autotradingfox manual

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All rights reserved. No parts of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any means - graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or information storage and retrieval systems - without the written permission of the publisher. Products that are referred to in this document may be either trademarks and/or registered trademarks of the respective owners. The publisher and the author make no claim to these trademarks. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this document, the publisher and the author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of information contained in this document or from the use of programs and source code that may accompany it. In no event shall the publisher and the author be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damage caused or alleged to have been caused directly or indirectly by this document. Printed: September 2013 AutoTrading Fox Manual © 2013 AutoTradingFox Special thanks to: All the people who contributed to this document, to mum and dad and grandpa, to my sisters and brothers and mothers in law, to the pizza service down the street, and ... Last not least, we want to thank you our customers for having the patience to read through this!

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User manual for the software "auto trading fox" which is a piece of software for trading on betting exchanges.

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  • All rights reserved. No parts of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any means - graphic, electronic, ormechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or information storage and retrieval systems - without thewritten permission of the publisher.

    Products that are referred to in this document may be either trademarks and/or registered trademarks of therespective owners. The publisher and the author make no claim to these trademarks.

    While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this document, the publisher and the authorassume no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of informationcontained in this document or from the use of programs and source code that may accompany it. In no eventshall the publisher and the author be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damage caused oralleged to have been caused directly or indirectly by this document.

    Printed: September 2013

    AutoTrading Fox Manual

    2013 AutoTradingFox

    Special thanks to:

    All the people who contributed to this document, to mum and dadand grandpa, to my sisters and brothers and mothers in law, to thepizza service down the street, and ...

    Last not least, we want to thank you our customers for having thepatience to read through this!

  • 3Contents

    3

    2013 AutoTradingFox

    Table of ContentsForeword 0

    Part I AutoTradingFox Manual 5

    Part II Version History 7

    Part III Introduction 8

    Part IV Installing AutoTradingFox 9................................................................................................................................... 121 Activating Your Software................................................................................................................................... 162 De-Activating Your Software

    Part V Getting Started 18................................................................................................................................... 191 Loading Races................................................................................................................................... 202 Check The Settings................................................................................................................................... 213 Design Your Betplan................................................................................................................................... 234 Attach Your Betplan To A Race................................................................................................................................... 255 Click Start Trading................................................................................................................................... 266 Monitor Bets And Results

    Part VI Auto Trading Fox User Interface 30................................................................................................................................... 311 Races List................................................................................................................................... 332 Runners List

    .......................................................................................................................................................... 34Auto-Scroll Feature

    .......................................................................................................................................................... 35Forced Updates ................................................................................................................................... 363 New Bet Plan Tab

    .......................................................................................................................................................... 39Bet 1 ......................................................................................................................................................... 41Early Bet 1 Placement.......................................................................................................................................................... 43Bet 2 ......................................................................................................................................................... 44Bet 2 Profit Percentage.......................................................................................................................................................... 45Stop-Loss Bet ......................................................................................................................................................... 47Stop Loss Percentage Option......................................................................................................................................................... 48Stop Loss Percentage With Offset Ticks......................................................................................................................................................... 49Early Stop-Loss Bet Placement.......................................................................................................................................................... 49Potential P&L .......................................................................................................................................................... 50Saving and Loading Bet Plans .......................................................................................................................................................... 50Attaching A Bet Plan To race(s) ......................................................................................................................................................... 52Multiple Bet Plans Per Race.......................................................................................................................................................... 53Cancelling Bet Plans

    ................................................................................................................................... 544 Trading Control Bar.......................................................................................................................................................... 55Trading Modes

    ................................................................................................................................... 565 Bets & Betting Plan Summary Tabs.......................................................................................................................................................... 59Terminating The Betting Plan

    ................................................................................................................................... 596 Results Tab.......................................................................................................................................................... 60Estimating The Simulated P&L Result .......................................................................................................................................................... 61Stop On Profit / Loss .......................................................................................................................................................... 62Account Balance Display

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    ................................................................................................................................... 637 Messages Tab

    ................................................................................................................................... 648 Status Info Bar.......................................................................................................................................................... 64Section 1 Date .......................................................................................................................................................... 64Section 2 Time .......................................................................................................................................................... 65Section 3 Betting Mode .......................................................................................................................................................... 65Section 4 Trading Status .......................................................................................................................................................... 65Section 5 API Data Calls .......................................................................................................................................................... 66Section 6 Currency .......................................................................................................................................................... 66Section 7 Message Count .......................................................................................................................................................... 66Section 8 General

    ................................................................................................................................... 669 Main Menu.......................................................................................................................................................... 66Main Menu Settings ......................................................................................................................................................... 67Settings Trading Options......................................................................................................................................................... 68Settings Betfair Options......................................................................................................................................................... 69Settings Sounds......................................................................................................................................................... 70Settings Message Options.......................................................................................................................................................... 71Main Menu Calculator .......................................................................................................................................................... 72Main Menu Logout .......................................................................................................................................................... 73Main Menu Help .......................................................................................................................................................... 74Main Menu About

    Part VII Auto Trading Fox Under The Hood 76................................................................................................................................... 761 Application Structure................................................................................................................................... 772 Loading The Race List................................................................................................................................... 783 Race Update Frequency................................................................................................................................... 794 Data Calls Per Update Cycle

    .......................................................................................................................................................... 80Real Betting Data Calls

    .......................................................................................................................................................... 80Simulated Betting Data Calls ................................................................................................................................... 805 Non-Runners................................................................................................................................... 816 Matching Simulated Bets................................................................................................................................... 817 Timezones................................................................................................................................... 818 Context Save and Restore

    Part VIII User Provisioning and Licensing 83

    Part IX Betfair Vendor Certification Compliance 86................................................................................................................................... 861 Part A Application Security Certification................................................................................................................................... 872 Part B Product Requirements

    Index 0

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    1 AutoTradingFox Manual

    The AutoTradingFoxManual

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    Author: AutoTradingFox

    Date: 20/08/2013

    Version: 1.05

  • Version History 7

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    2 Version History

    Version

    Date Author Changes

    1.00 14/02/2013

    AutoTradingFox

    First version.

    1.01 09/03/2013

    AutoTradingFox

    Added new section: 5. User Provisioning &LicensingAdded new section: 6. Betfair VendorCertification ComplianceAdded new section: 3.2.2 Forced UpdatesUpdated section: 4.2 Loading The Race List

    1.02 24/03/2013

    AutoTradingFox

    Added new section: 7. Vendor CertificationRequest Supporting NotesAdded new section: 3.6.3 Account BalanceDisplay

    1.03 28/06/2013

    AutoTradingFox

    Added new section: 3.3.2.1 Bet 2 ProfitPercentage

    1.04 15/07/2013

    AutoTradingFox

    Updated sections:3.3.1 Bet 13.3.2 Bet 23.3.2.1 Bet 2 Profit Percentage

    Added new sections:3.3.3.1 Stop Loss Percentage Option3.3.3.2 Stop Loss Percentage With OffsetTicks

    1.05 20/08/2013

    AutoTradingFox

    Updated section: 3.3 New Bet Plan Tab

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    3 Introduction

    The purpose of this document is to provide the reader with notes on how to use theAuto Trading Fox application and some insight into how it functions.

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    4 Installing AutoTradingFox

    Installing AutoTradingFox is very easy, just the same as installing any other Windows basedsoftware.

    1. Download the installer file provided via the link on the trial download page, then save toyour desktop/PC.

    The installer file name will be something like AutoTradingFox_1_43_10.msi

    2. Double click the installer file to start the installation

    3. Follow the on screen prompts to complete installation as follows:

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  • Installing AutoTradingFox 11

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    You should then see the ATF icon on your desktop as follows:

    Activating Your Software

    4.1 Activating Your Software

    You can purchase an activation key then activate your software using the activation code sentto you.

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    Copy and paste the activation code into the box provided.

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    4.2 De-Activating Your Software

    You can also de-activate your software should you want to move the software to another PCvia the About Menu.

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    5 Getting Started

    Here's a quick getting started guide for you.

    1. Start the AutoTradingFox application by clicking the desktop icon

    2. Login to Betfair using your Betfair credentials, username and password.

    Next Step

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    5.1 Loading Races

    3. Load the races you want to monitor

    Choose the country for races you want to load

    Click the Load Races button and the events will take a few moments to load

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    Next Step

    5.2 Check The Settings

    4. Check the settings option by clicking the settings menu at the top

    Select either Real Money or Simulation Modes.

    Set any profit or loss stop settings

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    You can also change any other settings you wish to suit your requirements.

    Next Step

    5.3 Design Your Betplan

    5. Design your betting plan to implement the bets required. Choose from

    Back the Lay - Place a back bet first then place a lay bet

    Lay then Back - Place a Lay bet first then place a back bet

    Straight Lay - Place a straight lay bet

    Straight Back - Place a straight back bet

    Example: Back then lay 1st and 2nd Favourites between 2.0 and 10.0 odds, take current price at

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    15 sec after the race goes in play.

    The Lay bet will be triggered for a 5% profit and there is a stop loss bet for a 5% loss. So we win5% or lose 5%.

    Other criteria can be set as below, like the total number of bets, in this case 2, one each forfirst and second favourites.

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    The potential profit and loss is also shown, although this is an estimate and will depend onthe final bets that were managed to be placed and matched.

    Next Step

    5.4 Attach Your Betplan To A Race

    6. Attach your betplans to a race or multiple races in two ways.

    Either tick the required races and click - Attach To All Ticked Races

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    Or Select an individual race and click - Attach To Highlighted Race

    You can also click the top check box to select all races:

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    Next Step

    5.5 Click Start Trading

    7. Once a betplan is attached to a race, the Start Trading button will show and be red in colour.

    Click to start the trading so that AutoTradingFox can monitor the races selected with betplansand place any bets that meet your criteria.

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    Once clicked the Start Trading button will turn Green:

    Next Step

    5.6 Monitor Bets And Results

    8. Monitor the bets and results in the Bets tab window and Results tab

    A summary of the bet plan is shown on the Betting Plan tab, when you click the race with theattached bet plan.

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    Bets placed 15 seconds after race turns in-play, matched very quickly due to 5% profit and stoplevels

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    Race finished and final result

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    Results Panel shows race outcomes and total profit/loss figures.

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    6 Auto Trading Fox User Interface

    The purpose of the Auto Trading Fox (ATF) is to enable the user to fully automatesome relatively simple but powerful horse race trading strategies on the Betfairexchange. This is achieved by setting up Betting Plans which are then attached to one ormore horse racing events.

    The ATF runs on a Microsoft Windows platform (XP or newer) and requires an internetconnection.

    When the ATF is started the user is required to login to their Betfair account. Aftersuccessful login the user will be presented by the main trading screen which is divided into9 functional areas:

    - Races list - Runners list - New Bet Plan tab - Trading Control bar - Bets and Betting Plan summary tabs - Results tab - Messages tab - Status Information bar - Main Menu bar

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    6.1 Races List

    The user populates the Races list via the "Load Races" button. There are 2 filters available:

    a) The countries in which the races are taking place.b) The number of hours ahead of the current time within which the races are scheduled

    to start. Races will only be loaded if they are scheduled to start within the periodranging from the current time to the current time plus the number or hours specifiedby the user.

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    If there are races that satisfy the filters then the Races List will be loaded with the followingcolumns:

    Date and Time: The scheduled start time of the race as provided by Betfair. Note thatthe date and time will reflect the user's local timezone settings so he will see thecorrect time for his location. The ATF obtains the local timezone information from theuser's PC settings.

    Ctry: The 3 character code for the country in which the race will be taking place.

    Venue: The Betfair abbreviation of the race course at which the race will be takingplace.

    Market Name: The Betfair market name for the event.

    No: The number of active runners in the race (excludes any non-runners).

    FLPM: The last price matched (LPM) of the current favourite runner in the race (i.e. therunner with the lowest LPM). This value wil be continuously updated during both thepre-event and in-play periods of the race.

    FBSP: The Betfair Starting Price (BSP) of the favourite runner in the race. Betfaircalculate their starting price for each runner in the race and publish this information

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    just after the race is turned in-play. The value in this column will be the lowest BSP inthe market. This column will therefore be blank during the pre-event period. Notethat Betfair do not support BSP for all races in which case these will be denoted by "N/A" in this column.

    Traded: The total volume that has been traded on the market in the currency of theuser account.

    Status: The current Betfair market status.

    InPlay: Will display the text "In-Play" with a green background when the market hasbeen turned in-play. If the market will not be turned in-play then it will display "N/A".

    Plan: Will display a clipboard symbol if this market has a betting plan attached to it.This column will have a yellow background if the ATF is currently in Simulated bettingmode.

    Note that when requesting horse racing markets from Betfair, the API will return ALL horseracing markets. We only require the main win market for each race and so the ATF willattempt to filter out all of the other non-required markets by looking for more than onemarket for a race, and for particular elements in the market name etc. (eg "TO BE PLACED").There may still be occasions, however, when another market type will get through and ontothe Races list.

    6.2 Runners List

    When the Races list is loaded the ATF will start a background process that will retrieve therunners (selections) information for each race, including the jockey silks if available. TheRunners for the currently selected Race (highlighted in orange in the Races list) are displayedin the Runners list area. A different Race can be viewed by clicking on it in the Race list. TheRunners list is loaded with the following columns:

    Name: The name of the horse. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd favourites in the race are indicatedin smaller text below the horse names. The favourite is the horse that has the lowestlast price matched (LPM) during the pre-event period. Long horse names may beabbreviated to accommodate the favourite text, but the user can hover the mousecursor over the horse name to display it in full along with the Betfair Starting Price forthe horse if available.

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    Back: The current Betfair market Back price. Will display NR if the horse is a non-runner.

    Lay: The current Betfair market Lay price. Will display NR if the horse is a non-runner.

    LPM: The last price matched on Betfair. Will display NR if the horse is a non-runner.

    P&L: The user's current profit and loss position on each Runner. In Simulated Bettingmode this is displayed with a yellow background. Note that in real betting mode thiswill also include any external P&L, i.e. from bets placed outside of the ATF sessionbeing viewed.

    6.2.1 Auto-Scroll Feature

    When the Races List has been loaded, the Auto Scroll tick box will be displayed in the top leftcorner of the main screen. If this is ticked by the user then the race that is currently displayedwill be automatically progressed by the ATF. As each race finishes then the next one that isdue to start will be selected. Priority is given to races that have a bet plan attached and thesewill be displayed in preference to races that have no bet plan. This feature is intended forusers who want to keep an eye on the ATF running on a separate screen say, but not have to

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    keep clicking on the race list to select the next race to view. The feature can be deactivated byunticking the Auto Scroll box or by manually selecting a specific race on the Races List.

    6.2.2 Forced Updates

    When the user left-clicks on a row in the Races list then this will also force an update of theprices and bets displayed for that race. This is a requirement for Betfair vendor certification.

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    6.3 New Bet Plan Tab

    This tab is where the user sets up a betting plan that he wishes to attach to one or more racesin the race list.The betting plan supports 4 basic trading strategies, each of which can have an optional stoploss bet.

    Back Then Lay - Bet1 will be a back bet and Bet2 a lay bet. The ATF expects that Bet1will be at a higher price than Bet2 in order to have the potential to make a profit and

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    will not allow the plan to be attached to a race if this is not the case. If a Stop-Loss betis included in the plan then this will be a lay bet which should be at a price that ishigher than that of Bet1.

    Lay Then Back - Bet1 will be a lay bet and Bet2 a back bet. The ATF expects that Bet1will be at a lower price than Bet2 in order to have the potential to make a profit andwill not allow the plan to be attached to a race if this is not the case. If a Stop-Loss betis included in the plan then this will be a back bet which should be at a price that islower than that of Bet1.

    Straight Back - Bet1 will be a back bet. There is no Bet2. If a Stop-Loss bet is included inthe plan then this will be a lay bet which should be at a price that is higher than that ofBet1.

    Straight Lay - Bet1 will be a lay bet. There is no Bet2. If a Stop-Loss bet is included inthe plan then this will be a back bet which should be at a price that is lower than thatof Bet1.

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    Having selected a strategy the user must select which horses (runners) the plan is applicableto:

    Ticked Runner(s) The bet plan applies to all horses that have been ticked in theRunners list for the Race(s) that the plan is attached to. Note that Runners cannot be

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    ticked/unticked while trading is in progress.

    Any Runner The bet plan applies to any runner in the race that satisfies the requiredconditions for betting.

    Favourite(s) The bet plan applies to any mix (singular or multiple) of the 1st, 2ndand/or 3rd favourite horses. The Favourite being identified by the lowest last pricematched. During the pre-event period the favourite(s) may change as the marketmoves. The user should be aware that this could result with betting on more than one1st favourite say, but he can control this via the Max Bets setting. When the race turnsin-play the last set of pre-event favourites are frozen and will not change as the raceprogresses. So betting on the favourite during in-play applies to the horse that wasfavourite at the end of the pre-event period according to the last prices matched.

    Depending on the chosen strategy the user is required to specify values for up to 3 separatebets:

    6.3.1 Bet 1

    There will always be at least one bet so this bet will always be required. The stake and pricevalues are specified by the user in the Bet1 section.

    There is also an option to Take Available Price for Bet 1. If the user ticks this option then hedoes not enter a specific price for Bet 1, but whatever price (Back or Lay as appropriate) isavailable at the time when the Bet 1 trigger conditions are satisfied, this price is used for Bet1. Note that the user can limit the range of acceptable prices on the Bet 1 trigger conditionssection.

    Bet 1 will only be placed when the user-specified trigger conditions have been satisfied.These are set on the "Bet 1 Trigger Conditions" section and consist of:

    The Period in which the bet is to be placed.o With the Pre-Event and Anytime options the user can optionally specify a time

    period before the scheduled start time during which the bet can be placed. So forexample if he specifies 30 minutes then the bet can only be placed from within 30minutes before the off. If the user has ticked Take Available Price then the priceavailable at 30 minutes before the off will be used.

    o With the In-Play option the user can optionally specify a time period after the racestart when the bet can be placed. So for example if he specifies 20 seconds thenthe ATF will wait for 20 seconds after the race is turned in-play before attemptingto place the bet. If the user has ticked Take Available Price then the priceavailable at 20 seconds after the race has been turned in play will be used.

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    A Price Trigger condition. Here the user specifies which price type and what range ofprice values will trigger the bet. The trigger price type can be:

    o Back - the current market Back price for the selected Runner.o Lay - the current market Lay price for the selected Runner.o Last Matched - the last price matched in the market for the selected Runner.o Available Price the price that is currently available at the time when the Period

    condition is satisfied.

    Having selected the price type the user then specifies the range of price values that hewants to trigger the bet.

    To specify a particular exact price (i.e. not a range) the user should set both the lowand high values to that price.

    If the user does not care what the price is then he should set the low value to 1.01 andthe high to 1000.00

    There is also a further set of criteria that can be specified to control when Bet1 can be placed.These are in the bet plan section "Other Bet 1 Criteria":

    Max Runners - Bet1 will only be placed if the number of active runners (i.e. excludingnon-runners) in the race is less than or equal to this value.Min Runners - Bet1 will only be placed if the number of active runners (i.e. excludingnon-runners) in the race is greater than or equal to this value.Max Non-Rnrs Bet1 will only be placed if the number of non-runners in the race isless than or equal to this value. Note that the non-runners are only those that have

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    been identified since the Race List was loaded.Max Bets This specifies the maximum number of runners that Bet1 can be placed on.So, for example, a value of 1 will limit the number of bets to 1 and if more than onerunner qualifies under the bet plan criteria only the first one identified will receive abet.BSP Range of the Favourite This condition only applies if the Period setting for Bet1is In-Play. It specifies the range of acceptable Betfair starting price values of thefavourite in the race (BSP prices are only published when the race is in-play). If theBSP of the favourite (i.e. the lowest BSP value) falls out of this range then Bet1 willnot be placed. If the user is not concerned about the BSP of the favourite then heshould specify the price range 1.01 to 1000.00BSP Range of Selected Runner(s) - This condition only applies if the Period setting forBet1 is In-Play. It specifies the range of acceptable Betfair starting price values of therunner(s) on which we wish to place Bet1. Only those runner(s) that have a BSP thatfalls within the specified range will be eligible for Bet1. If the user is not concernedabout the BSP of the runner(s) then he should specify the price range 1.01 to 1000.00

    So to summarise, Bet 1 will only be placed during the specified period (or in the case of TakeAvailable Price, from the time when the period condition is satisfied), and when thespecified price trigger condition is satisfied and each of the other criteria are also all satisfied.

    6.3.1.1 Early Bet 1 Placement

    In order to place Bet1 into the market 'early', i.e. before the required price is available, theuser can set the price trigger condition appropriately. For example say he wants to lay arunner at 2.50 but the current lay price is 3.00. He would set the Bet1 price to 2.50 and in orderto put the bet into the market immediately he could set the price trigger to the Lay pricehaving the range 2.50 to 3.50 say. The bet would be placed but it would not be matched untilthe market Lay price reduces to 2.50.

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    If on the other hand if the current lay price is 2.10 say but the user does not want to place thebet until the price is 2.50 then it cannot be placed early as doing so would result in animmediate match at 2.10. So in this case he would have to set the Lay price trigger to 2.50 to2.54 say and the ATF would not place the bet until the price reached this range.

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    Similar examples also apply to Back bets.

    6.3.2 Bet 2

    If the strategy is Back-Then-Lay or Lay-Then-Back then it will include Bet2. The values for Bet2are specified in the Bet2 section of the plan.Bet2 does not require a specific trigger condition because it will always be placedimmediately when, and only when, Bet1 has been fully matched. Bet2 can be specified as either: a specific stake and price, or as a profit percentage value.

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    6.3.2.1 Bet 2 Profit Percentage

    If the user wants to achieve a particular profit percentage when both bets 1 and 2 arematched, then there is a function that will automatically calculate the values for Bet 2 on-the-fly in order to achieve a specific profit.

    When the user has specified a profit percentage value for Bet 2, and Bet 1 has been fullymatched, the ATF with calculate the stake and price for Bet 2 in order to achieve the requiredprofit whichever horse wins the race. The calculation will be based on the matched price for

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    Bet 1. Note that in many cases the precise price required to achieve the profit target will notbe an exact Betfair price, so in these cases the ATF will select the nearest Betfair price thatgets closest to the required profit. In addition the bet will only be placed if it satisfies theminimum stake requirement.

    For example if the Bet 1 stake is 10 and the user wants to guarantee a profit of 4 then hewould specify a profit of 40%.

    6.3.3 Stop-Loss Bet

    The stop-loss bet is optional and can be included with any of the base strategies. The valuesfor this bet are specified in the Stop Loss section of the plan.In order for the Stop-Loss bet to be placed the following conditions must be satisfied:

    Bet1 has been fully matched.Bet2 (if applicable to the bet plan) has not been matched (even partially).The Stop-Loss bet price trigger condition has been satisfied (see the section "StopLoss Trigger Conditions" on the New Bet Plan tab). Note that if a Stop Losspercentage has been specified (see section below) then the Stop Loss TriggerConditions are not applicable since the bet will be placed when the Last PriceMatched has reached the price that would result in the specified stop losspercentage.

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    Note: If the Stop-Loss bet is triggered then Bet2 (if applicable to the bet plan) will becancelled.

    Example

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    6.3.3.1 Stop Loss Percentage Option

    In a similar way to the Bet 2 profit percentage, the user may optionally specify a losspercentage for the Stop Loss bet.

    For example if the Bet 1 stake is 10 and the user wants to limit the possible loss to 8 then hewould specify a loss of 80%.

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    6.3.3.2 Stop Loss Percentage With Offset Ticks

    If the user has specified a stop loss percentage then he may also optionally enter a number ofoffset ticks to control the price at which the bet is placed in order to improve the chances of itbeing matched. For example lets say that the ATF has calculated that a Stop Loss Back betshould be placed at a price of 1.80 and the user has entered 5 offset ticks. In this case whenthe Last Price Matched has fallen to 1.80 or less the bet will be placed at 1.80 5 ticks, i.e. at aprice of 1.75. So the user is accepting the possibility that the Stop Loss bet might be matchedat a slightly worse price (1.77 for example) for the reduced risk of it not being matched at all.

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    6.3.3.3 Early Stop-Loss Bet Placement

    It is impossible to place the Stop-Loss bet early because by definition it will always be at aprice that is inferior to the current market price (at the time of placing Bet1 or Bet2) and willtherefore get matched immediately if placed, which would not be desirable.

    6.3.4 Potential P&L

    The Potential P&L section of the New Bet Plan tab calculates the resulting P&L for the valuesentered on the bet plan if the bets are fully matched. It shows both cases for if the runnerwins or loses the race. It also shows the result for whether or not the stop-loss bet istriggered. There is also an optional tick box to calculate the resulting P&L using the inferiorprices that might occur due to the Offset Tick settings.

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    6.3.5 Saving and Loading Bet Plans

    All of the values and settings on a Bet Plan can be saved to disk for future retrieval. Click theSave to File button to activate the save function. This will prompt the user to enter afilename which by default will have the extension .bp

    In order to retrieve previously saved plans just click the Load from File button and open therequired plan.

    6.3.6 Attaching A Bet Plan To race(s)

    Having created (or loaded) a bet plan the user can then attach it to 1 or more Races in theRaces list. This is achieved via one of 2 buttons on the New Bet Plan tab (not available iftrading is in progress):

    Attach To Highlighted Race The bet plan will be attached to one race which iscurrently selected on the Races list (i.e. highlighted in orange). When the button isclicked the ATF will verify the settings and values against the selected race and if validwill attach the plan to the race. A clipboard symbol will be displayed in the Plan

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    column of the Races list to show that it has a bet plan attached.

    Attach To All Ticked Races The bet plan will be attached to ALL of the races that havebeen ticked in the Races list. When the button is clicked the ATF will verify thesettings and values against all of the ticked races and if all are valid will attach the planto each race. A clipboard symbol will be displayed in the Plan column for each race toshow that it has a bet plan attached.

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    A bet plan cannot be attached to race(s) whilst trading is inprogress.

    When a Bet Plan has been attached to a race the Bets and Betting Plan summary tabs will bedisplayed alongside the Runners list (see the section Bets and Betting Plan Summary Tabs formore details).

    6.3.6.1 Multiple Bet Plans Per Race

    Only one bet plan can be attached to a race. If the user wishes to attach more than one plan toa race then he can do so by starting another instance of the AutoTradingFox application andattaching another plan to the race. The bet plans in each instance will be executedindependently from each other. The user should be aware of the following issues however:

    Firstly be aware of the data calls per second setting as the call rate will now increasewith more than one session running (see Main Menu -> Settings).

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    If 2 (or more) bet plans are executed on the same race in real betting mode, the planswill execute independently which is fine but the P&L displayed against the Runnerslist will be the aggregate P&L of all plans that are in progress (which may cause someconfusion when observing one particular plan in progress).

    Similarly the Net P&L that is displayed on the Results panel will again be the aggregateP&L result of all plans executed on that race in real betting mode.

    Another point to note is that the races listed on the Results panel will only be thosethat have Bet Plans attached to them in that particular instance of the ATF. So if aseparate instance has placed bets on a race but the instance you are looking at doesnot have a bet plan on that race, then the P&L result of the separate plan will not beshown on the instance you are looking at, and more importantly will not be includedin the stop on profit/loss calculation.

    6.3.7 Cancelling Bet Plans

    Having attached bet plan(s) to race(s) the user may cancel them if required using one of thefollowing methods:

    By clicking the Cancel button on the Betting Plan summary tab next to the Runnerslist.

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    By right-clicking on the Races list grid and selecting one of the Cancel options on thepopup menu.

    When a bet plan is cancelled, any remaining unmatched bets in the associated market will becancelled. Note that bets will be cancelled on a by-market basis and therefore any bets placedfrom the same user-account in the same market from elsewhere will also be cancelled.

    6.4 Trading Control Bar

    The Trading Control Bar (TCB) is displayed at the top of the screen under the Main Menu. Itwill only be visible, however, if at least 1 plan has been attached to a Race. The TCB enablesthe user to start and stop trading (i.e. executing the bet plans).

    When trading is in progress the TCB will be green.

    When trading is not in progress the TCB will be red.

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    If trading has been stopped automatically by the ATF due to a stop-on-profit/losstarget having been reached then it will be orange with the reason displayed to theright of the TCB.

    6.4.1 Trading Modes

    The ATF supports 2 trading modes, Real and Simulated betting. The current mode is selectedby the user on the Settings screen via the Main Menu.

    In Real trading mode, bets will be placed using real money from the users account. All betsare placed in the currency of the users account.

    In Simulated trading mode the betting activity will not use real money from the users accountbut instead the ATF monitors the market prices/volumes and estimates when the requiredbets would have been matched and updates the P&L accordingly. Simulated trading modeenables the user to test out strategies without risking any of his bankroll.

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    6.5 Bets & Betting Plan Summary Tabs

    The Bets and Betting Plan summary tabs are displayed alongside the Runners list if theassociated Race has a bet plan attached to it.

    The Betting Plan tab displays a summary of the plan settings and values. This tab also includesa Cancel button which can be used to cancel the bet plan. It also has a Modify button. Ifthe user clicks the Modify button then the plan values will be copied to the New Bet Plan tab.The plan can then be changed by the user and re-attached to the race if required.

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    The Bets tab displays what bets have been placed on the race and their current status(matched, unmatched, etc.). This tab enables the user to monitor the progress of the plan. Ifthis tab is blank then the conditions required to place Bet1 have not yet been achieved. Thebets information is displayed in different colours depending on the status of the bet:

    Green bet fully matched.

    Orange bet partially matched.

    Yellow bet unmatched.

    Grey bet cancelled.

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    6.5.1 Terminating The Betting Plan

    At the bottom left of the Bets tab there is a red button icon. If the user hovers the mousecursor over this then the Terminate Betting Plan button will be revealed. This is not onpermanent display to prevent the user from accidently clicking it. The purpose of this buttonis to enable the user to immediately stop the execution of the betting plan. No more bets willbe placed and any unmatched bets will be cancelled. If the user terminates a bet plan via thisbutton then it will be indicated as such on the Bets list with the time of termination displayedin orange. The plan will remain in view but can be replaced by a new plan if the user wishes.

    6.6 Results Tab

    The Results tab will contain a list of races on which a bet plan has been attached. The race willnot be displayed until the expected start time has passed. If the user re-loads the Races Listthen the Results list will be cleared. Two columns are populated for each race listed:

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    Net P&L Will display the net P&L resulting from real money bets placed on each race.Note that this will also include any external P&L, i.e. from bets placed outside of theATF session being viewed

    Sim P&L Will display the estimated gross P&L resulting from simulated bets placedon each race.

    6.6.1 Estimating The Simulated P&L Result

    For races that are turned In-Play the winner of the event is assumed to be the last runner thathad a last price matched of 1.01. If there was no such horse then the winner is assumed to bethe horse with the lowest last price matched on the last set of sampled prices, provided it isless than 2.00. If an estimated winner still cannot be established then Unclear will berecorded in the Results grid.

    For races that are not turned In-Play it is impossible to estimate which horse won the race andtherefore Unknown is recorded in the Results grid.

    The Results P&L is updated every 5 minutes and also whenever a market closes.

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    6.6.2 Stop On Profit / Loss

    The total P&L is calculated and displayed at the bottom of the Results tab. This value is usedby the ATF to determine whether or not a trading session should be automatically stopped.The decision is based on the values the user has specified on the Settings screen for Stop AtProfit and Stop At Loss. If one of these limits is reached during a trading session thentrading will be stopped and the Trading Control Bar (TCB) displayed in orange. The reason forthe auto-stop will be displayed to the right of the TCB.

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    Trading can be resumed after an Auto-Stop if the user changes the limits on the Settingsscreen.

    6.6.3 Account Balance Display

    At the bottom left corner of the Results section there is a slide-out panel indicated by a greytab. If the user hovers the mouse cursor over this tab then the Account Balance Display Panelwill appear. This contains the currently available balances in the users GB and AUS wallets. Ifthe values have not been loaded yet then the user can do so by clicking the Refresh button.The values on this panel are automatically updated each time a market on the Races List isclosed.

    When the user moves the cursor away from this panel, it will automatically slide back out of

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    view. If required, however, the user can lock the panel in view by clicking the Pin button.

    6.7 Messages Tab

    The Messages tab is an area where the ATF can convey general information to the userwithout disturbing him with pop-up dialog boxes.

    It will display the number of races loaded into the Races list. It will also display details of anynon-runners as they arise (this feature can be turned off if required via the Settings screen).API error messages will also be reported on the Messages tab.

    The number of messages currently on this tab is displayed in the 7th panel of the Status InfoBar. A large number here may be an indication of a high number of API errors occurring.

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    6.8 Status Info Bar

    The Status Info Bar (SIB) is located at the bottom of the screen and displays various items ofuseful information relating to the ATFs current status and trading activity. It consists of 8sections:

    6.8.1 Section 1 DateDisplays the current date applicable to the local timezone of the user.

    6.8.2 Section 2 TimeDisplays the current time applicable to the local timezone of the user.

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    6.8.3 Section 3 Betting ModeDisplays the current ATF betting mode: SIMULATED or REAL MONEY.

    6.8.4 Section 4 Trading StatusDisplays the current ATF trading status:

    Not StartedIn ProgressStopped By ProfitStopped By LossStopped By User

    6.8.5 Section 5 API Data CallsDisplays the number of Betfair API data calls made per second. Betfair may charge the user ifhe makes more than 20 data calls in any 1 second period. This Status panel displays thenumber of data calls made in the previous second, and the highest number of data calls madein any 1 second (peak). The user should be aware that if he has more than 1 instance of theATF open for the same account then the number of calls per second will be aggregated byBetfair and he should therefore set the Max Data Calls Per Sec level for each instanceappropriately (see Settings).

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    6.8.6 Section 6 CurrencyDisplays the currency code for the users account and the minimum stake value required byBetfair for that currency. All bets will be placed and all financial information will be displayedin this currency.

    6.8.7 Section 7 Message CountDisplays the number of messages on the Messages tab.

    6.8.8 Section 8 GeneralDisplays general status information, for example:'Loading races..''FUNDS EXCEEDED'

    6.9 Main Menu

    The Main Menu runs horizontally across the top of the ATF trading screen. It has the followingoptions:

    6.9.1 Main Menu Settings

    Displays the ATF Settings screen. The Settings options break down into 4 sections:

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    6.9.1.1 Settings Trading Options

    Betting Mode Select between Real and Simulated betting.

    Stop At Profit The ATF will automatically stop trading if the Results tab shows a totalprofit of at least the specified amount.

    Stop At Loss - The ATF will automatically stop trading if the Results tab shows a totalloss of at least the specified amount.

    Max Bet Liability Before attaching a bet plan to a race the ATF will check the valuesof each individual bet and if the amount being risked on any of these bets exceeds thespecified amount then the bet plan will be rejected. This is a safety net to prevent theuser accidently entering large risk bets.

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    6.9.1.2 Settings Betfair Options

    Max Data Calls Per Sec Specifies the maximum number of Betfair API data calls thatthe ATF should make per second. Only applies to the current instance of the ATF, i.e.each instance has its own setting. The default value is 8. Betfair may charge if the usermakes more than 20 calls per second.

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    6.9.1.3 Settings Sounds

    Contains a list of options for enabling/disabling an audible notification of various events.

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    6.9.1.4 Settings Message Options

    Contains options for enabling/disabling specific types of information to be written to theMessages tab.

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    6.9.2 Main Menu Calculator

    Displays a screen containing a bet calculator. This enables the user to experiment with priceand stake values for back-then-lay and lay-then-back trading strategies. There are buttons forautomatically calculating the required stake for a trade-out bet in order to equalise the profitno matter which runner wins, or to breakeven if a runner wins or loses. There is also an optionto include a stop-loss bet if required. If the user produces a set of bet values that he likes thenthere is a button to automatically copy these values to the New Bet Plan tab on the mainscreen.

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    6.9.3 Main Menu Logout

    Provides the user with an option to logout from Betfair and close the ATF.

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    6.9.4 Main Menu Help

    Displays a basic help screen. This includes links to web pages containing further information.

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    6.9.5 Main Menu About

    Displays a screen containing ATF version, license status and copyright information.

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    7 Auto Trading Fox Under The Hood

    This section covers some technical details on how the application has been structured andsome insight into how it operates.

    7.1 Application Structure

    The ATF application has been designed as 2 main processes (Windows threads).

    The main program thread deals with all user-interface aspects, i.e. responding to all user inputand keeping the information that is displayed up to date.

    There is also a background process called the Event Update Thread (EUT) that runscontinuously and is started when the Races List has been loaded. The EUT is responsible fordealing with the Betfair API. It obtains all of the required Betfair market data and isresponsible for progressing any Betting Plans that have been attached to events.

    Both the main program and the EUT maintain an object oriented data structure which containsthe following information hierarchy:

    Betting Exchange

    User Account

    Market

    Betting Plan

    Selection

    Bet

    The main program and the EUT share information updates with each other using a Windowsinter thread messaging system.

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    7.2 Loading The Race List

    The raw list of horse racing markets is retrieved via the API function getAllMarkets using theEventId for horse racing. This simply returns a list of all horse racing markets that are currentlyavailable on the exchange. For the ATF we only require the main win markets and only thosethat satisfy the search criteria specified by the user. So before displaying the races on screen,the ATF will filter out as many of the unrequired markets as possible. The following filtershave been implemented:

    Remove markets not taking place within the number of hours specified by the user.

    Remove markets not taking place in the countries specified by the user.

    Remove markets with a name containing TO BE PLACED.

    Remove markets with a name containing REVERSE FC.

    Remove markets with a name containing WITHOUT FAV.

    Remove markets with a name containing FORECAST.

    Remove markets with a name containing TBP.

    Remove markets with a name containing FAVOURITES ACCA.

    Remove markets with a name containing WIN A FESTIVAL RACE.

    Remove markets with a name containing W/O.

    Remove markets with a name containing TOP JOCKEY.

    Remove markets with a name containing WINNING DISTANCE ODDS.

    Remove markets with a name containing LONGEST SP WINNER.

    Remove markets with a name containing BIGGEST WIN DIST.

    Remove markets with a name containing TOP TRAINER.

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    Remove markets with a name containing BIG 3 V THE FIELD.

    Remove markets with a name containing IRISH TRAINER.

    Remove markets with a name containing TRAINER DOUBLE.

    Remove markets with a name containing ODD V EVEN.

    Remove markets with a name containing NO. WINNERS.

    Remove markets with a name containing WINNING DIST.

    Remove markets with a name containing HAPPEN AT THE FESTIVAL.

    Remove markets with a name starting with HOW FAR .

    Remove markets where the last menu element contains (AVB).

    Remove markets where the last menu element contains DAILY .

    In addition to the above filters, the ATF will also look for the situation where there is morethan one market for the same start time in the same country. Some care has to be appliedhowever because, for example, there are occasionally multiple races at the same time in theUSA.

    In the case of GB horse racing markets that are taking place at the same time, if one is beingturned in-play but the other is not, then the latter will be filtered out.

    Where there are 2 markets for the same start time and one of them just has 2 selections yesand no, then this market will be filtered out.

    7.3 Race Update Frequency

    The dynamic information that is displayed on the Races and Runners lists is updated at varyingintervals depending on the time (relative to the race start) and status of each race as shown inthe table below:

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    In View Has Plan In Play UpdatePeriod (s)

    No No No More than 2 mins before thestart.Less than 2 mins before thestart.

    3010

    No No Yes 5

    No Yes No More than 2 mins before thestart.Less than 2 mins before thestart.

    205

    No Yes Yes 0.3

    Yes No No 2

    Yes No Yes 1

    Yes Yes No More than 2 mins before thestart.Less than 2 mins before thestart.

    21

    Yes Yes Yes 0.3

    Note that these are only target frequencies and are not guaranteed. They are dependent onvarious factors:

    The number of races in the race list.

    The number of races with a betting plan.

    The number of races that are in-play simultaneously.

    The data call rate setting in the ATF.

    The network speed of the user.

    The Betfair host server for the race (obtaining data from the Australian server isslower than that from the GB server).

    7.4 Data Calls Per Update Cycle

    The number of Betfair data calls made on each market update is dependent upon the bettingmode and whether or not the market has a bet plan attached.

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    7.4.1 Real Betting Data Calls

    In Real betting mode the ATF will make up to 3 data calls each cycle:

    It will always call getMarketPrices

    If a bet plan is attached it will also call getMarketProfitAndLoss

    If there are unmatched bets it will also call getMUBets

    7.4.2 Simulated Betting Data Calls

    In Simulated betting mode the ATF will make up to 2 data calls each cycle:

    It will always call getMarketPrices

    If there are unmatched bets it will also call getMarketTradedVolumeCompressed

    7.5 Non-Runners

    When the race list is loaded, the ATF retrieves the list of selections (Runners) for each marketon that list (after filtering out the unwanted markets). The ATF identifies when any of theseselections becomes a non-runner by the fact that Betfair stops including market priceinformation for that selection in the data it returns. When a non-runner occurs it will have areduction factor calculated by Betfair. All matched bets on other runners in the market willbe reduced in price by Betfair by this reduction factor.

    In the event of a non-runner the ATF will take the following actions on races that have abetting plan attached:

    No bets placed yet no action is required. The bet plan setting for max non-runnerswill determine whether or not the plan progresses from here.

    Bet 1(s) have been placed but none have been matched the bets are cancelled andthe plan is reset to start again. The bet plan setting for max non-runners will

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    determine whether or not the plan progresses from here.

    At least one Bet1 has been matched (partially or fully) the reduction factor of thenon-runner is used to adjust the prices of any unplaced bets on the bet plan. Any betsalready in the market will be automatically adjusted by Betfair.

    7.6 Matching Simulated Bets

    In simulated betting mode the ATF has to estimate when a bet would have been matched. It isimpossible to do this 100% accurately as the ATF does not have access to the bet queue that ismanaged by the Betfair server and therefore does not know which or when bets have beenplaced and cancelled by other users.

    At the point in time when a simulated bet is placed, the ATF will use the API to determinehow much has already been traded at the required price or better. Then on each subsequentupdate cycle the ATF will check again and if the volume traded on the required price (orbetter) has increased then it will assume that this amount would have been matched on ourbet.

    7.7 Timezones

    All dates and times are published by Betfair in GMT. The ATF has been designed to operateanywhere in the world in any timezone. All Betfair dates and times are automatically adjustedby the ATF to the users local timezone before being displayed. The ATF determines thecorrect timezone for the user by examining his machine date/time settings.

    7.8 Context Save and Restore

    When the user closes the ATF the following information is saved in the Windows Registry andrestored the next time the user runs the ATF:

    - The values used for loading the Races List.

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    - All values on the Settings screen.

    - All values on the New Bet Plan tab and the last used Load/Save folder.

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    8 User Provisioning and Licensing

    This section outlines the steps by which a new user is granted permission to run the ATF.The licensing and online activation system has been integrated into the ATF application.

    The user visits the Auto Trading Fox website and registers his details.

    During this process the user will be directed to the Betfair webpage where he canpermission his account to run the ATF using the full API.

    Having permissioned his account, the user can then download and install the latestversion of the ATF. When installed this will automatically grant him a free trial useperiod (7 days at the time of writing).

    During the trial period the number of days remaining is displayed at the very top ofthe ATF screen. The ATF licensing status can also be viewed at any time on the Aboutscreen.

    When the trial period expires, the next time the user runs the ATF he will be notifiedand given the option to either purchase a product key, or to activate the ATF using aproduct key that he has already purchased. If he chooses to activate then this will startthe activation wizard. If he chooses to purchase a key then he will be directed to theATF website.

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    When a user buys a license then the ATF administrator should create a new productkey on the licensing website and associate the users email address with it. He shouldthen send the user an email containing a copy of his product key. The user can thenenter his personal product key via the registration wizard. The wizard is accessible atany time via the ATF About screen.

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    Trial period extension. The users trial period can be extended if required. If the userregisters this product key with the ATF then his trial period will be extended by thenumber of days specified by the ATF administrator. Note that the trial period has toexpire before it can be extended.

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    9 Betfair Vendor Certification Compliance

    In order to receive Betfair vendor certification an application must be compliant with therequirements set out on the webpage:

    https://bdp.betfair.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=76&Itemid=68

    The following lists each of the requirements and describes how the ATF is compliant in eachcase.

    9.1 Part A Application Security Certification

    An application may not communicate with the API through a proxy of anydescription. All communications must be directly with the API and must be over asecure channel.

    Compliant: The ATF communicates directly with the API over a secure (https)connection.

    A Vendor must not have visibility of a user's Betfair username, password or any othersensitive data that may link a user of a product to a Betfair account.

    Compliant: There is no communication at all between the ATF and the vendor.An application must communicate directly with Betfair via the API to validate acustomer.

    Compliant: The ATF validates a customer directly with Betfair using the API Loginfunction.

    An application must never store or log the user's Betfair password.Compliant: The ATF does not store the users Betfair password in any way.

    An application must not store or log the username in plain text. If the user haschosen to store their username locally (by performing an explicit action to indicatetheir wish to do so) it should be encrypted (AES with minimum 128 bits key length).

    Compliant: The ATF does not store or log the username at all and there is currently nooption for the user to do so.

    An application must display an agree/disagree model dialog to the user when theuser indicates a desire to store their username locally. The default action of the dialogshould be to not save the username.

    Compliant: Not applicable. There is currently no option to store the username.An application may not implement automatic login as this would require theapplication storing the password locally.

    Compliant: There is no automatic login function supported.An application must use the Vendor-registered user ID (not the Betfair username)credentials to validate subscription, fetch news and update the application and allother Vendor/application specific communication.

    Compliant: Subscription validation is implemented using the LimeLM licensing andonline activation system which is achieved via a user-specific product key and isunrelated to any Betfair credentials.

    The provisioning (where applicable) of the account to use the application with the

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    Betfair API must be via the Vendor Services API or Vendor Console - see Part IICompliant: The provisioning of the account to use the API is not carried out by the ATFand is the responsibility of the ATF website administrator.

    The vendorSoftwareId must be obfuscated from the end userCompliant: The vendorSoftwareId is not displayed or stored locally in any way by theATF.

    The application must provide a 'Logout' functionCompliant: A Logout function is available in the ATF main menu.

    9.2 Part B Product Requirements

    the application includes a data request counter that accurately counts requests thatfall under the Data Request charging scheme. The application by default should bethrottled to make no more than 10 data requests per second.

    Compliant: The ATF displays the number of data requests made each second and thepeak number of data requests made in any one second on the status bar. The defaultthrottle setting is 8 data requests per second.

    the application includes a link to the Betfair Charges page for customer referenceCompliant: The ATF displays a link to the Betfair charges page on the Help screen.

    the application requests gzipped responses from the API (read more about enablinggZipping here )

    Compliant: The ATF requests gzipped API responses where this is supported by theusers machine.

    the application supports forced updates to customersCompliant: Left-clicking a market in the main list will force an update of prices and bets.

    the application does not make any more than five market prices requests, per marketin any one second

    Compliant: The ATF will in fact make no more than 3 market prices requests per marketin any one second.

    the application does not reveal the assigned vendorSoftwareId to usersCompliant: The vendorSoftwareId is not displayed or stored locally in any way by theATF.

    the application does not use getBetHistory to establish the market statusCompliant: The ATF does not call the API function getBetHistory at all.

  • Back Cover

    AutoTradingFox ManualVersion HistoryIntroductionInstalling AutoTradingFoxActivating Your SoftwareDe-Activating Your Software

    Getting StartedLoading RacesCheck The SettingsDesign Your BetplanAttach Your Betplan To A RaceClick Start TradingMonitor Bets And Results

    Auto Trading Fox User InterfaceRaces ListRunners ListAuto-Scroll FeatureForced Updates

    New Bet Plan TabBet 1Early Bet 1 Placement

    Bet 2Bet 2 Profit Percentage

    Stop-Loss BetStop Loss Percentage OptionStop Loss Percentage With Offset TicksEarly Stop-Loss Bet Placement

    Potential P&LSaving and Loading Bet PlansAttaching A Bet Plan To race(s)Multiple Bet Plans Per Race

    Cancelling Bet Plans

    Trading Control BarTrading Modes

    Bets & Betting Plan Summary TabsTerminating The Betting Plan

    Results TabEstimating The Simulated P&L ResultStop On Profit / LossAccount Balance Display

    Messages TabStatus Info BarSection 1 DateSection 2 TimeSection 3 Betting ModeSection 4 Trading StatusSection 5 API Data CallsSection 6 CurrencySection 7 Message CountSection 8 General

    Main MenuMain Menu SettingsSettings Trading OptionsSettings Betfair OptionsSettings SoundsSettings Message Options

    Main Menu CalculatorMain Menu LogoutMain Menu HelpMain Menu About

    Auto Trading Fox Under The HoodApplication StructureLoading The Race ListRace Update FrequencyData Calls Per Update CycleReal Betting Data CallsSimulated Betting Data Calls

    Non-RunnersMatching Simulated BetsTimezonesContext Save and Restore

    User Provisioning and LicensingBetfair Vendor Certification CompliancePart A Application Security CertificationPart B Product Requirements