of the early red screens from thinking I knew everything again when I had little discipline.

Yes I am sure this inspiring for many. I remember when you emailed me in the season after the world cup and showed me your progress. I was surprised since not many click with it that fast and I remember you scaled up pretty quick too.

How long would you say it took you to get consistently profitable?

From starting to profitability is a good question, as I mention, the UFT course paid for itself in one game. However, it took me a good 6 months to full profitability. I was lucky to have some savings behind me and a good size bank to start with that I knew i’d blow a proportion of, but ultimately, you’re investing in yourself.

Ultimate Football Trading gave me a clearer insight into what I was doing. As I say prior to the course, I thought I knew everything because I knew football. The course itself helps you see the light at the end of the tunnel, it does what you want it to. It shows you that there is a way to be profitable from something you enjoy and yes, it does take some time, but like everything, if you want it, you’ll get it.

Plus, with the course, there’s something on there for everyone no matter what you look for in football, be it lots of goals, lack of goals, match results etc.

 Aside from my divorce, it’s the best thing I have ever bought.

Haha, well I won’t ask anymore about that. But to make sure those who are reading have a realistic expectation of football trading, tell us about some of the mistakes you made?

Mistakes? Yes there were a few.

The main 2 I would say are over-staking and discipline, although the latter really encompasses all.

I can’t emphasise how important discipline is. Don’t get carried away, be rigid in your approach with set parameters, treat the money as someone else’s.

The worst point for me was when I had grown my bank and was feeling really good about everything and almost invincible with a particular strategy, one result went against me and I went on tilt, with the thought that, ‘I’ve built this up before, not a problem’. It was a problem until I saw my bank more than halve.

Yes a common story. How do you handle losing days today?

My losing days happen, as they will to everyone.

They’re fewer now than previously as I have a set target I like to try and achieve and once there, I’ll down tools and job done. That helps handle a losing day as conversely I also have a stop loss, which is a % of my bank.

Once that’s hit, turn it off and look forward to the next day. It’s a lesson I learnt a while ago and it’s served me well up to now.

And since then you also started a property business? What is a typical day like at the moment?

So my property business is funded from most of the profits from trading. This is something I never thought I would be able to do as I travelled to different courtrooms during my previous job.

My typical day these days is a far cry from my previous one where I would be out of the door by 7am and back in at 6.30PM!

Now, I am up early with the kids, take them to school, come back and have a scan of the games that are on and also the race meetings and see if anything takes my fancy.

 Then it also gives me the chance to do something else I love, which is cooking. Something I have long held a passion for and lovely finding different ways to use a potato.

Tell us about your football trading style. Which markets do you enjoy trading the most in football?

I love goals, give me goals please. Goals mean ££.

Also, I find it’s better waiting for something to happen, rather than hoping it doesn’t.

So for me, I’m very much into trading the second half goals. It’s given me the chance to see how the game is going and at HT it may well be one I won’t get involved in (all about the discipline).

In regards to live pictures, or stats; I prefer stats to be honest. I’m not a great watcher of football. I love my team (Spurs,at times) and I’ll watch them, but it’s rare I’ll watch other games.

Do you ever trade their matches or avoid?

Unfortunately, I do support Spurs, but I will never discount trading them.

If they fit into a particular filter that I have then so be it. I find it’s important to take the emotion out of your trades because if you trade on emotion or a hunch, you’ll more than often end up losing money.

Do you do anything pre-match?

I’m all in-play, it’s more fluid and I find you can get in and out as and when you please to a certain point.

I don’t use as many strategies as I used to. You find over time which ones you’re more content with and I have found if I enjoy using a particular strategy I find I am able to dial down into it a lot easier.

I remember when I first started UFT and I loved the Snowball trade mainly because the first few were spot on then one went against me and I got the FEAR, so now I prefer looking for goals.

Fireball Reloaded and Fireball extreme are my personal favourites and I do enjoy using the correct score markets.

Having said that, with Goal Machine having just been released, I have been looking at that for the past week and a half and it’s great having another strategy to throw into the mix. Variety is the spice of life.

You mentioned about 10% of your profits comes from the in-running racing. How is that going?

Yes, I’m always looking to widen my income.

So given a lot of games are in an evening, and I am comfortable with my football trading, I thought i’d look at something else to do during the day. I recommend the Badgers in-running guide (I wish i’d had it at the start), it’s nearly as good as UFT!

So I have been doing that for 10 months bar Covid 19 ruining that and having some software I started testing it out with practice stakes(if you can do this with any trading, I recommend it, it can save you some good money) and since the return of racing, it’s taken off really well, you know that point when the lightbulb goes off?

I do enjoy the racing, it’s quick and liquidity is good.

 I’ll be looking at trading the cricket next!

I have seen a few of your green screens down the years. Are there any matches that you have traded that have been particularly memorable?

Spurs v Fulham a couple of years ago was one of my favourites, a last minute goal greened me up just over £900. There’s been others but that one sticks in my mind the most.

Nice for some reason, the trolls love to hear about losing trades so tell us about a bad mistake you made?

Without a doubt, it’s over-staking.

I used to love trading a Friday night with the Dutch leagues but then I’d get caught up with the French 2nd division as well, it’s an awful combination.

Those of you who have traded the French 2nd division will know. It was almost as if I had to prove to myself week after week that it’s a difficult league to trade and that only seeing my bank reduce would prove that.

Never again.

With your other business doing well, how do you see things developing in the future? Do you think you will keep trading football or maybe one day hang up your mouse?

I can’t see me giving up any time soon, it’s more or less free money, isn’t it?

I know that my property business will eventually take up a lot of my time, as I want to leave something for my kids and I have a few other plans I want to push forward with. Although my life has changed since learning how to trade properly and effectively, I no longer work to live. I can now do as I please.

Finally, from what you have seen in the online world, why do so many go wrong when trying to be profitable at trading?

As I have mentioned, discipline. I think a lot, not all, just see it as an easy way to make money and to an extent it can be. The caveat is, it’s not at the click of your fingers, you need to work at it.

And, do you have any advice to give to people starting out? Anything that really helped you?

Some may disagree but losing a good % of my bank was the making of me trading. It taught me about discipline and staking, they’re both so important. Also, if you’re just trading part time for a bit of pin money, that’s fine but the same applies. If you’re looking to go full time…well if you want something, you don’t get a second go at life, do you?

Many thanks for taking the time Scott!

You can get on the waiting list to join Ultimate Football Trading at the next opening here: https://ultimatefootballtrading.com/