Lately (thanks to the Dob software ) I am doing a lot more in-play trading...
I must warn you though that I see it more as an advanced strategy because there are some things you really need to think about before attempting them yourself.
Decide before.
I think you should be very clear before your trading day starts which runners you are going to use for an in-play trades.
Randomly picking runners is not the way to go.
Research the runner.
The Dob software shows there are 100's of selections every day that you can pick to trade...
...But you really want to pick ones that have a history of dropping in price in running.
Take SP.
Unless you are lucky enough to get a price higher than SP (Which would only happen if the runner's price was dropped rapidly after you started the trade) before the off then the best price to take is SP.
This ensures you have the highest price to trade against once you go in-play.
Give yourself time
Races of 7f or more give you more time to trade and are less frantic than 5f and 6f races.
A 5f race can be over very quickly so unless you have a very good reason to be on the runner I would avoid them
Stop loss
Have a clear indication of when you are going to get out.
The in-play market can go against you quickly so be prepared to cash out quickly if things start to go wrong.
Saying all that there can be a lot of profit trading in-play especially if you are lucky enough to pick the runner that goes on to win.
Another reason why research is important.
It's not a strategy I would recommend to BCOTM members unless they also have a copy of the