Last night saw my first foray into live Skype trading and I swiftly followed it up this morning and afternoon with a second and third test session. Unfortunately, I was unable to trade the first few WTA Championship matches as planned originally, due to personal commitments, so I apologise once again to those traders I had to cancel who couldn't make the ATP sessions which I scheduled instead.
I would like to thank all those who took part and for the feedback you gave me, which has really helped me decide on what my next move will be. As you can see from the screenshots below, the ATP sessions turned out to be profitable and I'm sure everyone will be very happy with the results if they did as I did. Being test sessions, I did not want to use my usual stake sizes in case there were any technical (or mental!) issues. I did feel that there were too many people in the first session and I found it difficult to answer all questions and stay focused enough. I think this will work better with less people in the session and so invited only a very small number (less than 5) to the second and third free sessions. I also feel that this will allow a more personal service and will put less strain on my computer and avoid any future issues with slow-down.
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After the first two sessions, I was still undecided on whether to go ahead with this new venture. Trading with lower stake sizes will potentially lose me money (as it did in both the first two sessions), so I must be able to do this with my usual stakes. The problem could be that trading with my usual liabilities might affect me mentally. I've never traded in front of other people before, so this is a new experience for me. I have to admit, I found each session very nerve-wracking, to an extent that I haven't felt for years. Having to think about other traders, multi-task and talk throughout the session, was not easy and potentially could have a detrimental effect on my trading. The first session was also very draining (lasted far longer than the others) and I was losing my voice towards the end!
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I would like to thank all those who took part and for the feedback you gave me, which has really helped me decide on what my next move will be. As you can see from the screenshots below, the ATP sessions turned out to be profitable and I'm sure everyone will be very happy with the results if they did as I did. Being test sessions, I did not want to use my usual stake sizes in case there were any technical (or mental!) issues. I did feel that there were too many people in the first session and I found it difficult to answer all questions and stay focused enough. I think this will work better with less people in the session and so invited only a very small number (less than 5) to the second and third free sessions. I also feel that this will allow a more personal service and will put less strain on my computer and avoid any future issues with slow-down.
Kukushkin v Wawrinka (all-green on both players)
What you see in the screenshots is exactly what you'll see in one of my Sultan Skype Sessions, although I have hidden the full conversation in the Skype screen to protect trader's identities and also hidden where it shows the trades I did on Geeks Toy for obvious reasons!
After the first two sessions, I was still undecided on whether to go ahead with this new venture. Trading with lower stake sizes will potentially lose me money (as it did in both the first two sessions), so I must be able to do this with my usual stakes. The problem could be that trading with my usual liabilities might affect me mentally. I've never traded in front of other people before, so this is a new experience for me. I have to admit, I found each session very nerve-wracking, to an extent that I haven't felt for years. Having to think about other traders, multi-task and talk throughout the session, was not easy and potentially could have a detrimental effect on my trading. The first session was also very draining (lasted far longer than the others) and I was losing my voice towards the end!
Andujar v Berdych (Andujar won, netting me the £475 you see on-screen)
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The third session session felt far more comfortable than the other two, despite the fact I was using my usual stakes. A combination of less traders and a better idea of how everything was going to pan out, meant that I actually enjoyed this session far more. I did trade with my usual stakes here and the big worry was that this would affect me mentally but I think the fact it was a small group and I had less to concentrate on other than my own trading, made it no issue. Even though it ended up a loss, it was a very small one (I would class it as a scratch trade for the kind of liabilities I use) and it was a good experience for me to show traders how to manage things when trades don't work out.
Bouchard v Ivanovic (a relatively small loss)
I've decided to go ahead with the paid service very soon. From a personal standpoint, I think this will add a bit more focus to my trading for one day a week and also give me some much desired interaction with other traders. So it should be really beneficial to me, as well as giving some added variety to my week. Once more, I would like to thank everyone who took part in these sessions, your feedback was much appreciated. Keep an eye on the blog for details of the new Sultan Skype Sessions or check out the Sultan Tennis Trading Guide to find out before they begin, exactly what I do.