Topic: New Cross-Matching Logic on Betfair

My free lunch is coming to an end, which is a bit of a bugger as I wasn't quite stuffed lol.

I'm unsure how these changes will impact markets. I'll freely admit I don't really understand the mathematics. betfair said in the Q&A that it wouldn't change market dynamics but I just can't see how it won't. For a casual player backing/laying their fancy the change is good, but I think anybody operating a bookmaking or whole market approach is going to see change. Basically, due to cross-matching backers won't need layers and vica-versa, I believe the cross-matching might cause a fundamental shift, having the effect of pitting backer against backer and layer against layer. Over time we'll all gravitate to just backing as that's where the mug money enters the market. Then betfair can do away with laying altogether.

If I were betfair I would be trying to do the same thing. The profit betfair must make from me - no way pays for the bandwidth I must chew up on their servers. If Betfair can do the same trick I do at the server end, it stop me eating up there bandwidth. I do not think there care about the odd profit from over-rounding. IMHO it all aimed at reducing bandwidth costs, just like the data charges.

Apologies to fred77, but if they eat a over-round/under-round market before it appears on the API or website, then all the bots hammering the bandwidth to try and grab this will go away. Betfair as a business reduce what must be there only significant cost - bandwidth, whilst maintaining the profit from the 5% commission.

I know I this may be a bit controversial but I think there are trying to get the balance right - keeping the liquidity that me and my bots provide but driving me away from burning up bandwidth. Anyway that the direction I will be taking my bots in. Designing low-bandwidth bots which betfair should leave alone.

My 2p worth,
Brendan

So.... I know it probably isn't up for discussion but is anybody feeling the pinch on their botting markets yet? My best bot (greyhound overbroke overround skim) is now flatlining. A few days before the change it could have over 400 betting opportunities a day, now less than 20 a day, presumably will be zero soon. Naturally the change is being implemented on the most popular markets first which coincides with where my other skim bot concentrates its activities, so that's getting quiet too. My other bots are as random as ever so I can't see any difference with them yet. Also I don't think the new logic is being applied 100% consistently yet.

I imagine the 20 odds markets you're hitting now are probably due to caching issues rather than actual over/unders Fred.

nah, I think it's just betfair experimenting, because I get multiple opportunities just on some markets, just like pre-new logic. Guess only those in the know will ever know tho...