Simple isn’t always fun: Gambling vs Trading
Gambling is fun, but not for me. Gambling for me is taking a position on an event before kick-off and praying that you are right. Gambling holds the thrill of being right or the agony of being a victim of fate. Gambling is simple and mostly passive. I don’t like being at the mercy of the market or a sport. I don’t like being powerless to work my way out of a bad situation. I like being able to take advantage of opportunities to win much more than a placing a bet could allow. Gambling doesn’t let you do that. That’s why I’m a trader.

Trading is much more fun than gambling. Trading is using your intelligence, insight and foresight to play the market. It is the opposite of gambling. Gambling is basically a passive activity. Trading is taking control of your position in a risk based environment. I like trading much more. It lets me try out my ideas throughout an event, whether it’s a day-trading S&P futures or Barcelona vs Real Madrid.

Once again, gambling is taking a position at kick-off and then praying that the outcome goes your way. It’s sort of a “buy and hold” mentality. You get married to a position, for better or worse. Trading needs a lot more in the way of thinking and insight about what’s actually happening in a market, or on the field. So you “buy and hold” gamblers, get ready for a bumpy, but very fun ride.

My Jargon
I think of trading Betfair in the same way I think of trading stocks, backing is the same as buying or going long and laying is the same as selling or going short.

More people trade stocks than sports on Betfair. Communicating to the masses is easier if you use their jargon. Personally I prefer it since I traded the financial markets long before I ever heard of Betfair.

So let’s get this straight:
Backing = buying = going long = long
Laying = selling = going short = short

I will be using these interchangeably because this is sort of a stream of consciousness thing and I naturally tend to mix the terms.