Some newbie questions (might turn into a long thread!)

[loq]

Hi,

I'm a Betfair Betting Assistant newbie and I'm currently evaluating the software.

My situation is that I have several backing systems that I would like to use in conjunction with Betfair Betting Assistant and Excel to automate the placing of bets as I will be away from my home computer during the day. Some of my systems have a minimum odds requirement, so I would want to take the Betfair Starting Price (whilst specifying minimum odds) for those. Some of my other systems have both a minimum odds requirement and a maximum odds requirement (for example, I might only want the bet to be placed if the odds are between 2.0 and 5.0).

So, here are my first questions:

1. Sometimes my systems will generate bets for the same horse.

For example, my Selections sheet might look something like this:

Code: Select all

Horse Name   Stake*   Bet Type   Min Odds   Max Odds
Red Rum        1%         BACK        2                5
Red Rum        2%         BACKSP    2                100

* Please note that I am using a formula in the Stake column to stake a percentage of my current balance in cell I2 on the Market sheet.


I thought this might be quite a common scenario but I have searched the forum and I haven't been able to find out if it is possible to do this. So, is it possible and, if so, how? Sorry if this is a stupid question but I have got the impression that it is only possible to trigger one bet on a particular runner, so I'm not sure how I can use the software to place two bets on the same runner as shown in my example above.

2. Is it possible to set the software up so that it will run automatically when my computer boots into the Windows desktop and automatically start to place bets as per the manual process described at http://www.gruss-software.co.uk/Excel/ExcelAutoBetting.htm? If so, how?

Thanks very much for any help you can give me. I am hoping that I will be able to pay for the software once I can be sure that it will do what I want it to do.

[GaryRussell]

1) It is possible, but if you are trying to use the software "off the shelf" by using our example spreadsheet then I'm afraid it's not possible. Once a bet has been triggered another bet is not possible until the bet reference column is cleared. The CLEAR trigger is available for this purpose. See the available triggers in the user guide here

2) Sorry, the software doesn't have this option.

[GaryRussell]

Another option for placing multiple bets on the same selection would be to keep your systems on separate spreadsheets and link them to separate tab pages in BA. See "Multiple Markets" in the user guide.

[loq]

Thanks for your reply, Gary.

I think I would prefer not to keep my systems on separate spreadsheets, to keep things simple.

If the CLEAR trigger is used once the first bet has been placed, is the software intelligent enough to know that I only want the bets that haven't already been placed to be triggered, or will it think that I want to place the same bet again? If it is the latter, how can this be avoided?

I have read the user guide but it's not 'clear' to me (if you'll excuse the pun) exactly how the CLEAR trigger should be used in this scenario. I might need a bit of hand-holding with this but I would be grateful for any assistance you can offer.

About the 'automatically start betting upon boot' thing, is there any chance that this functionality could be added? I am currently using a proprietary bot which has this functionality but it has some shortcomings in other areas which is why I am considering your software as a potential alternative.

[GaryRussell]

I'm afraid you are wanting off the shelf functionality that just isn't in our software. It's not intelligent enough to know a bet has already been placed, it's not made for any specific system and therefore can only do what you program it to do. It only understands that it has been presented with a trigger to place a bet. You need to set up the spreadsheet so that it inserts the trigger for the first bet and when another bet should be placed it should insert the CLEAR trigger which removes the bet reference allowing another bet to be placed.

You may need the help of a developer. See http://gruss-software.co.uk/forum/viewforum.php?f=12

We don't have any plans to make it possible to start the software from boot up. Betfair T&Cs do not allow the password to be stored on the PC.

[loq]

Gary,

I do appreciate that the software is very powerful and that it will only do what I program it to do.

My question is that if I use the CLEAR trigger to remove the bet reference, how can I ensure that the 'other' bet(s) are then placed and not the same bet again?

I realise that this is an Excel programming question/issue, and evidently my Excel skills are not as good as I thought they were, but isn't there a simple solution to this? All I want to do is place different BACK bets on the same selection in a race...

[GaryRussell]

The isn't one specific way or any particular simple solution. There are many ways you can program the spreadsheet. Which is why I haven't given a specific answer. What you really need as an example. I am sorry if I am coming across as being unhelpful, but I always try to be a little vague regarding this type of question because I am trying to avoid developing bespoke spreadsheets. I could quite easily spend all my time doing nothing else.

If I get some spare time I will add an example to the forum.

[GaryRussell]

I'm going to post a modified version of the Place_Bets.xls spreadsheet which can have multiple criteria for the same selection in the next few days. You can use this as an example. It will use VBA to control the multiple bet placement and ensure the same bet is not triggered twice.

[loq]

Thanks Gary, I really am very grateful your help.

I'm looking forward to seeing the spreadsheet and I'm sure that if it does the trick then it will be of great benefit, not just to me but to any other potential users who are looking in and wondering how this can be achieved.

I'm sure that you will gain new subscribers as a result!

[GaryRussell]

I have post the modified spreadsheet. See http://gruss-software.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?p=33359

[loq]

Thanks Gary, that spreadsheet is excellent.

I have some more questions though, if I may:

1. What do I need to do to combine the VBA code in the Market sheet with the VBA code from the AutoReloadQuickpickList.xls so I can reload the quick pick list at midnight? I have seen the post here but I cannot seem to make it work. It would be especially useful if the two could be combined in addition to the formula that is already in cell Q2 on the market sheet, which adjusts the refresh rate based on the time until the next race, but I don't know if that is possible?

2. I have edited the spreadsheet slightly to include the possibility of using BACKSP in the Bet Type column on the Selections sheet. One of my BACKSP selections today has "OK" in the Bet Ref column on the Selections sheet, but the bet was not actually placed. Fortunately, the horse came second (!), but what might have caused this to happen? I was not present to observe what actually happened at the time and it's the first time I've seen this happen in over a week of testing so I am a bit concerned.

3. If the software has been installed "for all users" on my computer, is it possible to use the software simultaneously under two different Windows accounts logged into the same computer via the same Betfair account under a single subscription without causing any problems or complications? If so, is it also possible to do this under two different Betfair accounts under a single subscription or would I need to pay for two separate subscriptions? I'm just trying to get an idea of what is and what is not possible in relation to Windows user accounts, software installations, subscriptions and Betfair accounts so if you could summarise it for me then that would be great.

Sorry about all the questions but hopefully some other newbies will see this thread and get some answers to these questions too.

[GaryRussell]

1. Easier for me to show by example. Send me your current spreadsheet and I will add the code. Will only take me a few minutes.

2. Never seen that one before, but looking at my code I can see that there must have been some error returned from the API, but it's logged the wrong result code. I will release an update which will show the correct error code next time this happens. I have a suspicion that something is going wrong at Betfair's end with SP bets and it started recently. Another user is getting API_ERROR when trying to place SP bets and I am still trying to get to the bottom of this.

3. Yes, just launch a second instance and enter a profile name for the settings when prompted. Each instance has it's own set of preferences.
You need a separate subscription for each account. You need to register the 2nd account with us. Visit http://www.gruss-software.co.uk/downloads.asp , click on the download button, enter your details and click the download button. It will then display a download link, but you don't need to click on that as all you needed to do was register.

[loq]

Thanks Gary, I will email the spreadsheet to you.

Using the spreadsheet, I have just witnessed an error whereby two different selections in the same race have generated "ERROR" in the Bet Reference field on the Selections sheet and neither bet was triggered (one of them shouldn't have been placed anyway as my Max Odds was lower than the exchange odds, but I didn't get the usual "INVALID_PRICE" for that one).

Do you know why this might have occurred?

Also, where is the code that tells Excel to put the Bet Ref in column J on the Selections sheet? I might want to shift the Bet Ref column right a bit so I can include some other columns, but I obviously won't do this if column J is hard-coded in.

Thanks again!

[GaryRussell]

I received your spreadsheet. Please bear with me.

[GaryRussell]

I have sent you a new spreadsheet.