# Spread betting?



## georgeandpeppa (May 25, 2009)

Anyone do this? I know there are risks but is it something to steer clear of or with a bit of studying something to get into? 
Thanks:thumb:


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## Buck (Jan 16, 2008)

What are you wanting to do?


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## Will_G (Jan 23, 2012)

Unless you're willing to accept you could lose a lot of money then stay clear

I've done a bit with IG Index mainly on the price of silver, nothing really long term just a few days max


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## georgeandpeppa (May 25, 2009)

Make a little pocket money, nothing major.
IG Index is the site ive been looking over, tempted to open an account as you can start at small amounts for the first 6 weeks to find your feet.


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## Will_G (Jan 23, 2012)

You can win big but you can also lose big

What are you looking at betting on?


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## georgeandpeppa (May 25, 2009)

Will_G said:


> You can win big but you can also lose big
> 
> What are you looking at betting on?


No idea to be honest, was only going to bet on one thing, try and watch it for a while before betting, anything you would suggest?


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## Will_G (Jan 23, 2012)

Yeah good way to start

One thing you need to watch is whether you're betting on a 24 hour market or something like the ftse daily. I've seen losses occur when I was betting on POS when something happens overnight. For example it jumped up over $1 tonight when it was announced in the US that they're going to implement more quantitive easing.

What ever you decide to bet on you need to be fully aware of the various market influences which could affect your bet


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## georgeandpeppa (May 25, 2009)

Daily, so i dont wake up to a huge loss lol. Was look at Brent oil, but nothing 100% yet, Probably watch a few and try and get a feel for one, not in a hurry to do anything so will try and find something i understand, hoping that knowing a little about it will help.


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## id_doug (Apr 6, 2011)

A friend of mine got heavily into spread betting on the stockmarket, betting on shares going up or down. Fairly simple but very risky. He had split up from his partner and was sleeping on a friends floor and started off with some money from his house sale. He had a good financial background done a lot or research and testing.

Anyway. Over a period of 6-8 months he made £250000. He then set a target of getting to £500000! I hadn't seen him for a while but another friend said he had hit it big and was up to about £700000!... Then he disappeared completely. He basically decided to go for the £1m and ended up losing nearly everything and dropped back to what he had more or less started with. The stock market then went t!ts up and became almost to volatile to start earning his cash back. He still does it now but does not set targets and just makes a nice living from it. Some of the sums of money he was risking was insane! Made my eyes water just thinking about it.

Be warned and be careful if you go down this route. There is huge potential for making and losing money!


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## georgeandpeppa (May 25, 2009)

id_doug said:


> A friend of mine got heavily into spread betting on the stockmarket, betting on shares going up or down. Fairly simple but very risky. He had split up from his partner and was sleeping on a friends floor and started off with some money from his house sale. He had a good financial background done a lot or research and testing.
> 
> Anyway. Over a period of 6-8 months he made £250000. He then set a target of getting to £500000! I hadn't seen him for a while but another friend said he had hit it big and was up to about £700000!... Then he disappeared completely. He basically decided to go for the £1m and ended up losing nearly everything and dropped back to what he had more or less started with. The stock market then went t!ts up and became almost to volatile to start earning his cash back. He still does it now but does not set targets and just makes a nice living from it. Some of the sums of money he was risking was insane! Made my eyes water just thinking about it.
> 
> Be warned and be careful if you go down this route. There is huge potential for making and losing money!


Tbh im thinking of making a 50 quid here and there, havent the balls for big money bets!


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## georgeandpeppa (May 25, 2009)

And if i did get anywhere near 250000 i would take it and run a mile even two


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## cmillsjoe (Jun 20, 2012)

would i be correct in saying if i open an account and say go 10p per point to go up i can put a stop order say for 20 points so if it goes down by 20 points it will close of right away and the max i could lose would be £2 ?? so really i would alway be in charge of the max amount i could lose ?? meaning im not going to say go 10p per point and lose £100


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## id_doug (Apr 6, 2011)

georgeandpeppa said:


> And if i did get anywhere near 250000 i would take it and run a mile even two


You and me both mate. I guess when you start winning you can keep going! His big problem was he hit the ground running and never really lost till his big loss. I think he thought he couldn't lose and he had cracked it! He would of been better off if he had lost a bit at the start.

I had a little crack at it with the view to trying to make a couple of hundred quid or so. Started with £50 and lost it in about two days! To make big bucks you have to do it full time and study everything. He had his head hurried in papers, news forecast, business briefings etc etc....

I've made more money betting on Golf tournaments, something I know a lot about.


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## id_doug (Apr 6, 2011)

cmillsjoe said:


> would i be correct in saying if i open an account and say go 10p per point to go up i can put a stop order say for 20 points so if it goes down by 20 points it will close of right away and the max i could lose would be £2 ?? so really i would alway be in charge of the max amount i could lose ?? meaning im not going to say go 10p per point and lose £100


Yes in theory. However the stock market fluctuates an awful lot and your stop could kick in really early before it gets a chance to bounce back. If you watch it track it will drop a certain amount then start going back up (unless it crashes). The dilemma comes on when or where to place the stop or ride it out. If you ride it out you could go back up and make money. Hit the stop and all you are doing is limiting your losses with no way of gaining back what you have lost.


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## georgeandpeppa (May 25, 2009)

So watching it for 5 minutes a day isnt really going to help me much, sounds like you got to put in some serious time to get rewards dam!


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## Will_G (Jan 23, 2012)

Cmillsjoe, the other issue you have is that there is a minimum stop level. I think when doing price of silver it was around 50 or 75 points. As doug says though if you just keep getting stopped you're losing out straightaway.


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## cmillsjoe (Jun 20, 2012)

does every market have a different stop level? do they check your credit rating or what way do they know you will pay up if you lode more than you have in your account


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## id_doug (Apr 6, 2011)

If only. You can only use what's in your account. If your account hits zero before your stop then it's game over.


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## cmillsjoe (Jun 20, 2012)

oh thats good then so if i stick £100 into the account then thats the most i can be caught for


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## Will_G (Jan 23, 2012)

There is a minimum bet value and minimum stop per market. I just checked and the silver one is minimum £2 and minimum stop is 25 points so minimum of £50 risk. Whereas Brent crude light is minimum £1 and 20 points so £20 minimum risk


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## cmillsjoe (Jun 20, 2012)

cheers guys i think i might have a little try nothing crazy ill stick 100 in the account and see how it goes either this or lose it on a football bet , as long as i can only lose what ive put into my account


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## id_doug (Apr 6, 2011)

It's up to you but I would do a bit of research first and some reading up. You may hit lucky and make a couple of quid but I would guess you will lose more than you will make. It sounds very simple in principle but there are a lot if considerations to take into account.

I'll offer this to the OP'er first as this is his thread but if you like you can have this for free....










If you don't want it then someone else can. I've been there, tried to do it and have no use for the book anymore


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## georgeandpeppa (May 25, 2009)

I would be very grateful for the book! Once ive had a good read would send it on to cmillsjoe


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## id_doug (Apr 6, 2011)

georgeandpeppa said:


> I would be very grateful for the book! Once ive had a good read would send it on to cmillsjoe


No problem. PM me your address and I'll get it posted out. I know you mentioned you will cover postage in your previous PM but I'll sort it out. Shouldn't cost much. But, if your passing a charity box for a Cancer research charity you can chuck a quid in it instead :thumb:

I couldn't remember the website we used to look at and use but it was Tradindex (been a year or two since I last looked at it personally) but if it's still the same you can have a go on there with "play" money


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## georgeandpeppa (May 25, 2009)

id_doug said:


> No problem. PM me your address and I'll get it posted out. I know you mentioned you will cover postage in your previous PM but I'll sort it out. Shouldn't cost much. But, if your passing a charity box for a Cancer research charity you can chuck a quid in it instead :thumb:
> 
> I couldn't remember the website we used to look at and use but it was Tradindex (been a year or two since I last looked at it personally) but if it's still the same you can have a go on there with "play" money


Brill PM on the way, Tradindex sounds ideal.
Consider the Cancer research donation done:thumb:


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## sean34 (Sep 14, 2012)

that Michelle Baltazar's book is pretty useless. A very superficial read - you are reading her biography not how spread betting works. http://www.financial-spread-betting.com/ would be a good source


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