The blog has developed so much since my last post and it has the making of a good source of information, in this weeks Inside Scoop I want to expand on the excellent post by Sammy Chim with regards Betfair Trading Software. 

Sammy has hit the nail on the head with his thoughts and Bet Trader Pro is an excellent platform, do I use it? 

No; I will explain why.

The reason I don't use this and other widely available Betfair Trading Platforms is down to the direction of Betfair as company. It has been common knowledge that Betfair is seeking to float, however they have one serious problem that is hindering this step forward. 

For the City to take them seriously as an exchange they need to perform more like a stock exchange, the platform falls way short of this. Founder Andrew Black set Betfair up so that the ordinary man in the street could ask for 200/1 on a 50/1 shot and another person would take that bet on. 

So Betfair was designed in principle for this purpose. Stock market  traders would never let this situation happen, the 50/1 shot would never be available at 200/1, because there would always be some money in front of it. 

The vast majority of software platforms on the market were originally written when the performance of Betfair Api was extremely poor and its capabilities limited to what is on offer today. Providers have upgraded and improved their platforms and now have features you would associate with traditional stock exchange trading. 

So as a punter you faced with the situation of having software platforms that work well with the Betfair Api, perform all kinds of trading methods, but only a few punters will make money using them. There is a vast difference between all the software providers and if you compare them to cars, some platforms are like Micra's others are like Ferrari's. However they all have to perform with the same engine (the original Betfair script) which means you will have a 1.3 litre engine under the bonnet of your Ferrari. 

The Future

Betfair could face an uncertain future, because how the platform was originally written with the ordinary punter in mind, it even could be too late or costly to change the mechanics. Betfair still wants the ordinary man in the street, that's why the new TV advertising is geared to try and get this type of punter back to the site. 

What has happened, the ordinary punters have seen, tried and failed, one because the platform is hard to understand and two, there is not a pot of gold at the end of this rainbow. However I firmly believe (this is my opinion only) that if they don't change the real money men will not be attracted to the platform or another company will come along and build a betting exchange that works exactly like the stock exchange.

So what do I use to trade with.

I currently consult with an official Betfair Software provider and I use a platform that is modified to suit my trading needs and requirements. I have special plug-ins added into the platform that will perform certain tasks for me automatically once I open my position within a market. I only use software for horse racing markets, the rest of the markets I use the keyboard short cuts on the main site, I am probably faster using these shortcuts than some punters are using software.

In Summary

Understanding how the Betfair platform works is paramount before you invest in any trading software, there are some excellent applications available, and owning a licence to use them will not guarantee you will make money. Current software fills in the gaps that Betfair has overlooked in development, basically covering up the cracks, punters that make money is down to their skill in reading the markets, the software just aids this skill.

My advice would be research how you want to trade the markets first to see if your methods are profitable, if you discover a niche way to make money, then seek the right application to execute your method. Don't make the mistake most losing punters make and buy into the software first and then try and fit a method to suit the platform.