5 Successful Spread Betting Secrets

"5 Successful Spread Betting Secrets" by Saffron Samson

Its official, spread betting in the UK is on the rise and is expected to have over 1,000,000 online accounts by 2012. This is a growth of at least 500% in two years. Spread betting although regulated by the FSA rather than the Gambling Commission is a form of gambling as you are speculating on financial products to rise or fall, but unlike traditional gambling you can win huge sums of money as well as lose more than your original stake. It is so important that you don't undertake spread betting lightly as inexperienced traders can lose a lot of money.

The market is varied and allows traders to work with on a multitude of products including:

Forex - trading on currencies

Stock sectors - Banking and Oil/Gas

Indices - FTSE100/250, Dax 30, Dow Jones

Commodities - Coffee, gold, silver

Sports - Anything from football to cricket is now available from companies

Secret 1 - Know your market inside out

It seems obvious but many traders try to do too much and get addicted and sucked into put trades on that overtime will mean more losses. It is logical to know 1 or 2 products inside out and follow them with rigour. You then have so much more information and history to base your decisions on and ultimately increase the amounts you profit over time.

Secret 2 - Start small and use smart thinking

Why take a risk when you are learning and starting out it doesn't make sense. Set your price at 10p a point and that way you limit your losses and whilst minimising your gains, at least you have profit. Note down what worked and a reason why, this historical data could be valuable to you in the future, when you are trading £1-10 per point.

Secret 3 - Use stops losses and get them right

Stop losses are there to make sure your account doesn't go into the red if your not careful. They are there for your protection, but sometimes they will mean that you trade out on a trade that is volatile, but it comes with the territory because on a day when a trade goes the wrong way you will be glad it was there.

Secret 4 - Watch out for expensive courses, ebooks or strategies

Like in many industries there are those who want to profit from the knowledge gap and when new traders get into spread betting this is when they are most vulnerable to expensive rip off products. If it sounds to good to be true it probably is and the internet is full of free information. So many of these offers are selling you a dream and quick riches, but it takes hard work, patience and time to succeed. It isn't going to happen overnight!!

Secret 5 - Spread betting is not for the faint hearted

Yes its true this is a risky business and some can fall foul of the system if they don't trade well. You need patience and tenacity to know when to sit tight and maybe not trade for days, as well as when to place small trades when the risk is high and larger trades when the risk is lower. The best traders don't trade every day, so if this isn't your personality type them try something else or go with a company that offers you a low risk account, which limits your earning potential but means you can still try it.