It’s been a while since my last article as things have been very busy! I’ve just started a Masters in Computer Science and I naively thought it would take half the time it actually does each week to do all my reading.
I thought to myself it shouldn’t be a problem combining my studies with my betting and trading but I have probably taken on too much!
There’s a widely quoted phrase along the lines of not wanting to be the smartest person in the room and I definitely agree with that philosophy. There’s always something to learn and you want to surround yourself with smart people to get better. However, it can be a little demoralising to be the stupidest person in the room too and that’s how I’ve felt with learning how to code.
Anyways, how is this relevant to you guys?
Well, if you’ve ever felt like this, maybe you’re being too hard on yourself. I felt stupid in this situation because other people on my course have years of experience in this already and I’m a total newbie. Other people on the course are not working full time and have had the time to study ahead.
There is a fine line between making excuses for yourself and not being hard on yourself but it’s worth considering. Think about your own betting. Do you feel like you’ve made some stupid bets recently? (believe me, I have!) Think about why you did them though…
Did you blindly follow someone else without doing any of your own research? Did you stake more than you really should have? Was it just bad luck? Would you do the same bet again in the same circumstances?
Just like my studies though, if you really want to succeed you will find a way against all obstacles, however much time that will take. The problem is that time is a rare and precious thing. Combining work, betting, trading and family life means that you’re often pushed to the limit and are too tired to do any one of those things properly.
Where can you find the time to improve your own betting? Are you listening to betting podcasts in the gym or the way to work? Are you willing to sacrifice an hour of binge watching Netflix to research some potential games?
Betting is fun for many people but when it becomes a profession a lot of the joy is sucked out of it and the mental strain can be very tiring. Between lack of sleep from an early rising baby, fitting in studies and time to research and actually trade, there is little time left over for anything else. It has a negative impact as you have to be mentally alert and concentrating fully to get this job done well.
Although I am quite an introvert and quite happy working like this, it’s not easy for people who are naturally sociable as this job can be very isolating too. Don’t feel sorry for me though! It’s still great to be my own boss, I still absolutely love it, and this is just a phase to grind through. I’m very lucky to be doing this and very grateful I’ve found a way. However, it’s very possible to fall into the trap of the ‘endless scroll’ and that’s something to be avoided…
This idea of the ‘endless scroll’ is a concept in technology, particularly social media, where your profile pages and news pages just scroll on forever. There is no end to them, and you will keep seeing posts and pictures ad infinitum until you finally give up. Before all this, in our leisure time we read a book and a book had a definite beginning and end. We watched a new episode of our favourite show each week and that was that, but now we can binge watch the whole day on Netflix
Applying this to trading and betting, there is so much sport around the world that the early days of Covid-19 was a unique event with virtually a complete break from it. Now all that sport is back though, you can bet on anything and everything all day long. You have to know your limits and know when enough is enough.
From next month, I will take a step back from my trading and reduce my trading hours so I can fit everything in. There are strategies I am using on my betting that are working very well. It makes far more sense to maximise the edges you have instead of learning new ones or grinding away on ones that are far harder to achieve profit on. Giving up (at least temporarily) isn’t always failure and sometimes it might be the most practical solution.
Anyways, for now, definitely don’t try and be the smartest person in the room. Try not to get too tired though, or that might make you the stupidest.
