{"id":11162,"date":"2015-07-25T20:06:40","date_gmt":"2015-07-25T19:06:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.betangel.com\/blog_wp\/?p=11162"},"modified":"2016-03-01T19:31:43","modified_gmt":"2016-03-01T19:31:43","slug":"my-life-trader-bookmaker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.betfairtradingblog.com\/blog_wp\/2015\/07\/25\/my-life-trader-bookmaker\/","title":{"rendered":"My life on the trading desk of a big bookmaker"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction by Peter<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Some one recently joined me in helping prep for the new football season. His former job was on the trading desk\u00a0at a big bookmaker, I thought it may be interesting for you to hear his story. With ‘Britain at the bookies’ on TV, I think it makes it even more relevant. First we start with some background: –<\/span><\/p>\n

Life before Betfair<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I left school with absolutely no idea of what I wanted to do for a career. I had fairly decent GCSE grades so there was an option to continue my education but getting <\/span>in to work straight away and earning some money appealed to me.<\/span><\/p>\n

I saw myself as a bit of an entrepreneur in the making at school, doing a bit of buying and selling (no\u00a0<\/span>ebay, it was Loot back then!), I also took over the running of the snack shop at my youth club. I remember being sat behind my little counter watching my mates playing football in the hall. This wasn\u2019t good for a <\/span>14 year old on a Friday night,\u00a0so it wasn\u2019t long before I took on my first employee to run the shop for 3 hours. I was now playing Football but my profits had now pretty much disappeared. My solution to this was to buy an arcade machine. Delivered to the youth club and placed in the little music room, they were\u00a0queuing\u00a0up to play it at 30p <\/span>a go and the money was rolling in!<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0My next venture was my biggest success. I decided to run a \u2018football fantasy league\u2019 competition. This was a good 20 years ago, so it was a fairly new concept back <\/span>then; but soon the newspapers started to introduce their own fantasy league competitions and that\u2019s where it came to an end.<\/span><\/p>\n

Football stats\u00a0grew into a bit of an obsession for me for the next few years, I would scan all reports and keep <\/span>record of all the scores and any other info. Not sure why I did this, I wasn\u2019t gambling or using the information for anything, just liked to do it. I wanted a job in statistics or data but there wasn\u2019t anything out there. It would mean doing a degree course at university and I didn\u2019t really want to go down that route.<\/span><\/p>\n

Discovering Betfair & Sports trading<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Eventually I came across\u00a0Betfair. I played around for a year or so, losing money, few big wins, few big losses then came across Bet Angel. I didn\u2019t read any instructions, just started to play around with all the functions. I liked all the calculations and bets being placed by just one click of the mouse.<\/span><\/p>\n

For the next couple of <\/span>years I started to understand the markets a bit better. Got my head down and started to make consistent profits. I absolutely loved it. This is what I wanted to do….it was a perfect job for me. I love sports, was good at\u00a0Maths and loved using programs etc. but often I wasn\u2019t making enough money to leave my current job. I was still making mistakes either through being careless or the odd lapse of discipline. I was determined to make it work though and eventually decided to leave my job so I could dedicate more time to it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Going back to a \u2018normal\u2019 job<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t good timing! I was engaged, a child on the way, <\/span>mortgage to pay…..but I wanted to make something of myself. I had spent years in jobs with not many prospects and average pay. This was an opportunity to better myself. So I became a self-trader for the next 2 years. It was hard work, I only just managed to pay the bills and I was dedicating so much time to it, that my social life took a hit. I have to say I wasn\u2019t particularly happy.<\/span><\/p>\n

So I decided to get a \u2018normal\u2019 job and come back to \u2018trading\u2019 at another time. The stress disappeared and I started to enjoy life again, although it wasn\u2019t long before I started to get bored with my work and was fed up with earning a low wage.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although there was all the stress involved being a <\/span>full time sports trader I felt that it was still the perfect job for me. I just needed to attack it in a different way, look for a different angle. If I could be more\u00a0organised\u00a0and think more about money management.<\/span><\/p>\n

How I got a job as a Sports trader at a bookmaker<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I was continuously reading as much as I could about trading through blogs and online books. I was getting to a point where I was looking to giving it another <\/span>go, when I came across \u2018sports trader\u2019 jobs being advertised at bookmakers. I didn\u2019t understand how you could be a trader at a bookmaker or what the job would involve. I\u2019d never really thought about how bookmakers made their money other than in shops. So I started to look into the online side of the business and how they operate. This was perfect, I could trade and also have a secure wage coming in!<\/span><\/p>\n

I decided to apply for a \u2018sport trader\u2019 job with one of the large bookmakers. I didn\u2019t think I would have much chance of\u00a0 being offered an interview. I was a sports enthusiast with some trading\/gambling experience and that was about it, I didn\u2019t feel I was particularly qualified to do the job. I took some aptitude tests online and managed to scrape through to the interview stage.<\/span><\/p>\n

The interview<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

There <\/span>was around 30 candidates on interview day. After talking to some of them I\u00a0realised\u00a0that they all had degrees, so my confidence was slowly diminishing and I was getting increasingly nervous about my interview. We had to take a series of tests before the actual interview. Some of it <\/span>was searching data to look for errors….this was right up my street so I started to gain a bit more confidence. We were given a talk by one of the senior managers for 10\u00a0minutes\u00a0on who they were looking to employ. They weren\u2019t too interested in qualifications or experience, mainly to do with our attitude and enthusiasm. I was first to be called for my interview.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why have I been called first? Is that a good or a bad thing? Why are they not going through us alphabetically? I was escorted to the room and the interview began. I wasn\u2019t going to mention about my time as a self-trader. I was worried that I was giving the impression that I was a gambler, but I decided to be completely honest as I also wanted them to know I had a bit of experience and knowledge.<\/span><\/p>\n

The interview went well, they made me feel at ease and after a bit of a nervous start, I began to relax and speak a little clearer. There <\/span>was a couple more tests, some basic bookmaking questions and a sports quiz. Didn\u2019t do particularly well on either of them!<\/span><\/p>\n

The day was quite exhausting and mentally draining. I was pleased that it was over but I didn\u2019t particularly feel confident that I would be offered the job. The one part of the day which I was worried about the most was having to explain my ideas\/solutions to increasing turnover in the on-course horse-racing sector. I went blank,\u00a0couldn’t\u00a0really think of\u00a0anything, the guy next to me was writing away like he was copying off an answer sheet. I saw the words \u2018economic growth\u2019 and \u2018financial stability\u2019 on his sheet……I looked down in panic at my sheet to see the words \u2018offer the bookie burger meal, \u00a35 for the food and a free bet\u2019. I still cringe to this day about that….to make myself feel better I have convinced myself that no-one will ever read them anyway.<\/span><\/p>\n

They\u00a0mustn’t\u00a0have anyway because a day later I was offered the job. I was ecstatic, I\u00a0couldn’t\u00a0wait to start. I\u00a0didn’t\u00a0know what to expect, but I did know it was going to be an\u00a0exciting\u00a0career with many prospects. It looked like a bit of a turning point in my life….<\/span><\/p>\n

Next part of this mini series ‘Life on the inside of a\u00a0trading desk’……..<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\"ats<\/a><\/p>\n

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Introduction by Peter Some one recently joined me in helping prep for the new football season. His former job was on the trading desk\u00a0at a big bookmaker, I thought it may be interesting for you to hear his story. With ‘Britain at the bookies’ on TV, I think it makes it even more relevant. First […]<\/p>\n

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