Had a little touch last evening, but the gambler beat the trader, again :-(

During the 'closed season' traders can either have a break or get involved in leagues they might not be too familiar with. I have used the six weeks or so to practice and try out new things in Iceland, Norway, Russia and other Scandinavian leagues - and have built a reasonable knowledge of those leagues in the process. In simple terms you can take it that the Russians don't do goals and the Scandinavians don't do 0-0's!

Anyway, having finished trading the Europa League matches with mixed fortunes I noticed that in Norway Sandefjord were a goal up at half time away to Honefoss. I had glanced at the game earlier and made a mental note that Honefoss were heavy favourites, so decided to monitor the game. Sure enough, Sandefjord got a second.

As an aside, a little tip, if ever you see Arsenal take a two goal lead, especially against inferior opposition, lay them heavily! Arsene's boys have a habit of leaking games they should win easily. As a Chelsea fan, and a trader, you can imagine that the Gooners giving up a good lead is 'double bubble' for me!

Back to the Arctic - I laid Sandefjord at 1.38 for £50 and sat back awaiting the fightback. After only a few minutes the 'Suspended' sign came up and I readied myself for a swift profit. 0-3! Marvellous!

In situations like this one can either take the red and run for cover or get in deeper looking for some leverage. I was convinced that at least one goal would come from Honefoss so I laid the underdogs for £300 at 1.03. Sure enough, after only a few minutes the goal duly arrived. But I found myself, once again, unable to green as the market suspended again seconds after re-activating. This time, it was in my favour, game on at 2-3! As the market settled I was able to green up at 1.48 ensuring a healthy profit across all outcomes.

So why do I say in the post title that the gambler beat the trader again? Because, of course, I was convinced of an equaliser and started drip laying Sandefjord as their price lowered. My initial exposure on the trade was just under £30, and at 1.47 I greened up for just under £160. I won't bore you with the gory details, but the bloody game finished 2-3 and I finished with £60 in round figures.

Why, why, why, why do I do it???