One of the most common questions people ask before getting started with football trading is how much time it takes.
It is a fair question. Most people do not want to spend all day sitting in front of a screen watching football matches, checking odds and waiting for something to happen.
The honest answer is that football trading usually takes more attention than normal betting. With a traditional bet, you place your bet and wait for the result. With football trading, you are usually opening a position, watching how the match develops and deciding when to exit.
However, that does not mean you need to be around from start to finish.
Once your trading position is open, what do you have to do?
You're usually waiting on a goal so you can go watch TV, read a book or do some housework. A score site such as Flashscore will tell you when a goal goes in.
Download the Flashscore app and go outside to wash the car if you want. With the Betfair app on your phone, you might not even need to come back inside the house!
A few minutes spent on planning and having the right tools at hand can make football trading much more flexible than many beginners expect.
Football Trading vs Betting
The main difference between trading football and traditional betting at bookmakers is that trading gives you more control.
With a normal football bet, you are usually waiting for the final result. Once the bet is placed, there is not much else to do.
With football trading, you are looking for the right time to enter and exit the market.
This means you can see how the match develops before entering a trade. You can also take a profit before full-time, or exit a trade for a smaller loss it's not going to plan.
That extra involvement is what gives football trading its flexibility, but it also means you need a clear plan before placing a trade.
Do You Need to Watch Every Match?
The answer is no, you do not need to watch a match at all to trade football.
Our Live Stats Module (LSM) tracks the in-play stats for hundreds of football matches all over the world. Shots, corners, dangerous attacks, attack ratings - it's all there.
Many football trading strategies are built around specific moments in a match, rather than constant monitoring from kick-off to full-time.
Goal Profits members know exactly which football matches have plenty of action and which teams are actively trying to score.
Some Strategies Take Less Time Than Others
The amount of time you need really depends on the strategies you use.
Some involve trading from early in the match and will need monitoring throughout. Others focus on just the first or second half, or specific in-play situations.
The key thing is, you can choose strategies that fit around your routine.
For example, if you have built a shortlist based around second half strategies, you wouldn't need to be around for the first half.
With some strategies, you only need to be around for 15-20 minutes of the match.
At Goal Profits, Team Stats can help with this process. You can research matches earlier in the day, then use the Live Stats Module during the match to see whether the in-play action supports your original idea.
This combination of pre-match research and in-play data can make football trading much more manageable.
Can You Trade Football on Mobile?
Yes, many parts of football trading can be managed from a mobile device.
Score apps can alert you when goals are scored, and the Betfair app allows you to check prices, place trades and manage open positions.
You definitely do not need to be sitting at a desktop computer all the time.
Trading on your mobile is useful for monitoring and managing trades on the go, but it can also be easier to get distracted.
Personally, I set an alarm on my phone to remind me when I need to open or exit a trade.
You can also make use of our Telegram alerts, which notify you whenever a game from your shortlist meets certain criteria in-play.
Time Saving Tips
- Focus on quality over quantity
You do not need to trade every match. Keep things simple and focus on a smaller number of matches that are the best fit for your strategy.
- Build a shortlist
Pre-match research can save you a lot of time later on. If you already know which fixtures interest you, you are not starting from scratch once the games are in-play. With your shortlist already set up, all you'll need to do is check in-play stats later on.
- Use Telegram alerts
One of the useful features at Goal Profits is the Telegram alerts. Once they are set up, you can be notified whenever a match on your shortlist meets certain conditions. It's a huge time saver!
- Have your exit plan ready before you enter
One of the biggest time-wasters is entering a trade and then trying to work out what to do afterwards. Before you get involved, know what you are waiting for and when you want to exit.
So, Does Football Trading Take a Lot of Time?
Football trading does take more attention than set-and-forget betting, but it does not have to mean watching matches all day.
One of the advantages is that trading gives you more control than traditional betting because you can react to what is happening in-play. However, it still carries risk and it only works when you have a clear plan, discipline and sensible bank management.
The real answer is that football trading takes as much time as your strategy requires.
If you really want to be a successful football trader you will find a way to make it work for you, just as every professional trader did.