17. Hundred Day Challenge: Week 5 in Review

Apologies for the delayed post, life has been hectic lately. That being said, it’s better late than never. Or, as someone famously said, doing something over and over again averagely is better than doing something once perfectly.

Anyways, back to trading. Week 5 was a bloody success. We netted a total profit of $1,565.17 for the week, making it the single biggest week since starting this 100-day challenge. The funny thing? I traded so much less than in previous weeks. I finished with a total of 11 matches, down from:

• 14 - Week 1

• 17 - Week 2

• 13 - Week 3

• 13 - Week 4

What changed? Perhaps it’s the fact that the summer of cricket for Australia and New Zealand is well and truly underway, reducing the likelihood of trading junk markets. Or perhaps, just perhaps, I might have actually grown as a trader and am able to exercise more patience. Either way, things are starting to trend upwards.

Overtrading: The Cost of Complacency

In this week's edition of the Overtrading Review, let's examine what junk decisions were made. For some reason, I partook in PNG Women vs. Netherlands Women, a Dubai T10 game, YET ANOTHER domestic South African match, and a "bet" (rather than a trade) backing Sri Lanka to beat Zimbabwe overnight.

In this week's addition of overtrading, I lost a total of $479.01.

Week by week overtrading summary.

• Week 2: $283.00

• Week 3: $409.00

• Week 4: $230.00

• Week 5: $479.01

• Total Cumulative Loss: $1,401.01

I don't know how to make it any clearer for myself. I clearly have an edge in cricket, but I also clearly have a major discipline problem. My cumulative profit is decent ($1550+), but the money literally dumped down the drain is $1,401.01.

It's clear where the major improvement needs to be made. The top line is great; it's cutting out the bottom line where the true profit comes from. The fix is simple: go and enjoy my life rather than being perpetually glued to the odds. To think that I could almost double my profits by doing this.

Test Match Cricket:

Of the three formats, Test Match Cricket has traditionally been my weakest. I think early on, I lacked the patience to sit through longer trades, perhaps a symptom of my ADHD or the tendency to pull the trigger more times than required.

That seems to have changed recently. This week, I got the better of both major Test matches: between the Ashes Test and India vs. South Africa, I netted a massive $1,880. This could be a case of both tests having major market swings, or it might be that my patience and skill in longer-form trading have genuinely improved. Either way, I have a chance to prove myself again in the next fortnight with the upcoming Ashes Test.

The Final Word

All in all, a great week. That being said, the challenge remains crystal clear. Don't overtrade, both within a single game and with the total number of matches chosen. Keep things simple. The top line is great, and I don't need to go hunting new angles or edges. In fact, I need to do the opposite: Stop hunting in markets that don't need to be hunted. Chill out, get outside, hang out with my partner and mates, and zone in only for the games worth zoning into.

Thanks for reading.