Controlling BetAngel from the Spreadsheet

[James1st]

I have been using the Excel function for several months but find I have to manually control the "connect/disconnect" by switching to/from the BetAngel oneclick screen many many times during racing. Automating the spreadsheet is the ultimate aim of Excel users but in actual fact some key data is not available on the spreadsheet, so here are a few suggestions .

To be able to "connect"/"disconnect" my spreadsheet (*under certain rule based conditions) via the sheet itself would be a great help. Can we have a marker (that is tested by BA) on the Excel sheet that we can switch on/off? (easily programmed to provide a marker in free cell D1).

*under certain rule based conditions........ eg I would like to switch off my connection to the spreadsheet 60 seconds before the race start time.

Duh! I cannot do that either because the spreadsheet doesn't give me that information. I think we should have the clock countdown on the spreadsheet (easily programmed in free cell D3).

*under certain rule based conditions........ eg I would like to switch off the spreadsheet when I have exceeded a certain "green" figure for this race.

Duh! I cannot do that either because the spreadsheet doesn't give me that information. I think we should have the current "greening figure" on the spreadsheet (easily programmed in free column D)..

I think the above 3 additions to the Excel sheet would allow for more meaningful tests and greater control from within the spreadsheet itself, presenting more possibilities for complete automation.

[drifter]

Hi James

Think they are all really good ideas

It is possible to create your own countdown clock (in seconds). I have managed to do this on my spreadsheet. You just need to extract the off time from the race info(cell B1) and then create a countdown clock from the last update(cell B3).

It works as long as you are not trading around midnight

Drifter

[TheTub]

Exactly.

I posted a method here - viewtopic.php?f=20&t=39#p234

[Bet Angel]

If you look at the latest version there is a greening column in there, we have just hidden it for the moment.

With regard to connecting and disconnecting there is a bit of a logical flaw here, if the spreadsheet is disconnected how can you use the spreadsheet to trigger a reconnection?

Probably the solution here is to make the spreadsheet active or inactive based on time to the start of the next event? Guardian can switch for you as well just before you want the event to start.

[James1st]

Hi guys,

That clock thing you suggested does work ok. Neat programing.

Hi Betangel,

Great news about column D. I had a notion that it might be a greening column but went ahead with the suggestion anyway.

Further to the spreadsheet "connect/disconnect" marker. What I was asking the BetAngel software to do is to connect/disconnect the Excel workbook via the Excel tab as normal. However, each Excel sheet should have a "marker" on the spreadsheet (say D1) to indicate that it is currently connected. This is the default setting.

Before BetAngel uses the spreadsheet, it should always check if the marker is set to "Connected". If it is, then process the spreadsheet as normal. However, if the user unsets the marker (either manually or via rule based code) then BetAngel should not process the spreadsheet ie BetAngel should behave as if the spreadsheet is not connected. BetAngel currently checks column M [Beta col O] entries and will not execute any rules if it contains "present" or any other entry....similarly, what I am asking it to do is to firstly check D1 and if it is set to "disconnected", then do not execute any rules for the spreadsheet. If D1 is set to "connected" (viz the default), the BetAngel should proceed as it currently does.

The D1 entry obviously cannot truly "disconnect/connect" the spreadsheet (only BetAngel can do that) but BetAngel can test D1 before executing instructions.

This means that users who do not alter the D1 cell will see no difference to their Excel processing.

I hope this is clearer, or maybe I am missing something else?

James

[PeterLe]

Hi Betangel,
Can you please expand on your explanation of how we can use Col "D" (The green up function)?

This topic was touched on by "The Tub" in another thread...Suggested enhancements...he wrote :-

2 - Greening options. Something to invoke the routine in Bet Angel that kicks in when the greening column is clicked (PL: or activated by the spreadsheet ie it meet some predetermined value or status?). I would recommend a new global command 'CLOSE_ALL: GREEN' or just 'CLOSE_ALL'.

3 - A new individual command in addition to 'BACK' and 'LAY'. 'CLOSE WITH_GREENING:TRUE' would be very handy. It would need to cancel unmatched bets on the selection at the same time.

I think the "CLOSE_ALL:GREEN" is a superb idea
I would be very keen to understand if some of these features could be incorporated into the spreadsheet??

Thanks
Peter

[Nero Tulip]

Will there be a display of the global green figure on the spreadsheet? This would be seriously useful. Particularly for analysis later, I'd like ot store down the green figures and compare to what I'm actually making.

[nigelk]

I'm trying to create a sheet that looks for and places bets where there are gaps in the market.

For example, current prices showing 37.5, 3.70 and 3.65

On the ladder I can see there is no money at 3.60 but the Bet Angel spreadsheet keeps telling me that that price is an 'illegal price' ( can't remember the exact message) and won't let me put any money there.

If we can do it on the ladder, would it be possible so that we can also do it on the spreadsheet?

I might be doing it wrong, and if it can already be done, can you point us in the right direction?


Thanks Nigel.

[TheTub]

Hi Nigel,

That is a legitimate price so it must be something else.

What about the stake? I know that Bet Angel can reject a bet if the stake is not rounded to 2 decimal places. It could be the same with the price if you are using a calculation to arrive at the value.

I did do this with a sheet once. It worked quite well. Spotted the price gaps, looked at WOM and placed a back or lay accordingly.

The problem is that it will not fit the new cell references and looked a complete mess. But I might dig it out (if I haven't deleted it) and tidy it up.

TheTub

[nigelk]

Hi Tub,
Yes the price was the result of a formula, pretty sure it was ok, but I'll check again tomorrow.

Nigel.