Posts Tagged api
Betdaq API problems
Posted by Peter Webb in Betdaq on February 2nd, 2012
Just sending this out in case anybody has any automated spreadsheets running on Betdaq Angel today.
The Beqdaq API has a problem this afternoon and things are not working as they should be. Please double check any thing you have running.
We altered Betdaq to the issue quickly and they are onto it.
[EDIT : Betdaq now have a fix for the issue and will be deploying it after today's racing]
If you want to become aware of these sorts of things the instant they happen, follow us on twitter so you get the news as it happens: -
£1k account caused £600m Betfair error
Posted by Peter Webb in Betfair on December 30th, 2011
Betfair have issued a statement this afternoon outlining the error that caused the exchange to misfire. The full statement is here: -
But here are some bullet points:-
“This bet was placed by one of our UK customers trading the race via our API or Application Programming Interface (bdp.betfair.com/) using an automated program (a “bot”). Their bot had developed a fault causing it to try and place a very large number of bets on the Exchange. These bets were large in size and mispriced…… However, due to a technical glitch within the core exchange database, one of the bets evaded the prevention system and was shown on the site. This was an issue that was triggered because of a unique sequence of events that had never happened before.” – “In this case, the customer had less than £1,000 in their account so none of these bets should have been accepted.”
“The Betfair technical teams continued to investigate the details of the fault and, having identified the issue, worked on putting a fix in place which was applied at 10.15pm on December 28th.”
“Following extensive testing, we can confirm that there have been no subsequent occurrences of this fault and we’ve taken steps to prevent its reoccurrence in the future.”
“Again, I would like to clarify that the account in question has no commercial relationship with Betfair other than being a customer. Our reputation has been built on integrity and we have been pioneers in the industry in ensuring that betting is carried out in a fair and transparent manner. By making the voiding decision, I can assure you that this decision was not taken lightly and that we have implemented what we believe to be the fairest solution in these truly exceptional circumstances.”
It’s jungle out there
Posted by Peter Webb in News on December 2nd, 2011
Another week and another amazing betting system drops into my inbox.
Each one is similar to the last, as for only a few quid, limited to just a few people; you can have a system that requires little work yet prints money. Sounds fantastic, but as we all know it’s just not true. Why sell something for a fraction of the profit it allegedly generates? Just doesn’t make any sense.
In the past I have noticed that most of these systems are simply ebooks or manuals of one sort or another, but increasingly you are now seeing software being touted with these systems.
When you receive these new mailers it’s difficult to believe any of the claims. But furthermore, when you dig deeper, you often find the individuals involved have done their best to hide their identities. Doing a ‘who is’ on the domain reveals nothing. Asking, enquiring or trying to dig for a contact equally draws up a blank. So, my point….
There has been a lot of talk and incidences where betting accounts are being actively de-frauded. We were all alarmed to learn that Betfair will not refund in these cases as they are not taking counter party risk, yet. Therefore, could you realistically use software where you can’t see it has been approved by an exchange, has no track record and you can’t even find out who made it? Coupled with extravagant claims, it’s not really worth the risk is it?
I know most readers of the blog will not be in the group of people that could be suckered by these things, but if you know somebody that could be drawn in. Give them a gentle reminder and save a lot of possible heartache. At best we may move to a situation when everybody understands the risks involved and maybe get some formal involvement from the exchanges themselves.
Given the risks, he is probably a better bet.
The right connections
Posted by Peter Webb in Bet Angel on August 26th, 2011
First a history lesson.
A long time ago Betfair offered unfettered access to their servers. You could smash into their servers by requesting price information at will. Back then there was no API and you could only screen scrape information from Betfair. Because of this an arms race developed and Betfair considered banning the bots, but thankfully that never happened. What actually happened was an API was born and Betfair started slowly but surely changing the way their site works. From that simple start the process of connecting to Betfair now involves many hoops through which you need to jump to stay under the strict limits Betfair impose. Everybody has to conform to these limits so that no new arms race develops and Betfair can better control the IT on their side of the fence. Basically this means that Betfair limit the number of calls that API software makes so that nobody gets an unfair advantage, everything operates at the same speed. However there are things you can do to specifically tailor your exchange connection to your trading style to maximise your experiance.
To ensure you get the best connection using Bet Angel we provide you with a raw feed and allow you to tweak connection settings that are most important to you. You can save these settings and quick switch between them for maximum flexibility. For example, if you are trading pre-off you may want to increase the speed at which Bet Angel calls full market depth or reduce it when in-play and increase others, when that call it is less important. Even different locations can ‘feel’ different, so you can modify settings on that basis. Bet Angel buffers calls to avoid you running into horrendous charges, so if you accidentally, or purposefully, have the wrong set up it may feel a bit slow as the buffered calls back up. To avoid this make sure you are familiar with all the settings you can use so you can avoid this happening.
We monitor performance all the time as it is very important for everybody. But the key thing on this, is that I’d be trading toast if we didn’t have it humming. So make sure you take the time to familiarise yourself with this feature: -
http://www.betangel.tv/video/using-bet-angel/setting-up-bet-angel/147-bestconnection
Practice makes perfect
Posted by Peter Webb in Bet Angel on July 9th, 2011
I thought I would make this post to remind people to upgrade / try the latest version of Bet Angel. I’m motivated to highlight this by the fact that only a portion of our users base have upgraded at the moment according to last months figures.
As a reminder, we recently introduced a very comprehensive practice mode in the latest release of Bet Angel, version 1.28. You can see more about it here: -
The practice / training / simulation mode was a big upgrade and something people have been badgering us for, so please upgrade and use it. One great thing about the new mode is that you can use this mode with spreadsheet integration. This will increase the power and flexibility significantly, giving you loads of scope to try out all sorts of strategies. Please bear in mind though, that no matter how good the implementation, any practice mode that pretends to be like the market can never actually be perfectly like the real market. You will only learn that through actual participation.
However, it’s still a very useful addition, Enjoy!
Record day
Posted by Peter Webb in Bet Angel on April 12th, 2011
Phew, what a weekend that was!
We are now entering peak season for all things sports related and this weekend was a good warm up for the months ahead. It also set a new bench mark for me as the Saturday just gone turned out to be my best ever day on Betfair! Whether I can ever beat such a storming weekend is another question. When you have been going for as long as me, you need a little luck now and again to deliver an exceptional result.
Saturday wasn’t without it’s problems though. Betfair gave us a sharp reminder why it pays to be vigilant. I hinted in the recent newsletter, again, that you should have a back up plan ready for Saturday and so it proved. The site was under a lot of pressure on Saturday and it coped pretty well, but eventually an API server went AWOL before being taken off-line 1/2 hour later. In that time prices via the API were all over the place. However, no sooner had we picked up that an API server was throwing out false prices than I switched to a different connection mode and continued. Not the first time this year I have had to do that! At moments like that, the connection modes on Bet Angel are utterly invaluable. Despite this occurring about 45 mins before the Grand National, I was able to continue with confidence and well beat last years total. That was a big step forward on the way to a good day.
The National wasn’t a record day for Betfair however. Matched bet turnover was £7m by post time this year vs. £7m last year and £7.5m in 2009. I doubled my turnover on the race year on year, so if you strip out that activity and that of others it’s quite an interesting story behind the numbers.
Racing went well and would have been great on it’s own, but it was the US Masters that delivered a nice bonus. I managed to get the eventual winner at 120′s and a host of others at good prices. Of course I didn’t hold these positions, I traded them out as they shortened. But when you back at three figures and lay off at short odds, that’s big green up territory. The Masters was exceptional trading fodder this year. In the morning I was on BBC radio Berskhire and tipped a lay on McIlroy. As I stated at the time, I didn’t want to do this as it would have been great to see McIlroy win, but my research had told me it was a good laying opportunity. I didn’t expect him to blow up so badly, so I hope it doesn’t become an issue for him. He is still young and has a big career in front of him, so I am sure it is just a matter of time before he is competing for honours again.
No doubt like Mr McIlroy, I’m taking a rest at the start of the week. I was exhausted after this weekend, so I need some time to recharge my batteries.
Where Angel’s don’t fear to tread
Posted by Peter Webb in Bet Angel on February 8th, 2011
Just over a week ago we had the Betfair upgrade and first outage.
Betfair has a chequered history of outage’s, but have been much better in recent years. Because Bet Angel was around before the API was created, we have always maintained a dual mode of operation. You can connect to Betfair via non API (The website) or API modes.
I tend to connect by the API but I have both available at all times, just in case there is a problem at Betfair’s end. One of the characteristics that we saw last week was that Betfair had a tendancy to bring the website back up first after an outage. Therefore Bet Angel users were able to get online quicker than others. At moments like this timing can be critical, especially if you have an open position. This capability in Bet Angel pretty much pays for itself alone, in this mode Bet Angel becomes an insurance policy. I traded where others didn’t last Monday and that paid good dividends on what was a tough week in general.
The other side effect from last week is that I gathered data on how the market acted when the API was down. By doing this we could ‘see’ what effect knocking out the API had on the market and its participants. It was a unique opportunity to get under the skin of the market. So, there you have it. While it created some problems, it was also an opportunity.
Let’s hope things are back to normal now and we can settle into a ‘normal’ pattern again. Only thirty five days to Cheltenham!
The market was very different last Monday afternoon
Betfair maintenance
Posted by Peter Webb in Bet Angel on January 31st, 2011
Unfortunately it looks like this Betfair ‘maintenance’ did not go well and the API is not working as expected. Numerous other issues have been occuring since the site came back. With Ludlow cancelled this is is a clear indication that today will be an inactive day. A frustrating end to the month.
If you still want to log into Betfair, the API is currently reported as being down. But if you are using the very latest version of Bet Angel, version 1.26.5, you will still be able to log in via non API mode. The ability to trade while the API is down is a feature unique to Bet Angel.
New communications tool
Posted by Peter Webb in Bet Angel on October 29th, 2010
I’ve created some new videos to highlight some of the new features in the latest version of Bet Angel. I will record some more in the coming week, but you can find a list of the current selection here. I have uploaded them to You Tube as well.
For some time we have allowed a lot of flexibility on how Bet Angel communicates with Betfair. This extends beyond the unique connection mode feature, to other areas of the software. As an active user of my own product, there is obviously a significant incentive to make sure it works to the best of its ability. However, it became clear that quite a few users had never made full use of these features, so when we released the latest version of the software we decided to pull all these features together in one area where you can control all them with ease. You can also save these settings to a custom profile so you can adapt your needs to each market or trading location.
The benefit of this new feature is that it’s now much easier to tweak how Bet Angel communicates with Betfair and maximise the speed at which it does so. We have also added in a new communications mode for people using poorer quality connections.
You can view more information on the following video which you can view in HD mode: -
Betfair API problems
Posted by Peter Webb in Bet Angel on August 4th, 2010
Just a short note to confirm that there were problems with the Betfair API this afternoon. For those that are new to Bet Angel you may be interested to know that we support API and non API connections. In the event of an API issue you can just switch from one mode to another to carry on you activity. There are some differences between the modes so make sure you are aware of those before switching connection mode.
Connection modes on Bet Angel
Posted by Peter Webb in Bet Angel on February 1st, 2010
We have had lots of questions emailed in about API and non API modes on Bet Angel.
Here is a very quick video I recorded back in September last year outlining what a connection mode is. This should enable you to understand how to set up Bet Angel to use connection modes and it also specifically refers to what you should do if you are unable, or unwilling, to connect to the Betfair’s standard API.
More Betfair problems today
Posted by Peter Webb in Bet Angel on January 31st, 2010
Last night there was a significant site outage, followed by issues for international customers. At 11am this morning the API went offline again.
It’s been a terrible week for Betfair. I know that due to the measures Betfair have taken in recent years the stress on their servers much be much lower on a like for like basis than in years gone by. So I am not sure why these issues have been occurring on such a frequent basis this year? While possible, it seems unlikely that all these issues occurred in isolation without some fundamental underlying, more general issue? I am aware that Betfair face many technical challenges, but I think it would be good if they came forward with a detailed explanation of what is behind all these problems to help restore confidence.
Just a reminder that you can still use Bet Angel even without the API. A small investment at less than 41p a day to have access if you are not a Bet Angel user already.