In-play setup

[James79]

Hi all, have recently migrated to BA after previously using a different trading platform for quite some time. Very impressed so far. I'm almost exclusively an in-play trader and switched to BA primarily for the in-play interface. It has a couple of functions that speed up my process tremendously that the others just don't have.

The one thing that BA doesn't have (or at least I haven't found it) that my previous platform had is the total response time when I've placed a bet. For example, I used to be able to see that the response time was 1193ms, inclusive of the 1 second delay. For that reason I'm having a little trouble finding the optimal setup for BA when literally every ms counts.

Ok so basically my question is, do all the interfaces (grid, ladder, in-play etc) have identical bet submission times? My strategy does not rely on up to date pricing so generally speaking I have the refresh rate turned off altogether. Would my bets be submitted faster if for instance I had streaming turned on as opposed having price refresh turned off altogether or does it not make any difference whatsoever? Also to the naked eye it seems to me that in-play bets placed in the grid interface may be hitting the market slightly quicker than those placed in the in-play interface, any truth to that or just an optical illusion?

Can any in-players (or anyone knowledgeable for that matter) provide any assistance as to what settings will result in getting my money into the market ASAP? Will the connection optimizer be any use to me given that I don't rely on speedy price refreshes? Thanks for any help

[James79]

Just to clarify, this is manual trading obviously, not automated.

[arbitrage16]

Can you clarify why it's important to note the response time?

[ShaunWhite]

Ok so basically my question is, do all the interfaces (grid, ladder, in-play etc) have identical bet submission times?

Yes

Would my bets be submitted faster if for instance I had streaming turned on as opposed having price refresh turned off altogether

No, orders go via a different api. The streaming api only handles market information.

Also to the naked eye it seems to me that in-play bets placed in the grid interface may be hitting the market slightly quicker than those placed in the in-play interface, any truth to that or just an optical illusion?

No difference but perhaps the screen refreshes slower if you are seeing a difference

Can any in-players (or anyone knowledgeable for that matter) provide any assistance as to what settings will result in getting my money into the market ASAP? Will the connection optimizer be any use to me given that I don't rely on speedy price refreshes? Thanks for any help

I'd imagine BA processes bets in a couple of milliseconds, 3 or 4 on a bad day.
That's almost nothing compared to the delay you have from your reactions and your ping to BF. You don't have prices being refreshed, yet that's the fastest source of information you've got. Are you working from video that's maybe 1.5s delayed and then worrying about a millisecond or two?

For those obsessed with speed

[ShaunWhite]

The total 'reponse time' is made up the following things that you have some control over...(& some I've probably missed)

Speed of your information source (bf vid 1500ms?)
Speed of your interpretation (500ms?)
Speed of your reactions (250ms?)
Speed of your software (2ms)
Speed of your ping to BF (I get about 11ms avg, 21ms from home)
(Try running : psping -n 20 api.betfair.com:443 on the command line, you might need to download psping first)

It seems you've focussed on probably the least significant part.

The way to improve your in-play trading is to become a better race reader. Unless you want to go and stand trackside you're ain't going win at the speed game by fiddling with BA settings.