Hi Stefan,
After failing to get a bet placed using a Block staking, I carried out the checks you stated
1. Checked the single bet on a match within the criteria - success!
2. I changed the odds to 1.01-1000 and ran the bot, it worked with a few bets.
I don't know why it would not work for my odds, so I made a new Accumulator bot from the Block Staking... just to be sure.
I also decided to "move" the criteria (more than $100 matched) from the selection of games to the bot.
Thereby it would effectively 'wait' until 5 minutes before the game to check criteria, rather than my selection hours before.
This increased the chance of the football match being selected.
Thanks, Stu
Comments ( 19 )
Betfair Bot
Your bot strategy consists from two bots:
“Execute Block Staking Plan” what is custom bot I built for you implementing your staking plan.
The action bot you enter to your staking plan bot, setting the parameter BotName.
This bot implementation of yours actually allows using any bfexplorer bot to place your bets. In your specification you wanted to place a bet, but this way can actually use a trading bot as well, if that makes sense to use in your staking strategy.
Because you will run your strategy automatically on all football markets of your choice utilizing Bot Executor tool, it is a good practice to test your action bot behavior first manually executing it on selected market in Bet Event view, so you will see how your action will work.
If you set Entry Criteria or allowed odds range, or any other parameter influencing your action bot behavior, then you should test the action bot on martket selections which fulfils such criteria, and also on market selections on which your action bot should not place a bet, just to check if everything works as you intended.
Stu42
Yes, I understand. At the moment I am not getting the Block staking to work. It worked once, but then I could not get the thing to action any bets (and there were lots I missed). So I have a few questions:
1. Do I need to remove the old block staking bot which has finished, for the new one to work?
2. There are 2 times, one for the action bot, and one to execute the block staking. Should these be set the same time (i.e. -0:05:00) OR should the action bot be 'inside' the block bot?
What times would make this fail to execute?
3. How can I remove all the matches from the Open Events and also the Open Markets tab?
Thanks,
Stu
Betfair Bot
1)
No, you do not have to delete/remove your bot setting from My Bots to Execute. Actually it is not a bot instance in “My Bots to Execute” panel/view, but as I said just bot parameter settings. When you click on Execute toolbar button, or bot is executed by “Bot Executor”, then a new bot instance is created and bot settings are set to this bot instance, so bot will behave according to the bot settings.
Your custom bot creates internally a market block array which contains all markets your staking plan executing your bets on. For now the only way how to reset your staking plan strategy is to restart bfexplorer.
2)
There is no need to set any time for an action bot, nor your staking plan bot, as the staking plan bot is automatically executed by “Bot Executor” at set time. Of course when you execute your staking plan manually, and you want your action bot to be executed at set time, then you need to set ExecuteOnTime parameter.
3)
“Open Markets” view shows all open markets, you open with some intention, right? So when you do not need a market to be monitored anymore you simply close it from “Bet Event” view, or from “Bet Event Trader” view depending of which view you prefer.
Why you can close a market from “Bet Event/Bet Event Trader” view? Well, because as I said you open your market with some intention: to place a bet or to trade when some conditions are met, to make some research, monitoring market prices movements, and so on.
So decision to close a market depends on basically on market prices, and that could be seen in “Bet Event/Bet Event Trader” view only.
Of course, “Open Markets” view offers its own features as well, you can filter, sort, or group markets, and you can switch “Open Markets” view to card view interface where you can see all market selections prices and place bets without switching to “Bet Event/Bet Event Trader” view.
Bfexplorer Console offers script execution tool, which can be used to close all markets as well.
Just type:
bfexplorer.CloseAllMarkets()
and click on Execute toolbar button in the Bfexplorer Console view.
Read about Bfexplorer Console, and if you have got some idea for useful script then post it here on forum.
http://bfexplorer.net/Articles/Search?text=console
Betfair Bot
I think I identified potential problem with your staking plan bot. The bot checks if previous markets are already settled, by calling betfair api method on the market. If the market is closed it means that all bets were settled and is known winning selection. Unfortunately, it seems that checking market status is time limited, after couple hours betfair does not return any results.
I will prepare a script you will execute manually at the end of the betting session to check market status for remaining markets.
Stu42
Thanks for the explanation on the closing using the script.
In your last statement you said you "will prepare a script you will execute manually at the end of the betting session to check market status for remaining markets". I'm not sure that this will work if most matches are while I am sleeping! In any case, a bot should be doing this for me automatically.
Or maybe I am missing the point?
Thanks
Betfair Bot
I know that my English is very poor, so please read the following text and let me know if that make sense:
“Unfortunately, it seems that checking market status is time limited, after couple hours betfair does not return any results.”
Yes, your staking bot automatically checks the status of previous markets, when your bot executes on a new market.
Stu42
Your English is great, I understand you perfectly, my problem is I may not understand the problem!
Time limited checking over 2 hours should be ok if a criteria-valid football match is approaching the start (especially on a Saturday) within the 2 hours.
And if it does not check it, then how does that affect the bot? I thought the previous results are "recorded" in a string of arrays, as we discussed, within the bfexplorer (as long as the program is open) when it wins, along with the new stake.
Something is not working, so hopefully you'll recognise it!
Another issue I am having is checking the valid matches quickly. Is it possible to have a column in Event Browser, Open Markets or Order/Bot Executor tab with the market price, 1 bid and 1 offer. It would make it easier for me to know which markets should be 'firing' a bet.
Thanks
Betfair Bot
Maybe I should rephrase my sentence:
“Unfortunately, it seems that checking market status is time limited, after couple hours betfair does not return any results.”
To:
“After a betfair market is closed, the market data (retrievable through betfair api) are valid limited time only. “
So your problem could be linked to this fact, your staking plan bot, had been trying to load market status, but as the market data were not valid anymore, the market was left in block array, and if there is no block available for a bet allocation, your staking plan bot stops placing bets.
I tested this fact today morning, having a market which was closed couple days ago, and the market closed today around 5 hours ago.
For the first market betfair api returns no data, for the second one I can still retrieve valid market data, the information about won and lost selections your staking plan bot needs.
So my question is what was the time from the last bot execution, till the next bot execution time?
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You do not have to check validity of markets manually. If you set market Entry Criteria, and the parameter: EvaluateEntryCriteriaOnlyOnce either for your staking plan bot or for your action bot then first time when the bot evaluates these criteria, are they are not met, the market is removed, so your strategy will not be executed on such market.
When executing your bot automatically using “Bot Executor” just uncheck “Open only selected” option, so all markets will be loaded, markets for couple days maybe, this is actually important to the fact we discussed above, not having to big time span between next iteration of your staking plan bot.
In the “Bot Executor” view, you can show hidden columns “Matched Bets” and “Unmatched Bets”, and close/hide columns “In-play”, “Profit Balance”. You are from Australia, so these markets are not turned at in-play for you.
If the column Monitored is checked, you know that for this market was executed your bot, and if “Matched Bets” and “Unmatched Bets” are checked then you definitely know that bets were placed on this market.
Selecting the market and double clicking on it, will open the market to “Bet Event” view, so you can check market data, and bets placed on this market.
“Bot Executor” stops market monitoring automatically when there is no running bot on the monitored market.
If you set your action bot parameter StopMarketMonitoring to True (checked), then “Bot Executor” will reopen such market to “Bet Event” view, so you can check what bet was placed and what are current market prices.
Stu42
Thanks Stefan,
I reload the bot daily at the moment, but wish it was automatic reload so I don't have to touch it.
All my parameters are set correctly to your specifications, but none were actioned last night to a bet. No bets.
Another program I have reloads matches constantly, remembers the wins/profits/losses regardless of the time from last trade whether a day/week or months & still trades from the previous settlement. I don't think it relies on Betfair but it's own memory storage. I would love it if bfexplorer bot could do the same. If not I can reload daily, no problem if it works.
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I already have the columns set up with Matched and Unmatched, but having a bid/offer column would mean I could see at an instance what the price is. Clicking through hundreds of matches would be laborious and time-consuming.
Thanks
Betfair Bot
Please read the following article:
Case Study 13 - Loading up markets each day automatically
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I do not understand the following ..
"but having a bid/offer column would mean I could see at an instance what the price is. Clicking through hundreds of matches would be laborious and time-consuming..."
Why you should click through through hundreds of matches?