Questions about Winning at Spread Betting and Money Management

General Spread Trading Questions and Feedback - Many questions are answered in 2 to 3 days, but please allow up to 1 to 2 weeks occasionally. We receive large volumes of email, so please don't hesitate to re-send your message if there is no answer initially:

Q.	The market has definitely shafted me, being a newbie and getting too greedy. I'm always buying at the wrong time...
Q.	How do you avoid trading on impulse?
Q.	I am tearing myself up over this one - was going to buy last week but hoped for a drop before dipping in...
Q.	Should a profit ever be allowed to become a loss no matter how small either may be?
Q.	How do you avoid panicking and selling at the worst possible time?
Q.	What do you think about setting targets each month, say 100 points to start and then build up the points target using the same stake until the pot increases?
Q.	I'm looking for a spread betting company that will hold the trade open until I choose to close it, with me incurring the daily interest to keep the trade open, but without it closing each night...
Q.	Is there a company which permits me to be long and short of the same instrument at the same time, in the same account?
Q.	A few weeks ago you mentioned RHM. Personally, I wouldn't touch RHM with a barge pole. It just doesn't feel right to me.
Q.	I have heard mention, and read on numerous occasions, that it is not wise to over-trade. But...how does one define over-trading? Examples would be appreciated.
Q.	Can you recommend a book or perhaps a method of how one might develop patience (in the trading sense)?
Q.	How can I get exposure on Oil?
Q.	Any thoughts on Oil stocks?
Q.	What is Contango and Backwardation?
Q.	How does Contango affect ETF's prices?
Q.	Contango means that in a rollover from say Mar to May a contract can lose 15% if the front month price of oil stays the same due to the wide contango...
Q.	I am long on Mar exp (18/02) but the Apr spread is some $6 odd higher - surely the gap has to close before Mar expiry date?
Q.	Do you know of any product that tracks the oil price without it being open to contango and backwardation?
Q.	How can SOIL and LOIL be down at the same time, something wrong there?
Q.	Why should I be wary of investing in a leveraged exchange traded fund?
Q.	What is the difference in buying ETFS leveraged nickel (LNIK) and ETFS Nickel (NICK)?
Q.	Wine as an investment?
Q.	'CMC DO spike their spread to take out stops. They do this because in many cases they are not laying off your bet but taking a position against you...'
Q.	But then what about that spike I saw in the daily FTSE rolling bet compared to the cash index market!?
Q.	Do spread betting providers manipulate the stops to get hit?
Q.	The FTSE 100 spiked massively when the Dow suddenly wiped 1000 points from the market and my spreadbet was closed out!
Q.	Do the bid/offer spreads offered by spread betting companies vary from company to company?
Q.	Doesn't betting on shares leave firms at the mercy of insiders?
Q.	Is it possible to make a living from spread betting/trading?
Q.	What kind of capital would you need to make a living at this, say £2k a month?
Q.	I don't see spreads as the path to a massive change in one's financial status...
Q.	Do you really need to have a residual income stream or can you make a living using your capital?
Q.	I have recently started spread betting having spent months studying the subject but I have already lost £300 within 1 week!
Q.	Why do most investors lose money?
Q.	Why do so many spread bettors lose money?
Q.	Why do so many FTSE spreadbetters lose money?
Q.	I've lost too much money day trading the FTSE...
Q.	Do not trade INDICES, it's just a lottery...
Q.	I am afraid that my wife has become addicted to spread betting. Won't talk about it...
Q.	I owe £9.5k on margin call from few months ago which I have no hope of repaying :-( It is now going to court...
Q.	I wonder what percentage of spread betters are successful long term?
Q.	What attributes are necessary for success in financial spread betting? Also, are there are any traits that could hinder success?
Q.	What are some of the behaviors of successful traders?
Q.	How do I encourage good trading habits?
Q.	Are there any beliefs that good traders have?
Q.	What is harder: 1) letting profits run or 2) let a losing trade run?
Q.	Isn't trading a zero-sum game?
Q.	Money Management. Is it that important?
Q.	But why are discipline and money management important?
Q.	I want to know how do you define discipline? What is it that I must do to get it?
Q.	How do you get/improve discipline in trading?
Q.	How do you calculate your risk of ruin?
Q.	Why is it so important to preserve your capital?
Q.	Ok, I've read a lot about money management but I don't have a 10k plus a/c. The concept of risking not more than 2% is impossible...
Q.	I started with £300 and now make an average of £100 pounds a week I have a target of £20 a day with £1 a point...
Q.	Is it possible to earn a living from this without any qualifications/experience in this field of business?
Q.	How much do you need to research everyday to day trade?
Q.	But how many hours a week do you dedicate to trading?
Q.	The market I'm looking to trade is open during the night!
Q.	My goal is not to be someone who is staring at charts all day...
Q.	I'm doing loads of money spread betting but the thought of sitting in front of a computer and trading for the rest of my life depresses me...!
Q.	I have REALLY bad shopping habits. I buy everything I want and don't save a penny...
Q.	How important is timing when I'm investing passively for the long run?
Q.	I'm afraid I lost an opportunity not having invested when the Dow was at the 7900 level...
Q.	What if I just buy the FTSE 100 as a spreadbet and keep holding?
Q.	I've just turned 18 and looking to invest in a fund - but which fund to go for?
Q.	What constitutes a good trading plan?
Q.	Most traders devise a 'trading plan' based on nothing more than a couple of 'indicators'...
Q.	When making a trade, how much background research do you do? Have you got a strategy?
Q.	How do you get ideas to develop your system/strategy?
Q.	Should you buy or use a trading system?
Q.	Why is that most commercial trading systems don't work?
Q.	I have recently been reading about KISS Trading strategies. Do they really work e.g. MTF with EMA 200?
Q.	Tell me more about the KISS concept?
Q.	Does Dollar Cost Averaging as an investment strategy really works?
Q.	How important is luck?
Q.	How much does luck play a part in a successful trader, if it does at all!?
Q.	Why is compounding so important?
Q.	Should you sell in May and go away?
Q.	Should I buy in November?
Q.	Do you think you could turn a profit of £1500 net a month from a £2k pot?
Q.	Have you ever heard of any successful and rich person by spread trading?
Q.	Is it possible to turn £10,000 pounds into £100,000 pounds in 1 year?
Q.	Is it possible to become a millionaire spread betting?
Q.	Why do so many traders fail in this business?
Q.	What makes a successful trader?
Q.	Do you need to have a special talent to be good at trading?
Q.	What type of people make the best trader?
Q.	Are there any games which could help me improve my trading skills?
Q.	What do you think is the biggest obstacle to a successful experience as a private trader?