Forum Article

Comments ( 41 )

• Graf

  21.5.2020 13:56:26

  Betfair finally answered my messages and kindly fixed the delay problem caused by BF Explorer software data requests:

  "Hi,
  
  Recently we have done a review of usage of exchange market data to highlight the accounts reading the most and using up our system resources. 
  
  On review of your account, you have been found to have made over xxx million requests to the exchange in the last 3 months using the BFExplorer API. This amount of reading activity must be reduced if you would like the market data delay to be removed from your account. 
  
  Please could you explain why your account is reading this volume of data.
  
  

  Kind Regards,

  Betfair Developer Program"

   

  If I set:

  Application » Settings » Update Interval » Active market [ms] to 500

  Monitor passive markets: NO

  and:

  Order » Bot Executor » Update Interval [s] to 1.5

  BF Explorer will make a data update request for Active markets every 500ms or 1500ms ?

  Will it make any data update requests for Passive markets ?

  If I keep Monitor passive markets set to NO and also set Use market/order streaming to YES, will it make any data update requests for Passive markets ? 

• Betfair Bot

  21.5.2020 14:32:53

  Thanks Graf for sharing your communication with betfair. I hope others will learn from it.

  It is actually common sense you should use when using bfexplorer app, as I did not program any limitation for using betfair api. You can open hundreds of markets with bfexplorer and when still leaving them open the market data are updated in interval set for passive markets.

  Yes, good alternative, mainly when opening a lot of markets is to switch off: Monitor passive markets, then even you open 100 markets, the only one which is actively monitored market is the active one, so the one open in the Bet Event view.

  In this case keep in mind, mainly when you place bets on such markets, that bet status is checked only for monitored markets.

  The other alternative is to use streaming api, betfair limits streaming api to 200 markets you can get market data updated. In this case changes are streamed, so bfexplorer app does not make api request repeatedly like when using rest api, what is default settings for bfexplorer app.

  If you run automated strategies by Bot Executor tools, then again keep in mind that depending on your settings, bfexplorer will additionally make queries to betfair api. Bot Executor tool automatically stops market monitoring for market/s on which no bot is running anymore.

  Bfexplorer offers live score updates for tennis or football, so there is no need to monitor associated markets like for instance Bet Angel users must do, just to judge current score from under/over or correct score markets.

  If you need to monitor market data, just to gather historic data, or price movements if you execute such kind of strategy, then there are means to get such data without actively monitoring markets through betfair api. For instance here I did some experiments with charting:

  http://bfexplorer.net/Articles/Search?text=chart

• Tony

  22.5.2020 14:34:19

  I have also received that same message from Betfair but I have two very important questions:

  - If I have "Update interval" set to 1 second on "Order/Bet Executer" and "Monitor passive markets" on "Aplication Settings" set to "NO", will the software make any calls to Betfair when all markets on "Order/Bot Executor" are "Passive" and there are no "Active" Markets ?

  - If I have  "Active market (ms)" set to 600 on "Aplicatrion Settings" and "update interval (s)" set to 1 on "Order/Bot Executor", will the software make readings on Betfair API every 600ms or 1 second ?  

• Bodasy

  22.5.2020 16:00:26

  with Monitor passie markets "no" and Use market streaming "yes", are there any data readings when all markets on Strategy/Bot Executor are "passive" ?

• Betfair Bot

  22.5.2020 16:03:24

  First of all, what it is active and passive market/s.

  When you open markets in bfexplorer and keep them open, then you have got any time 1 active market, and x passive markets. It is clear when opening just 1 market, there is no passive market open.

  When you open 10 markets, you have got 1 active market, and 9 passive markets.

  In application settings you can set update intervals for active market (the value is in mili seconds) and for passive market/s (the value is in seconds).

  Yes, you can switch off monitoring of passive markets, then for instance if you open 10 markets, then only active market is monitored. Whenever you switch to other market the previous active market becomes passive one, and new selected market becomes active one, so is monitored.

  If you run bots on open markets, then keep in mind that bot is executed only when market data are updated, so in this case, when passive markets are not monitored/so market data are not updated, your bots are not executed on these markets.

  Bfexplorer can execute your bot automatically by Strategy Bot Executor or by Strategy Bot Executor for Selections. In this case you set Start execution time, and update interval. When you click on Open button in the Open in Strategy Bot Executor dialog, then bfexplorer loads x markets (for instance all football matches), but that does not mean that all markets are instantly monitored.

  Markets are monitored from Start execution time (what is relative time to official event start time) and till any bot which is executed by Strategy Bot Executor is still running on the market.

  When your bot ends its execution, the Strategy Bot Executor automatically stops market monitoring.

  I would really suggest using common sense, and when you do not need to monitor market data, you should simply close such market.

  Of course if you open for instance 100 markets, and to all of them you place some bets, so you want bfexplorer to monitor market data, and bets status, or just your bet position, as when manually placing bets on markets, market selections are automatically added to Watched selections view, or you can watch My Bet Position on all markets, then you must wisely set the update interval for passive markets.

  In the Bet Event (Trader) view there is Close button, or in Open Markets view, you can select markets and click on Close button.

  And lastly, I actually mentioned that before. What I can imagine is following use case scenario. Let’s say you are football trader, so you open all matches and associated markets couple hours before kickoff time. Well yes, in such case you can monitor 100 to 300 markets per day, or even more.

  But if you open all those markets just because you want to see price movements, then there are other options, for instance like I showed on Chart Project, so price movement can be shown in charts with monitoring markets for hours. It is simply possible to program any solution for your needs, to avoid problems with taking too much data through betafir api without betting on these markets.

• Graf

  22.5.2020 16:25:36

  I just need to know if I only use Strategy/Bot Executor, Start execution: -00:05:00, Update interval (s): 1.5 and I select 5 markets on 100 matches. With Monitor passive markets set to NO, will there be any data readings before 5 minutes of start of first match (while all markets on Strategy/Bot Executor are still "Passive") ? Thank you

• Tony

  22.5.2020 16:49:05

  Is there any way to monitor how many data readings are being made to Betfair ? 

• Betfair Bot

  22.5.2020 17:59:09

  Dear Sirs, I think there is still some kind of misunderstanding from your side.

  Bfexplorer app makes allowed number of requests, otherwise any additional request would be refused by betfair api server with error message, and on your end you would notice that as market data not being updated.

  What is important for you is following question betfair asked:

  “Please could you explain why your account is reading this volume of data.”

  Betfair business model is to earn on any winning matched bet, taking its fee. If your activity on betfair generates enough fees, so you generate more in fees, than costs of your activity on betfair,  any request to betfair api is not free, it takes resource betfair must pay.

  So if your activity costs betfair more than your generated fees, betfair can block your api access, and the first warning is to switch your api access to delayed data.

  What is a trigger level, I do not know, but it can vary from amount of fees you are able to generate for betfair. If you open 100 markets, and actually bet on 2-5 on them, then it is quite suspicious, do not you think?

  Therefore betfair asked you:

  “Please could you explain why your account is reading this volume of data.”

  I do not think betfair would ask you, when for instance you open 500 markets and bet/trade on every market you open.

  I think it is a good idea to read betfair T&C, because you can find there that you can be charged by placing more than 1000 bets per hour as well.

  https://www.betfair.com/aboutUs/Betfair.Charges/

  In this case no data counter would help you, please just use your common sense, and if you open too many markets, bet/trade at least on 25% of them for instance.

  You could ask that betfair as well, but I am not so sure if you would get the answer for that, because then they would declare what is their algorithm for find not so fair customers of theirs.

• Tony

  22.5.2020 18:33:54

  I ALWAYS place, at least, 3 bets on EVERY market I ever open and I have paid, so far, more than 8,000€ in total Betfair charges. So that isn't a valid argument or criteria for these API delays related to BFExplorer software data readings and it would be extremely useful if you could do everyone the outmost favour to answer all questions posted here with a simple "yes" or "no" to avoid any more future API delayed accounts due, exclusively, to BFExplorer amount of data readings.

• Graf

  22.5.2020 18:50:33

  I also never opened ay market witout placing any bet on it. That argument makes no sense at all. The main questions here are: do BF Explorer makes any data readings when Monitor passive markets are off and all markets on Strategy/Bot Executor are passive ? Does BF Explorer make any data readings simply because you are logged in and only with passive markets on Strategy/Bot Executor ?