Another website I have started to read on a regular basis is that of Trader247, a newcomer to algo-trading. I would put this trader at the intermediate level. Certainly, he is not a beginner but because he has business commitments he is not able to implement his ideas as quickly as he would like. Although the website has a whiff of the "profit and loss" about it (a style I am not keen on) there is plenty in the blog about the technical side of this algo-trader's work that makes the website eminently readable.
Besides, the profit levels seen on Trader247s website are more realistic looking compared to other websites I have seen. Also, there is no boasting about an intent to get rich quick and early retirement planning. Slow and steady is the only way to build up wealth, otherwise you have to increase the level of risk you must be willing to take. And, those of us for whom our twenties are long gone, risk is something we don't like taking too much of.
Trader247 has a scalping bot trading on UK dogs and Australian horses and intends trading on US racing too. His bots operate in the Betfair and BetDAQ markets. Currently, Trader247 uses Gruss software to implement his bots but is looking to augment his trading with a bot designed with the assistance of my book, Programming for Betfair. There are two other bots in development; a swing trader bot and a technical trading bot.
From looking at the Trader247's published weekly charts the number of trades placed are in the thousands, which is typical of algo-trading. The size of each of Trader247's trades are still quite small and so the profits are quite moderate, although he does have a desire to increase the trade size and to base that size on edge (see Kelly Criterion). As with many algo-trading operations it's a case of picking up pennies in front of a steamroller where the number of trades are high and the edge and profit are low but so too the risk.
A lot of people who hear "picking up pennies in front of a steamroller" only hear the first part of the phrase but forget the last part. They think that if they can pick up enough pennies then they will become a millionaire, completely ignoring the steamroller part. In this kind of trading you have to be very careful when picking up the pennies because the steamroller can completely wipe out all of your profits. I notice that Trader247 has sensibly added a UPS to his system in case of power failure so that his PC can continue trading. There is obviously a very knowledgeable mind behind Trader247 and I look forward to reading about the development of his operation.
Further Reading
Programming for Betfair
Build your own bots with this easy to read guide. No previous programming experience needed, just a logical mind that is willing to learn.
Further Reading
Build your own bots with this easy to read guide. No previous programming experience needed, just a logical mind that is willing to learn.
