human element

[robin09]

well i dont do badly at my trading using this masterpiece of software. i got to turn n bow to gary for his creation. one thing that needs taking out of this software is human element sometimes in running i throw in the towel to early and other times get my bank smashed into. i need a robot kick me when the times right to pull out til some kinda trigger saves me lol.....
i saw a guy on ebay sellin a betfair exchange poker robot. is that a feature you may pursue after your API version gary ? well wont go into that im happy with what u created.
so wont be greedy thanks again gary.

[Mitch]

Maybe Gary could just replace all of the elements of Betting Assistant with a 800 x 600 button saying Make Money Now! ?

Seriously though, why not try to spot a trend or something that happens when in hindsight it would have been best to get out or stop trading.
If you can define a set of rules for when to stop, then Excel can give you your metaphorical kick.

[robin09]

mitch thats why need um robot to cancel for me you offering (joke)
the human element is all about judgement bad judgement costs cash

[Mitch]

I can offer to write something to stop trading for you if you can figure out the rules, but as for me actually telling you when to stop then one look at my account history on Betfair would put you off that idea

[robin09]

well mitch i guess a cancel trigger for in running to back at 1.5 would come in handy but im not a programmer so cant do much at my end.
also i offered my own odds reversed ie say 3.4 to lay 3.2 to back at both £5 stake was took pronto sayin i had small profit but cos didnt use trading i got 0.0 in betfair settled bets so hence the dissapointment i wonder if gary could help with that

[robin09]

oops i meant say got back after reversin 3.4 and lay say 3.2 equal stakes £5 back £5 lay but they just cancelled one another so got 0.00 in betfair settled bets

[Mitch]

Do you mean you didn't make anything on the trade because the horse you did the trading on didn't win?

If you already know the odds you are going to back and lay at, and your stake then you can work out what the 2nd stake should be to provide equal profit on all runners.

Lay Odds divided by Back Odds multiplied by Original Stake.

If you're doing it on the fly then by the time you've worked that out the odds will have gone but Excel could do it.

What exactly do you mean by "i guess a cancel trigger for in running to back at 1.5 would come in handy" ?
If you have Excel but don't know how to use it properly I'd be glad to write something for you.

[robin09]

well mitch say i laid something at 3.05 and was falling rapidly then say is i had a auto back it at 1.5 i would get out without losing all my cash.
say i layed the field at 3.05 and i caught 3 or 4 in my net which happens sometimes in wide open races ie 4.0 or more favourite well if one ended up with its odds plummiting cos was goin on to win race it could be hard to watch all 3 or 4 so if u had the back at 1.5 trigger in then if the remaining runners lost the race u would be well in pocket and winner cancelled before it can do too much damage

[Mitch]

I think I understand now.

Assuming you use A1 as the top left cell to post data from BA to, if you put this formula in N5 and copy it down for all the runners it will back anything that reaches 1.5

IF(F5<=1.5,"BACK","")

Beware though that it will back every horse that reaches 1.5, which is sometimes more than 1 per race.
This can be modified if for example you only want to back it if the next best is over a certain odds, or it is available to lay at a certain odds as well i.e. you wouldnt want to back anything at 1.5 if no-one is prepared to back it at 1.6 etc.

You would also have to fill in the odds and stake for each runner if you did it that way. Any horse that didn't get down to 1.5 wouldn't be backed.

[robin09]

hi mitch and thx i do have excel somewere and have done a basic computer course i used to also do my own stuff in basic language years ago but im not a programmer.
i can see you know your stuff. thanks for working that out theres some smart brains available on this site should the ideas come together no one knows wots capable of materialising.

[robin09]

i just wonder if like the trading button were u can see the profit on offer and take it. wether be possible to have if im not using the tradin button an auto stake calculator to place on the backside if youve laid in running ie if you have done the backside £5 and lay side £5.
and i got the lay at 1.5 and goes out to 2.5 and i wanna back it.
i know this sounds like im talkin about the trade already in the program but i believe this could be useful. do i seem like i know wot im talkin about or am i losin it, my heads spinning here keep gettin ideas lol...

[Mitch]

I think the jury's still out on whether you're losing it or not, but I wouldn't ask for a vote if I were you

I'm not sure I understand you, but I think you're asking if the details of the reverse trade can be worked out in Excel?
You can do this but you need to have recorded the odds and stake that the original bet was at... lets say you put them in A30 and B30, but you could change that to wherever you want.
Assuming the first horse (or whatever) is in row 5, then the stake calculation to put in P5 would be....
= $A$30 / F5 * $B$30
In the stake column (cell O5) you could have =F5

Then you could either have a formula for the decision to trade or do it yourself.
You could also show the potential profit somewhere but you'd have to have another cell somewhere indicating whether the original bet was a LAY or a BACK.

I think it's a little more complicated than I've said as there are other things to consider but definately do-able.

[robin09]

hi mitch that earlier trigger message i posted about backin at 1.5 i tried it but didnt get it to work did i do it right i wonder IF(F6<=1.5,"BACK","")
say my selection was in f8 do i change this line to IF(F8<=1.5,"BACK",")
and do i put it in as it is and do i need 2 save it or just let it happen
i also ticked the trigger button thats seen on opening it in excel.
trial and error costs cash so sooner know before hand. thanks

[thunderfoot]

hi mitch that earlier trigger message i posted about backin at 1.5 i tried it but didnt get it to work did i do it right i wonder IF(F6<=1.5,"BACK","")
say my selection was in f8 do i change this line to IF(F8<=1.5,"BACK",")
and do i put it in as it is and do i need 2 save it or just let it happen
i also ticked the trigger button thats seen on opening it in excel.
trial and error costs cash so sooner know before hand. thanks

Just jumping here, Mitch feel free to correct me.

Yes change it to F8. Each cell in the column will read:
In Row 6 - IF(F6<=1.5,"BACK","")
In Row 7 - IF(F7<=1.5,"BACK","")
In Row 8 - IF(F8<=1.5,"BACK","")
etc. etc. etc.

To avoid loses, don't Log-In using BA. By doing this you can trigger bets all day long without losing any money BUT the Bet Ref will keep showing 'ERROR'.

[robin09]

thanks thunder it explains it partly. i did it in running yesterday but nothin got took at 1.5 is there something im missing do i have to tick anythin at all.
explain please or even send me an example excel sheet
im from northwest so it takes a while for the penny to drop lol.
im not one for givin up so keep it coming