What is Spread Betting?

 

If you are new to the world of financial spread betting then you have come to the right place. Spread Betting Beginner is your resource to all things spread betting and best of all it’s free. My name is Harry and I run this site. I regard myself as a spread betting beginner and refer to myself likewise in all blog entries, forum posts and other correspondence throughout this site.

 

I’ve made no assumptions in writing the content of the site and it is aimed at complete beginners right through to experts. If you are a newbie then I suggest you first learn the basics. My beginners guide to spread betting is a great place to start.

 

A Brief Overview

 

If you’re completely new to spread betting you’re probably wondering what it actually is. Well spread betting offers a unique way for you to access and trade the worlds financial markets. You can speculate on anything from FOREX to Gold, Form Orange Juice to Indices. You can trade your favourite companies from all over the world such as Apple, Microsoft, BP and Vodafone. You can spread bet as much or as little as you would like, but be warned it’s not as easy as some might make it seem. You can make or lose money very quickly and it’s of the upmost importance that you only spread bet money you can afford to lose.

 

Making Money

  1. How much money can I make spread betting?
  2. Can I make millions?
  3. How much money do I need to start?
  4. How can I Guarantee I will make money?
  5. I want to be rich! Will spread betting make me rich?
  6. How much money do most people make spread betting?
  7. I’m using my savings to spread bet. I can’t afford to lose the money. Should I be trading?
  8. What’s a sensible amount of money to start trading with?
  9. I lost all my initial deposit spread betting. Should I bet more to win it back?
  10. I’ve heard stories of people losing thousands trading. Will this happen to me?
  11. May the markets be with you! What’s that all about?

Still Interested?

 

If I haven’t put you off, believe me I don’t want to put you off but it’s highly important you understand the risks involved. So If I haven’t put you off you will need a few key things to get you started.

 

Choosing the right Company

 

Firstly you will need a spread betting company. Now most traders that I know have more than one firm they use on a regular basis. Why more than one? Well some companies offer better spreads on some products than others and vice versa. Therefore you can check you are getting the best deal available to you, which in the long run will save you a lot of money. You can use my companies compared chart to help you choose the right firm for you. If you’re still struggling to decide then why not check out my company reviews to help you make up your mind.

 

Only Risk what you can afford to lose!

 

Under no circumstances should you spread bet with money you need to pay the mortgage, bills, kids collage funds or anything else you need the money for. Only ever spread bet with money you can afford to lose. I know no one likes to lose money, I know I don’t. If you are lucky enough to have some spare money you can use for spread betting I would right it off in your mind. Pretend that you no longer have the money this way if you lose the lot, although you won’t be happy, you will be mentally prepared to handle the loss. Believe me it happens. People enter the world of spread betting thinking how hard can it be only to realise it’s a tough old game and loose all their money and wonder “What happened there!”.

 

Experience Counts For a Lot!

 

You may not realise it right now but the journey you are about to embark on is not going to be an easy ride. You will go on a roller coaster of emotions, possibly over trade, make the same mistakes as everyone else, you may even end up quitting to go and lick your wounds from your losses. The thing you need to realise is, it will take time for you to build your experience. Imagine you want to become a doctor. You will need to study hard for several years, pass numerous tests and exams before you become qualified. Then you need to gain practical experience before you can be come a fully fledged doctor. The same is true for trading the financial markets.

 

You will need to read books, study hard, practice what you have learnt and then maybe you will start to succeed. A book on technical analysis and charting would be a great idea as it would help cut to the chase as far as share price are concerned and help focus one on profit opportunities. I’m mainly a swing trader and therefore tend to trade weekly or monthly setups. When I see the right set-up I trade it and tend to be correct far more than I’m wrong. You should use this site to your full advantage. Read my blog entries. In there I detail my experiences and any new trades that I make. Register for the spread betting forum. You will find many knowledgeable members there who are more than willing to help you and share their own experiences with you. The important thing is to start your spread betting education now! Remember to only commit to any position on what you can really afford to lose.

 

Latest from my spread betting blog

Looking at Gulf Keystone

14 April
By: Harry

Gulf Keystone and the acclaimed Exxon and Chinese “conversations” were very open opportunistic mild interests. And that was before the oil price collapse and before it turned out Shaikan is not the giant people made it out to be. Hence majors are not really that tempted for large but uncertain quantities of 22 API, high sulphuric geopressures, and slow exports/payments:

a. Any enquirers were and even more so now would be looking for very cheap takeover projects, not just Gulf but M&A in general
– in contrast to idiots here thinking it was Exxon for £8 or the Chinese at £45

b. Todd Kozel was a continual problem, everyone HATED his smirk and didn’t want to deal with him. There isn’t a single partner, investor, or potential bidder he hasn’t p!ssed off with his amateurism, arrogance and greed. He’s gone now but his legacy of sh!tting on this company remains.
– in contrast to muppets here who backed him and his salary ahead of CG concerns that came too little too late

c. Uncertainty behind Gulf’s claims and technical data
– in contrast to the silly hype many people have pandered on and the regurgitation of blah blah blacksheep’s now impossible 100bn bl prediction, the data room and tests do not concrete the high octane dreams of the ops team. This has backfired onto Gulf’s competency as an explorer/operator, and hence suspicions on the quality of the asset.

d. [Read more…]

Boohoo an Opportunity?

14 April
By: Harry

BooHoo’s higher marketing spend is very much in evidence – I keep seeing ads for the company on TV. Also, my niece has been educating me on the phenomenon of Vloggers – these are young people who do home-made videos, put them on YouTube, and in some cases (e.g. Zoella, and Alfie) have built up enormous fan bases of mainly teenage followers.

A few fashion companies (especially BooHoo) have got onto this trend, and sponsor the best Vloggers to promote their products, and to promote competitions, where teenagers can win free clothes, etc.

Zoella’s photoshoot of BooHoo’s new spring/summer season got a staggering 1.3 million views on YouTube in just 3 days, and 120,000 thumbs up votes. Those are stunning statistics, and shows that the top Vloggers have a greater reach than fashion magazines. They basically promote clothes & make up, and generally talk nonsense to the camera. They have no discernable talent, other than having an engaging personality, and being pretty.

Note also that BooHoo works with an Australian Vlogger called Lauren Curtis, and are planning to tie up with American Vloggers too. This is all very encouraging, as it shows that BooHoo understand their market, and how to promote stuff to them.

My niece tells me that BooHoo is popular amongst her peers (17-19 year olds), but that the product quality is a bit variable. However, she concluded that it’s cheap, so, “you get what you pay for”.

I feel that BooHoo definitely need t [Read more…]

Excuse my absence…

30 June
By: Harry

I’m sorry for not having posted lately but I’ve been exceptionally busy even though I’ve continued to trade.   To summarise I’ve lost a lot of money on my Avocet holdings,  made money on Amara, lost a lot on Gulfsands (which luckily I’ve managed to offload on its recent tick-up to 68p) and made a lot on long trades on both Xcite Energy and Quindell which I’ve timed out very well. I’m thinking of posting a statement of my account here if I figure out how to upload the data efficiently.

I still believe in Centamin as a long term play.  In my view they are relatively immune to gold price perturbations compared to the vast majority of producers that I monitor – thanks to their low all-in costs.

At current price of gold and extrapolating forward to their full 50:50 split with the state by c. 2019, I still estimate their earnings per share at 12p+ (ie making their forward P/E c.5x!), so on a fundamental basis they remain considerably undervalued.

Dividend payments are due to be paid from this financial year onwards.

Their large capital expenditures on the 10mtpa expansion are complete – so free cash flow will rise and remain positive going forward.

They have considerable resources and reserves – so life of mine for Sukari is considerable – even at c.600kozpa.

Ev/OPCF for 2013 was just 4.3x – indicating both the low valuation and extremely poor sentiment across the se [Read more…]