Betfair feeding £2 bets into inplay markets counter productive?

Excuse my ignorance, but how do you know it's Betfair doing this, have they announced this policy somewhere?

I agree with the sentiment that microbots topping prices disincentivises users from putting money up though, and it's never been restricted to just in play either. It's inevitable though given how pro robot Betfair are and the fact that they haven't stopped it means either they still make enough money in these markets, or they don't know how to stop it.

So you offer relatively poor value odds to get the market going - then someone puts 2 quid in front of you.  Try putting decent odds up to start with and I'm sure someone will have a nibble.

Can't believe its Betfair as it would be counter productive and they've always denied doing similar things in the past.  Betfair have introduced transaction charges which I would have thought make it uneconomical for such a wide ranging strategy across many markets. 

You don't have to be the best priced offer on someat to get matched in any case especially if the offer directly in front of you is only £2.  Price offerers are often far too impatient about being at the front of the queue.

Mr Magoo,appreciate you may interpret my post in this way.It is not as simple as that.I was flagging it up as these markets appear to be completely dead these days.

Yes, remember manual trades.   Exactly as described by TheInvestor but I worked at home so add several other periods of 'adjustment'. The patience of a zen master, at times.

I also remember the first bots arriving on the markets.  (destroyed my traditional 6.2 / 6.8 third fave free bet trades by filling the gap

However, I do remember the joy of putting up 1.02 / £100 lays at night on the greyhounds, going to bed and rushing down stairs like it was Christmas morning to see what was matched as someone fired up their bot for the first time.    It went on for weeks.

Contrarily, it was great watching the bots fired up with no ceiling and they would push each other up into the ozone, my 29/1 waiting on a 12/1 long shot. 

Oh, the days........'take out' on a whim

Nowdays the going rate appears to be 1.11 on the dog markets. That's over five times better value for punters

I've got no sympathy if you are betting on derivative based side football markets and someone jumps in front of you.  You are not really market making if you are setting prices that are often just simple derivatives of others.  Basically you are just copying the market like the micro bot that jumps in front of you.


That may apply to some of the side markets, but many others are not so straightforward to derive, and can only be done so relative to a (possibly contentious) model.

If the volumes are dropping, it's probably nothing to do with the prices on offer and more to do with the punters not being interesting in wazzing their money away at -15% EV on next player to cry markets.

Betfair have been closing down/regulating territories all over the shop recently so it might even be a small group of punters who merrily lost their rent every month into their favourite side markets being banned from the site due to local regulation.

nbdsetc. 

Guess what these market makers keep pumping their large liquidity into the football side markets - they're at it in the Vallecano Madrid game.  Let me give you some examples of their generous odds.

Madrid are currently winning 1-0 and are 1.04 to win a half and a back of Madrid appears at evens to win a half for 1434 so the 2 quid blocker bets go up.  Vallencano to win a half - a lay gets put up at 878 for evens - so the blocker bets go up at 5 6 7 etc.

Another good example was in the Liverpool Man U game yesterday-Man U took the lead and were 1.2 to win the match - then a very generous lay of Man U to win a half for 878 at 1.5 (should have been 7.0)went up, so my blocker bets went up at 5 6 etc.

This generous market maker has been at it for many months - how do I kno it's the same person? because they like to bet in the following stakes - 232, 343, 454, 676, 767, 878. No doubt the stakes will change now they've been tumbled.

They are normally the only ones offering large odds in these side markets and I'm the only one putting up blocker bets.  Cannot believe someone would thing Betfair would mess about with 2 quid bots.

Ryder Cup - day 3 singles - tie 767 @ 2.0 - someone is trying to lay the same outcome at 5ish. He has them up for all possible options but other users sensible lays has crowded him out of the interface.

nbsetc.

He's at it again in the Leeds Everton game - in the everton to win from behind market trying to lay everton not to win from behind at 1.12 for 998 - tut tut tut. they are only 2.8 at the moment.

nbsetc. we need you help you - stated you put up large amounts in these football side markets can you get some up to do the snide market maker up like a kipper or shall I just stick some blocker to quids up?

That Wigan bet is bordering on sheer deception nsb as it intially traded at 18's plus.

Wigan go in front with a couple of mins to go in the first half and a 1.3 lay for 656 not to half goes up.  tut tut tut.

Now wanted to back Wigan to win from behind for 545 at evens - they are 1.22. Shameless.

Wigan win both halves 565 @ 1.5 lay - naughty boy.  try 4-1.

This is a classic nsbcetc.  West ham to win from behind 133 @ 4.0 - they are currently trading at 19.0.

Curly you might want to have another butchers at the OP.

you've got the wrong end of the stick john imo

You're blocking trap bets, not legitimate bets. Offering 2.5 about a 2.6 shot is what this game is all about.
If mr newbie enters a random spanish basketball match and is confronted with a screen full of £2 bets he's going to go elsewhere.

I haven't bothered putting up reasonable amounts at reasonable prices (not derivative prices and so I could well be wrong with my odds, giving a smarter punter the chance of a winner) because of these £2 bots.  Sometimes I may only be matched with £5 or so and immediately these £2 bots are taking half of my bet.  Some even have hidden a string of amounts of less than £2 which means it's even less point me putting up decent size amounts as every time someone bets £5, the hidden bets are matched and they instantaneously put up more hidden bets.  So I don't put anything up and nobody bets as just £2 at crappy odds available.