Building Our First Bot - Part II, Framework

Last post, we looked at how out 'bot would make money. This post, we'll put the framework in place. The framework is the outline of the code we'll be using. One of the nice things about this framework is that it is pretty language-independent. With just a little work, it can be converted to pretty much any language: Ruby, VBA, Java, etc. I shall, of course, be using Python - and will probably implement it in Resolver down the road.

The main program loop will look something like this:

Evaluate Status

if No Open or Matched Bets:
 Offer To Back
else if Unmatched Offer to Back:
 See if Conditions for Backing Still Exist
 Move or Cancel Bet if they do not
else if Unmatched Offer to Lay:
 Do Nothing For Now (we're doing this simply, remember)
else if Matched Offer to Back:
 Record the Matched Bet
 Create new Offer to Lay
else if Matched Offer to Lay:
 Record the Matched Bet
 Offer To Back

This is the simplest kind of pseudo-code. Moving it into more real Python gets us this:

import betfair
betfairGateway = betfair.BetfairGateway(username, password, productID)

marketID = xx
selectionID = xx

while not MarketInPlay():

status = EvaluateStatus()

if status == 'No Open or Matched Bets':
  if ConditionsExistToBack():
    OfferToBack()

elif status == 'Unmatched Offer to Back':
  if not MyBestBestBet():
    CancelBets()
  
    if ConditionsExistToBack():
      OfferToBack()

elif status == 'Unmatched Offer to Lay':
  # Do Nothing For Now (we're doing this simply, remember)
  pass

elif status == 'Matched Offer to Back':
  RecordMatchedBackBet()
  OfferToLay()

elif status == 'Matched Offer to Lay':
  RecordMatchedLayBet()
  if ConditionsExistToBack():
    OfferToBack()

Now, while we're not quite at a working, trading 'bot, we have the outline in place. Tomorrow (or in the next few days), I'll fill in the missing methods, and transition the 'bot to Resolver One.

Next week (when I'm back in the UK, with reliable Internet access again...), I'll set it up and running.