Welcome to Excel VBA For Football Traders!  In this introductory video, I explain how to approach the course, and introduce the all-important learning journal.  Take the time to familiarise yourself with it, and make your you use it to maximise your learning.

In the first video, we get to grips with a typical dataset that football traders like you might use. Keyboard shortcuts will get you using Excel like a pro and we learn and apply our first ones  - make sure you write them down! We take a simple system - always backing the home team - and use an IF formula to calculate winnings (and losses!) We also deal with how to efficiently copy down a formula and cover relative and absolute references.  Yes, you'll learn how to use those dollar signs! $$$

Topics And Techniques

In video 2, we improve our analysis by incorporating commission, and give the option to include more 'criteria', in this case by focusing on a single team.  You may have seen the SUBTOTAL / filtering method before and though it certainly works, we will explore slicker ways to do the same thing later in the course.  We also discuss the issue of capacity in a spreadsheet: should you simple include whole columns in formula, for example? We discuss the pros and cons.

Topics and Techniques

Using SUBTOTAL and filtering involves a lot of clicking - so what are some of the alternatives?  In the third video in the course, we begin to explore Excel's powerful (and often overlooked) data analysis formulae.  Using SUMIF and COUNTIF, we can get the same result without having to manipulate the filter menus.  Cool!  And we're just getting started ... Finally, we introduce the idea of 'validating' calculations by achieving the same result two different ways.

Topics and Techniques

SUMIFS (with an 'S'!) is an extension of the SUMIF (without an 'S'!) formula and allows is to integrate multiple criteria in the analysis.  For example, we could test an idea such as 'what would returns be if we bet on Man United at home when odds are more than 1.5?'  These formulae can get long, so make sure you are steady and systematic when you put them together.  Take your time and make sure you punch the air when everything works! Oh, and don't forget to validate your calculations as we do in the video.

Topics And Techniques

Though the previous formulae certainly get the job done, putting them together can be onerous.  Is there an alternative that delivers the same power in a simpler format?  Of course there is!  The DSUM and DCOUNT formulae require some time and care to set up, but permit powerful instant analyses with just a few keyboard inputs.  Work along with Chris and take the time to set them up properly. I know you are going to love them!

Topics And Techniques