Getting matched!

[wizardofmann]

I have been developing a bot with the help of a programmer who is highly thought of on these forums. He has needed the patience of Jobe, as it has taken a long time for me to transfer 'my system' from my head into a viable bot. It is doing everything really well in all departments apart from one. That problem is that only 22% auto-bets placed get matched! I have approached the problem from every conceivable angle I can think of but I just cannot get to the bottom of it. Has anyone come across a similar problem and would be willing to to help me as it is driving me mad!

[Captain Sensible]

In fast moving markets you're always going to be slightly behind what the data is telling you, plus you'll be up against bots with a better refresh,Betfair's xmatch prices etc. If you're betting in running, which with a 22% strike I guess you are, it'll be even worse because you're up against the x-matcher that has all the bet info and no delay to contend with.

Unless you're betting odds of 1.01 on 100/1 shots I doubt you'll ever acheive close to that 100% strike. Obviously your options are speeding up your connection to the exchange or tweaking your odds. Neither of which is guarenteed to make things more profitable.

Simply speeding up your connection to the exchange via vps etc might mean you get the data quicker but depending on your algorithm just putting bets in quicker means you're still betting at a certain instance in time and if inplay that delay will easily negate any milliseconds you save. But a VPS connection may up that rate as you'll hit the exchange with your bets slightly quicker so data will be more up to date.

Tweaking your odds is always risky with bots as few bots have a large % edge and an extra tick here and there over hundreds of markets may well put you negative overall.

If you've looked at every conceivable angle and can't find any way to bump up the strike then as long as that bot is profitable just accept it any move on. Think one of my better bots only manages 40%-50% strike pre off and nothing I can do to get that % higher.

[wizardofmann]

Thank you Captain, that is very good information. I am afraid you have lost me with some of the information you have supplied.

Yes you are correct of course as my bot works only in-play. I have never heard of x-matcher? I will try to check it out.

I am afraid speeding up my connection to the exchange is not an option because of my physical location but again I will check it out. Yeo I have been tweeking and tweeking to my heats content to no avail.

Again, never heard of a vps connection. Because of my location at this moment in time, I have no choice but to go through a vpn, which I am fairly certain is a hindrance as well!

Thanks again and I will look into your suggestions.

[Captain Sensible]

A VPS (Virtual Private Server) is similar to the VPN but basically you rent space from form interent company that allows you to put a virtual PC on their servers. That virtual PC would then be running windows , Gruss and your bots etc and if you choose your VPS wisely you'd get one close to Betfairs servers to get as quick a connection as possible to Betfairs data centre. You have remote access to the server from your home PC but once everything is up and running you can switch off your pc and everything runs as a separate PC on the host companies server all around the clock.

Think quite a few people on the forum use VPS's to run their bots 24/7. A search of the forum or a separate post should get you a few suggestions on the quickest VPS hosting companies or clear up any queries you have from people that use VPS's.

[wizardofmann]

Thanks again for your input. I have already done a bit of research but still have a lot to learn.