Orientation Manual

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Orientation Manual

Dynamic
Tennis
Trading

Orientation

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Orientation Manual

Welcome to the Orientation Manual for Dynamic Tennis

Trading.

From here I will assume you understand how a tennis

match works and I will not bore you with the rules of the
event. You may already know the importance of “Break
Points” in a tennis match and within tennis trading but, if
not, this is touched upon within this manual.

The main aim of this Orientation manual is just to explain

how I approach tennis trading so you can decide if it is an
approach you would like to take also.

I am open to emails if you have any questions regarding the

package. I will try and reply to all emails to help out readers
like yourself but obviously my time is restricted with it too.

The email address if you have any questions is:

[email protected]

Happy reading & Hope You Enjoy!

Peter Scott

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Orientation Manual

Why Is Dynamic Trading

So Profitable?
I am a firm believer that the best way to trade any sports these days
is in a dynamic way rather then with a completely mechanical style
strategy, especially when it comes to a sport like Tennis.

With Tennis, every match is unique and it is almost impossible to find

a “one size fits all” strategy. So then you will have to find specific
strategies that fit specific criteria which can be a good way to make
money but I find this process rather arduous and frustrating.
Especially, since I felt like I was not in control of my destiny when
trading mechanically.

When you trade in a dynamic style you are reacting to events that
unfold along with the match. You are spotting great low risk
opportunities to get into the market and grab some ticks. This
might be because a favourite is too low in price and you spotted the
underdog has raised the game a bit or it might be that you have
noticed the match is going to be tighter then the markets suggest
and you adapt your strategy along with it.

You will see in this package that the strategies I use are actually just
based on specific entry points that I know are quite low risk and
profitable times to enter the markets.

I will explain the amount of profit I will aim for with each trade and
when I will exit the market also however all is much better explained
in the real life dynamic examples. This is where I will show you real
trading situations and I will explain move by move just why I am doing
what I am doing. This will definitely help you to start applying some of
these trading principles into your own in-play trading game.

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Orientation Manual

Defining My Trading Style

When you read the strategy guides you will see that my
trading style is probably slightly different from the usual. I
do not do any simple back to lay or lay to back style trades
as I am into actively managing my position.

I actually developed this whilst trying to learn how to trade

Forex. By a stroke of luck, a good friend I went to school
with was doing trading for a living and I picked his brain for a
bit to find out how it is done. He invited me around to his
house and showed me some active trades he had.

He was a day trader, he would open positions in the

morning and assess his position at every hour point until
5pm. He would explain to me that he only ever opens a
trade when he has a good reason to do so and then he will
not remain static but will actually be “dynamic” while he is in
the market. For example, he might have been aiming for a
10 point move on a trade but after an hour he might have
gained 3 points. Instead of just crossing his fingers and
hoping for the full 10 points he would “trade back” some of
his money so he lowers his overall liability and so, if, the
trade does reverse against him he will take a much lower
loss or sometimes no loss at all. He felt that by doing this
he rarely ever took a damaging loss as he knew the best
times to enter the markets.

The best time to enter the markets was the part of it he

did not want to reveal to me and said I would have to learn
by myself. However, I already knew about Betfair and was
actively trying to learn how to trade Betfair profitably.

So I took his “dynamic” principles and wanted to see if I

could apply it to tennis and this was when I began to have
my Eureka moment with Tennis Trading.

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Orientation Manual

Why Trading Dynamically

Is The Way Forward
The main thing I want most people to learn from this package is how
to read a tennis match in-play and how to trade dynamically based on
how certain scenarios unfold.

I believe this way of trading is the way forward for the below reasons

– It's a skill
What you are learning is actually a skill. Being able to read
tennis matches and spot opportunities better then the
average trader is something that no one else will be able to
take away from you. Tennis Trading on Betfair is not going to go
away any time soon and this is a great skill to have if looking to
earn extra money or just for a new career.

– No Homework
When trading most in-play sports these days I feel like you do
have to do quite a bit of research and preparation before each
event so you know all the key statistics before you trade. There
is nothing wrong with this and you should do it however I do not
read too much into stats when trading tennis this way. I react
to how I see the events unfolding and how the players look to
me at this moment. If anything, I feel statistics might cloud my
judgement more then anything.

– Unlimited Opportunities
If I had a set strategy that I stuck to every match then my
trading life would probably be a little bit dull. As I trade based on
reacting to the unfolding events I simply never know what
opportunities might crop up next. This could be spotting a 1.01
shot who has started to lose their head and is now in
meltdown, noticing that a huge underdog is actually outplaying
the strong favourite or observing that a player the market
feels is injured is not quite as injured as they think. Every single
match has the potential to make you a huge amount of money if
you are on the ball and I love it!

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Orientation Manual

How I Trade A Tennis

Match
I agreed to do this package if I could simply write how I like to trade
myself rather then trying to pretend to be some sort of mr.perfect
of trading. I am the first to admit that I am not as “professional” as
others when it comes to trading but it works for me.

If you are interested this is a typical trading session for me on the

Tennis. Just for the record, I do not urge anyone to completely
replicate what I do but at least I am honest :-)

Firstly, I do not actually use a dedicated trading desk or office. I know

plenty of traders that do however my hand was forced by the fact
that my Skybox is in the living room. So, I trade literally in the living
room sitting on my sofa in front of my 42 inch TV.

I have my laptop on my lap, remote control to my right and a nice

drink on the coffee table. If I am feeling particularly daring I might
even put my feet up!

On the laptop I keep Betfair open along with Bet Angel and maybe
even Twitter or Facebook for the quiet moments when not much
action is happening. Not ideal but like I said, I am being honest!

Sorry to shatter any illusions that you might have had about
professional sports traders sitting in an office with hi-tech
equipment, multi-screens and wearing a suit. I don't want to paint an
unpleasant mental image but when trading during the summer I
regularly wear a t-shirt and shorts!

The upside of this style of trading is that I can trade on the move
quite easy. When I go on holiday I always ensure I get a hotel with wi-fi.
Then I might just sit in the lobby, fire up a live stream and trade
whatever match is in-play. It definitely feels great to be on holiday but
still earning money with not much stress. Even if I have a losing day
when on holiday I only have to realise that it was trading that got me
where I currently am so it can't be that bad.

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Orientation Manual

Why Break Points Are

The Key
I understand some may be reading this package as
complete tennis trading virgins and the sport might seem
a bit confusing at first but it really is quite simple.

I felt overwhelmed at first when I started trying to learn

the sport but it is not that hard.

The key moments within tennis matches are “Break

Points” and this is when a player wins a game against the
serve. This is the equivalent of a goal being scored in a
football match since once one player scores a break point
and goes “a break ahead” they are in front and likely to win
the set.

The markets know and understand the impact of break

points but they are also very prone to over reacting to
them.

When I first began trading tennis it was quite easy to back

a player when they had the chance to score a break point
at 0-40 or 15-40 and then lay them and green my book if
they converted as the markets would only react AFTER
the break point was scored...

Fast Forward To Today....

And I have had to adapt my style. This is because so many

tennis traders jumped on this style of trading while it was
easy that now the markets do not react much when a
break point is eventually converted..

This is because all of the movement now happens in the

points leading up to the break point!!

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Orientation Manual

So, my trading style is now firmly adapted to taking

advantage of the swings that can occur just when the
market fears a break point opportunity might be
developing.

These days you will see worthwhile price swings just when
the score goes to 0-15 or 15-30 and this is now what I am
looking for primarily. You will obviously see the strategies
and these are situations that can usually lead to things like
this happening.

The Breaking Back trade takes advantage of this very well

as the markets can panic a bit if they feel a player is just
about to lose a break point so soon after gaining one.

Overall...

Break points are key within tennis trading as the markets

are now reacting to the “possibility” of a break point rather
then the actual conversion. If you can spot opportunities
where it may look like a break point opportunity will develop
then you are likely to profit and do well. As you will see from
the strategies, these are usually moments when the
server is feeling more pressure then usual.

If you are jumping in only when the break point arrives then
you are too late in this day and age!

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Orientation Manual

Banking & Staking

As mentioned, I am going to do this package as true to life as
possible.

Most of the professionals advocate trading and only risking 3-4% of

your bank in a single trade and increasing this as your bank grows
however I actually do not trade like that. This is not because I do not
agree with that way of trading but actually because I grew tired with
trying to keep up with the numbers. (Told you I am honest!)

So, my only trading rule that I stick to when it comes to the bank is
never to lose more then 5% of my bank in one match.

Since I am often using multiple strategies in a match I will enter when

I feel the time is right and see what happens. If I lose maybe 2-3
trades in a row then my overall red screen might well be looking at a
loss which is near to 5% of my overall trading bank. For example, if
my trading bank was £1000 I will stop trading a match once the red
screen reaches a £50 loss.

My main reason for this is that if I have had enough losing trades in a
row on a particular match that has equated to a 5% loss of my bank
then I must simply not be reading that match correctly. You can not
win them all, so I will just turn that match off and move on to the next
one. I turn it off to avoid temptation to get involved again and chase
my losses.

Another point to make, if, for example, I am trading with a £1000

bank then my 5% loss will be £50. I will only increase the max loss
once I have doubled that bank. So, once I get up to £2000 I will
increase the max loss to £100.

I also withdraw my profits on the final day of the month to “pay

myself” rather then compounding the bank. This is simply because I
do need the money to pay for things and this is my job so mentally it
feels much more rewarding to get the money at the end of the
month like most people do in a normal job.

As I mentioned, I do not believe this is the best way to do it and there

is probably much better ways out there. However, it is what works
for me and what I feel comfortable with. I feel trading with how you
feel most comfortable is the best way to approach these things.

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Orientation Manual

How To
Read A Tennis Match
The key to being dynamic when trading tennis is in how you
read a tennis match when it is in-play. Once you
understand how to read a match you might not even need
strategies any more as you will “know” when to enter the
markets and what to do when you are in there.

Before I began trading Tennis I had never watched a match

apart from the odd Tim Henman Wimbledon match during
the 90s. I thought trying to “read” and understand a
tennis match would be a nightmare however it is actually
easier then you think.

The best way to read a match when starting out really

comes down to seeing how each player serves. When you
spot a player serving well you should side with them and
vice versa.

Good Serving Vs Bad Serving

When you are trading dynamically this means you have to

react to how the events are unfolding in front of you. The
prices on the tennis markets are decided BEFORE the
match begins and we have the advantage of actually
seeing how the players are performing at particular points
and the best way to do this is by seeing how they are
serving.

Watch every point and if you see a player winning points on

serve via an Ace or with a very short rally then this means
they are serving very well.

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Orientation Manual

Here are signs a player is serving well:

– Short quick points won by server

– Scoring Aces (Scores point direct from serve)
– Wins game from 40-0 or 40-15

When a player is serving well I will be much more inclined to

side with them at that point during the match.

Spotting a player who is serving badly is pretty much the

opposite of everything mentioned above.

Here are signs a player is not serving very well:

– Frequent faults and double faults

– Frequent serving to the Net
– Long rallies after serving
– Taken to deuce (40-40) or wins the service game
after a 40-30.
– Gives opponent break point chances

When you see the above signs it means this player is

struggling on serve and should be opposed in some way
depending on the current situation in the match.

When you are new to trading tennis you should perhaps

watch two service games from each player before
drawing any conclusions. Just bear in mind that almost all
players have a dip in performance level at some point
during the match and a bad service game can come from
nowhere sometimes.

They are human after all!

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Orientation Manual

How To Choose
Which Matches To Trade
When I first started trying to trade tennis I admit that this bit
stumped me somewhat. I would go to the tennis in-play coupon and
there would multiple matches all on at once and some starting soon
which left me confused with trying to pick which ones to trade. It was
mind boggling to say the least!

I only started doing well with tennis trading when I realised you have
to shut out all the noise and try and concentrate on one thing at a
time.

Now...

I trade only ONE match at a time.

I suggest you do this also as these markets are so fast moving

there is little to no point switching from one to the next.

The matches I choose to trade are ones I can watch!

I will log on to Betfair and see if a match is going to start shortly or

maybe I might get involved with a match that has only just got
started. Then I flick on Eurosport, Sky Sports or maybe BBC or
ITV4 to see if there is a live match on. If there is this will usually be the
one I trade.

If I can not find a match live on TV I switch to the streams on either

Betfair Live Video or Bet365 Live Streaming.

I basically let the TV schedule dictate what I am going to trade. I

strongly believe in watching the match as you trade as you really get
a good feel for the players and pick up on things you wouldn't
otherwise If using just a scoreboard. Also, the fact that a match is
televised usually means the liquidity will be good as other traders will
be involved also.

So, if you are having a problem choosing a match to trade then just
go with the one you can actually watch live and trade that.

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Orientation Manual

Pre-Match Research
You are probably already aware that this package is all
about teaching you how to trade Tennis matches in a
dynamic style that does not require pre-match
preparation or research. So the inclusion of this
section might confuse you.

The only bit of research I suggest you do is to

familiarise yourself with the top players. This will come
naturally after being involved with the sport for a bit
but if you are a beginner then this might be needed.

This site will show you the ATP rankings:

http://www.atpworldtour.com/Rankings/Singles.asp
x

This site will show you the WTA rankings:

http://www.wtatennis.com/rankings

Just knowing who is in the top 10 can be a big help

when initially trying to work out which players will feel
the pressure more then others. Players at the top of
the rankings are much more likely to have the
experience to handle the pressure. I would only really
oppose them if I can “smell” the tension during the
match or if it was in the latter stages of a tournament
(QF onwards).

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Orientation Manual

Understanding The
Screenshots

The infographic above should help you to understand what you are
looking at when you read the screenshot examples in the strategy
books. The software I use for trading is Bet Angel but this is really
for ease of use and the one clicking bet feature. Most software does
this so I would not be too fussed about trying to get Bet Angel in
particular as it is also the most expensive.

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Orientation Manual

Which Matches Are Best

For Trading?
I do not discriminate too much when it comes to selecting
which matches to trade. On some weeks, you have to get what
your given with regards to live tennis on TV which is where I am
most comfortable. However, in my experience the best
matches to trade are usually ones that have the below
characteristics:

– 3 Set Matches
I enjoy trading 3 set matches simply because they are usually
very short in time length compared to 5 set matches and
since they are so short you can see much quicker price swings
and over reactions. I really do not have the patience to sit
through 5 set matches and only do so in the latter stages of
the grand slam tournaments.

– Women's Matches
I have my best results in Women's matches since there are
usually so many changes in momentum and breaks of serve.
The Men are usually very solid when it comes to serving which
can mean we can have stalemate matches which are boring to
trade however the women are less solid on serve and this
makes matches more unpredictable which suits my style.

– Non Grand Slams

This might sound surprising as most outsiders probably feel
the best opportunities with tennis trading are during grand
slams. However, in my experience I find my best results come in
the smaller tournaments. This is probably because the strong
favourites do not take them as seriously as the markets
expect and it can be easier to spot a low priced favourite who is
not interested and some great results can be produced.

Please do not take this as me saying you should only trade the
matches that fit that criteria as that is not true. As long as you
can read the match well like I explained above then any match
can be good for trading!

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The
Importance Of Surfaces

This section should be nice and brief.

As you may know, tennis matches can take place on hard

courts, grass courts or clay courts. I have seen much
written about how different surfaces can impact the
types of matches and I have even seen talk of Tennis
Traders adjusting their style depending on the surface.

Personally, for me, I would not spend too much time

worrying about how the surface might affect your trading.
I initially spent some time worrying about it but it was a
waste of time.

Perhaps if you were actually playing the sport itself then

you may have to adjust your game plan but since I am all
about looking for pressurised moments within a match
the surface is not that important to me.

As long as you read the match that is in front of you and

react to only what you are seeing then you will be OK.

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Orientation Manual

3 Common Tennis
Trading Mistakes To
Avoid
Trading Blindly
Probably the biggest thing I notice new tennis traders doing is
thinking this is a sport you can trade without even watching the
match. This is a lazy way of thinking and even just following a
scoreboard is putting you at a severe disadvantage. With the
Internet it is very easy to get pictures of the match and the
information this gives you is what can give you the edge.

Entering Trades For No Reason

I also notice that many new tennis traders will learn a strategy and
then think that they should apply that strategy to every situation
that suits it. Tennis trading is not as simple as that. You do need a
strategy but, before you enter a trade, you also need good reason
to enter the trade. I remember seeing some traders using the old
“15-40” tennis trading strategy but using it every time that
scenario came up which led them to lose in the long term. You have
to have reason for wanting to enter the market.

Not Understanding Risk Vs Reward

In trading of any form from Forex to Stocks, you need to have a good
understanding of Risk Vs Reward. Most professional traders in
other fields will always aim to make more profit then their potential
loss is. So if they are risking £50 per trade they would want to make
a profit of £50+. I see many tennis traders taking very frequent
small wins but then taking one big loss that wipes it all out. This is not
a very healthy way of trading, it can feel good to get those small wins
but I guarantee that big loss will hurt more then anything.

My advice would be to always try and win more on a trade then your
maximum loss is. You will see what I do in order to try and make the
biggest profits possible from each trade.

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Finally...
I expect you have probably left this book till last to read as you
probably delved right into the strategies (I know I would!).

However, if I can give some final advice to a new trader starting out it
would be not to rush things. Do not expect to become profitable
overnight. It took me about a year before I began regularly making
profits but I did not have guides like this to help me at the time.

Do not believe this is a magic potion and you can now trade with big
stakes and rake in a big living right away. Be realistic and start with
small stakes. When you are profitable you can increase your stakes
and the tennis markets can absorb a lot of liquidity.

Also, if you are constantly getting losing trades when using the
strategies then the problem is not with the method itself but
actually with how you are reading the match. The match reading is
the real skill here dudes.

I wish you the best of luck on your journey and I hope you find the
information contained in here to be very valuable!

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