Who I am and what I'm doing

About the blog

Boring git that I am I've been writing this blog since May 2006. It all started shortly after I got engaged and I decided to see if I could pay for my wedding by trading sports on Betfair and saving any profits. There were some highs and lows but from an initial £1,000 I eventually managed to shock myself and save over £33k for the wedding in August 2007. Which was more than enough for a fantastic day and honeymoon! :-)

Since the wedding I have decided to try and turn that initial £1,000 into £101,000. Again through trading sports on the Betfair betting exchange.

* Fuller details of the £1k to £101k challenge and my bankroll management
* Below is some more about me and what I initially wrote about the wedding challenge.

About me and the Wedding Challenge

Well, I'm the guy that's trying to pay for my wedding through trading on Betfair. So I guess that makes me not quite your average bloke. In most ways I fit the bill but it's always the "what do you do for a living" question that stumps people. It's my job, or lack of, as they see it, that seems to interest people. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me explain...

I guess my last proper job ended on March 15, 2002 when I was made redundant by a mate at the dot com company we were busting our balls to keep afloat. For you shrewdies out there you'll notice the date was kind of ironic - the Ides of March - but as ever these things worked out for the best. I've been pretty stress-free since and the company now prospers without my expenses bill. :-)

Being made redundant isn't a great experience though so I decided it wouldn't happen again. And what better way to ensure that than to become your own boss? So after a bit of thought I stumbled into the gambling industry.

I say stumbled but the reality was it was a bit of a no-brainer. I was already a regular on Betfair, had been spread betting for years before the exchanges appeared, had more than a few bookmaker accounts and could spot the bloke who'd smell of piss the moment I walked into a bookies.

Cap that with having some friends in the industry and a chat with an unnervingly sharp online gaming analyst bod from Merrill Lynch who explained how it was going to be a massive growth area and I'd found my new income source.

So how to cash in? Well, even now I'm not a professional gambler. By that I mean I make a useful income from my betting activity but it is not my sole income. Exciting as it would be to go for it I decided to keep the bank manager and tax man on board.

After all, I figured it was much better to have a provable income and accounts when you're doing the boring stuff like applying for a mortgage rather than casually informing the mortgage company: "Oh, I'm a professional gambler. But don't worry. I'm up again this year."

So the provable income meant falling back on my journalism background to write some gaming related stuff for whoever I could tart myself too when I felt like it and becoming an affiliate to various bookmakers, casinos and poker rooms. It also took the stress off the betting side of things.

So here I am now, over 4 years later and still enjoying my "work" from home. I mainly trade cricket and tennis and get to watch an awful lot of it which is great!

But I wouldn't call myself "full time" in the way many obsess over on the Betfair forums. Instead I keep my writing and affiliate income ticking over while always keeping an eye on the sporting calendar for good trading events.

The challenge

On January 10th 2006 the gorgeous Emma said Yes and we got engaged. :-) We are getting married on August 18, 2007. Now, as any of you who have done the deed recently know getting married ain't cheap!

So to help cover the costs I'm running a separate Betfair account from May 1, 2006. I have a £1,000 bank. At the end of each day / event I will either withdraw the balance above £1,000, or add the difference. Meaning at the start of each event I will always have a £1k balance.

I don't expect to cover the entire cost of the wedding with the sums involved but a hefty contribution would be most welcome! The key thing is any profit from this account goes directly to the savings for the wedding. Any losses come out of my pocket. (My trading funds are separated from our day to day accounts).

That's it - Wish me luck!!

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