Bet Exchange News - Aug 2004

The following message was recently posted by a well known Betfair poster called Ster. Its uncomfortable, but I believe essential reading for anyone using betting exchanges. It seems extremely unlikely that Ster would have been suffering these problems had betting exchanges never been invented, and it is a timely reminder to us all that whilst Betfair et al offer us previously unimaginable opportunity and freedom, this does not come without risk and responsibility.

The response from the forum was almost universally supportive and I felt that two replies from forumites Counter and Duncan Disorderli offered particular words of wisdom that deserved a wider audience. So here follows the Story of Ster:

Hello everybody, a lot of you might recognise my name from use of this forum over the last couple of years. I thought I would make one last visit on this site to tell my story.

I've been gambling on horses since I was old enough to walk into a bookies. For the first few years it was a bit of a laugh, I lost but only small and I enjoyed the game. Along came the Likes of Flutter and eventually Betfair which made gambling a much fairer proposition and found I spent more time on these and less in the bookies.

Anyway my first year on here was reasonably unsuccessful but found I was learning new things all the time and I learned how to run 'books' whereby you can balance out a race for a guaranteed profit. I found that I could actually do 4 or 5 of these a day and actually make more than I was doing in work. Things actually went so well, I quit my job as a travel agent and went full time on here.

By the end of 2002 I had made enough to take 5 months off and go travelling in New Zealand and even become a member of the "£15,000 club" (who have made over £15000 in a Betfair year) and life was great, I was even part of the Betfair Premium Team, despite my liking for online casinos when I was bored. I did enjoy laying favourites or ones I didn't fancy but win or lose, it didn't really matter cos I was making plenty on the books

I went through money pretty quickly out there and came back pretty skint but with loads of good memories. From here on in though things started to go downhill. I borrowed money from credit cards to get me up and running again and found it much tougher and tighter to make books. I found that the margins had gone very tight and my method for making money had all but vanished.

I tried running books but found I made very little money and with bills to pay and no money coming in I spent less time running books and more time taking chances laying and betting. Eventually by the end of 2003 I had gone from running 5 or 6 books everyday to 2 or 3 a couple of times a week and not making anything on those even when I did.

The credit cards kept giving me more credit and the debt kept piling up, lying to my family, friends and girlfriend that everything was alright and that I was still making money on here. I found I had gone from an outgoing lad to a bloke who went home early on a Saturday night so he could lay US horses.

The pretence was kept up so much that I even booked 3 months away in Canada with my girlfriend knowing that I would have to borrow money from my credit cards just to get by.

Breaking point came last Friday when all of my cards were up to their limit, and I had no money to pay my rent, let alone have 5 grand spending money for 3 months in Canada in 8 weeks time. It all became too much and I cracked and told all to my parents and my girlfriend. Both were very upset to begin with but eventually we talked and devised a plan to get me back on track, away from gambling, and still go to Canada. I will be making my first GA meeting on Monday (only time I can get off work) and am really looking forward to it

I am posting this today just to let people know that even the supposedly best winners on here can end up finding themselves in the absolute pits and that help is available to those who need it.

I'd like to thank everyone who I had banter with on here, Kev, Woody, kirstie and all the Stow lot, and everyone else who I have known on here, but if I am to get my life back on track I cant come on here anymore and I will be deleting all email contacts from my inbox.

Many thanks to everyone for the crack but I wont be back.

Regards

Ster

Response from Counter:

I read that yesterday and thought it was a very brave post given his reputation on some of the other forums. It's a very poignant lesson in how things can go wrong even when you've been a consistent winner and a stark lesson in not letting the belief that you can't fail because of past successes blind what you do. I'm afraid it's not the first post of its kind and unfortunately won't be the last. Those foolish enough not to listen and learn may one day understand. Markets change. Trading opportunities change. Edges disappear. What works today may not always work tomorrow and it's a reminder to constantly review what you do, why you do it and how you do it. If you think you have an edge be smart enough to realise when it's gone.

Response from Duncan Disorderli

Ster`s important thread was enough to bring me out of my recent `retirement.` Not just to genuinely wish him all the best for the future, but also to express admiration for his courage in posting as he has done. He has given this forum a reality check it badly needed.

Gambling is in our blood, we can`t avoid it and we cannot prevent it just as we can`t sell gambling to the antis. This has to be accepted by the gambler, and once that is done then prevention of financial ruin is paramount. For every one of us who can have a few TV bets to brighten up a weekend, there are all too many who get sucked in to gambling`s unforgiving reality.

Ster`s problems seem to have started when he returned from a dream trip and in his own words `came back pretty skint.` Well nowt wrong with that ! The memories and benefit will stay with him throughout the coming years, but unfortunately Ster also came back with a totally different mind set for gambling. Skint is simply the worst way to approach Betfair, as is betting on here to make a living. Firstly you are playing under completely different conditions and therefore your judgment has to be affected. We have all witnessed the `in the zone` phase where we cannot do wrong, but we also know that round the corner is an awakening. To play Betfair in a skint or even a semi-skint state has to end in disaster.

Have we ever witnessed a site or medium that offers so many betting opportunities ? Have a scroll down the horseracing today`s card each day and then consider that this is one sport only. Addictive is putting it mildly...and this forum assists in keeping us here as well. That is all very well if we can handle the pressure, and also the funds are there. All those `can you make a living on here` threads stand accused of encouraging probably far too many to attempt it. Why should gambling all of a sudden provide an easier way of earning your keep ? Betfair unwittingly has started this, because it IS our best chance of doing so, however that is quite different to being able to accomplish the feat. Pre exchange days how many of us would have had the courage to quit jobs and bet for a living ? Not too many I should imagine. This game is hellishly difficult, and NOBODY masters it.....that is the reason why there are so many casualties.

Ster I wish you well, I am confident that you will get yourself together simply because of the intelligence in your words. However, inwardly you know that you cannot rule out gambling in the future. I can only join all the others in hoping that if you do, you will be better equipped financially and play the game for pleasure rather than burden yourself with trying to replace lost funds and earn a regular income....few will succeed in these circumstances.

Best regards,

DD