So far we have looked in general at the principles of profitable betting. These can be simply summarized as you go with the trend, or choose a right time to go against the trend, then watch for the outcome to see if you were right. Enjoy it if you were, or close the bet quickly if not.
There is another section of betting that can be looked at more closely, but only if you think that it will be suitable for you. This is intra-day betting, and this term means that the bets are opened and closed quickly. Not to be confused with intra-day spread bets, which anyone can place and roll over if they want, intra-day betting means that you open and close the bets themselves in one day. You won’t have the luxury of reading the financial news in the evening to prompt you on which of your bets to adjust or close out, as intra-day betting involves being in and out of a bet in the same day.
A couple of notes on that last paragraph. Of course, even if your goal is intra-day betting, I’m not saying that you can never roll a bet over to the following day, if it is working out for you and you see more profit from holding it. There’s no spread betting Mafia going to come round and arrest you for doing that! But you start with the intention of getting in and out of your bets quickly, and plan accordingly. Secondly, you still want to keep up with the financial news, even though you will have a different view on the information.
The demands of intra-day betting are not for everybody. Obviously, you need to be at your computer most of the trading day, and it is much more intense than betting on other longer time-frames. If you are in a situation where you can be distracted, then this can be dangerous to your account; although you do not necessarily have to bet every day, or even throughout the day, if you have other things to attend to. You just don’t want to have lots of open bets when it’s time to pick up the kids from school!
You will also need to be able to think quickly and decisively, as these type of betting opportunities by their nature do not wait for you. With intra-day betting, you will be looking for many smaller gains, rather than the larger winnings of bets held for a week or more, and the size of spread becomes even more important as it will eat up your profits. Your profits may also be eroded by additional costs, such as additional data costs.
With all that said, some people relish the action of intra-day betting, and if you think this describes you, here are some ideas specifically suited to this form.