This story is taken from the article: "Discipline"
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I had spent the whole day trading to reach my daily goal. I was trading horse racing back then, and with only a few races left, i took a loss which cost me half of everything i had earned that day. I simply could not accept the fact that i had spent a whole day working, just to finish 50% from my daily goal. So with two races left, i decided to risk a large amount of my bankroll to win the lost money back. I remember having just around 4.000£ in my account when this happened. I layed an odds 20 horse for 20£. My daily goal at that point was just around 40£. And of course you have predicted the outcome of this story. The horse won! Giving me a huge loss of just around 380£!
The next fact in this situation that i couldn't accept, was the fact that i had just blown 10 days of work, in 2 minutes. I think many of us have tried something similar at some point in either trading or betting, and if you haven't, read carefully and learn from my mistakes.
To get some of it back, i now decided to lay an odds 100 horse for 300£ in a 5-horse race. I remember it like it was yesterday. 2 horses taking up all the market, and 3 newcomers at odds 100, 100 and 300. Don't ask me how and why i took such a stupid decision, but i did. I thought to myself, how many times does an odds 100 win? A newcomer? Right after an odds 20 just won? Cant happen right. My lack of discipline told me that this was a good idea, and this was a quick way to get back on track instead of spending 10 more days winning back what i just lost. No way i could accept that thought a that point.
You wont believe what happened next. It was a hurdle race and it was raining. After 2 hurdles, one of the odds 100 horses fell. Not the one i layed, but the other one. Of course. The two favorites take over, dueling for the lead. After a few hurdles, they jump together, colliding in the air, and both horses fall down. Yes. That it exactly what happened. What was left now? My horse, odds 100, and the other one, odds 300. But the problem was, that the odds 300 horse was trailing at the back. With the jockey now spotting an opportunity to get some place-money just by finishing the race, he didn't even bother catching my horse. So the horse that i had layed at odds 100, with almost my whole account, is out in front, winning the race. And what happens? It won of course, leaving me with an almost blown account.
I remember that my immediate response to this was just an utter feeling of calmness in my body. I know that many of you think that the reaction should have been different. Like throwing my computer out the window, or maybe jumping out of a bridge. But no. In that exact moment where you blow your account. And you realize that you have just thrown away months and months of work, in a few minutes, the reaction is just calmness for a few seconds. Like if your soul is leaving your body while saying: ”how did this happen.”
If you don't believe me, try and blow your account and you will see.
I remember thinking, this is it. This is what i have read about. That you can be in profit for many months in a row, but sooner or later it will hit you and you will lose it all. And with that thought, i withdrew everything i had left on Betfair and closed my account.
A few days later i thought back on the situation and asked myself: ”But who did this? Who is the reason why i blew it all?” Correct answer: Me.
I told myself, that if i ever go back to Betfair, it will be with a complete change in mind. An updated version of me. And i promised myself to find some basic rules, and stick to them. No matter what happens. I told myself that it was ok to have losing days, but if i wanted to succeed long term, i had to deal with them. I had to stick to my strategy no matter what happens. I wanted to make a living on Betfair and stay away from school or some office job that i would slowly rotten in. So if i wanted to base loans, mortgage on my house, supporting a family and kids and just in general pay bills and have food on the table, i had to change my discipline. Not just change it, but master it. So every time i came in a similar situation, i asked myself, could you support a family with the kind of decision you are about to make now?
Every time i was even close to making a stupid decision, i asked myself this question, and it worked for me. Not immediately, but over a period of time, it worked. And today, several years later, its really just a tiny problem i have.
I could have searched the web to find a lot of good quotes on discipline, but why. Many of them don't really help, except from the same moment you read them. I believe that if you find a similar question to ask yourself, every time you are about to make a stupid decision, that it will be much easier for you to stay disciplined. In the end, why are you spending so much time behind the screen to read analysis, stats and so on, just to put bets on games day after day and eventually lose it all? Whats the point. To get some thrill out of it? Well yes. It does feel nice. But while you are at it, why not turn it into an income now that it is possible?
