I’ve largely steered clear of betting bots during my year running this site.
They worry me – a fact that shows me to be either fearful, sensible, old-fashioned or a control freak, depending on your point of view.
Regular readers will recall that I did have one aberration, which really can’t be said to have improved matters. An unfortunate trial of the Magic Backing Bot almost put me off the wretched things for all time.
I never knew what it was up to. It made the selections, it placed the bets, it even told me when to re-download it….. Which is a bit odd when you think about it, as each version of the programme appeared rapidly to learn its own limitations, then promptly order its own death.
It all reminded me of that wonderful old sci-fi show, The Outer Limits…
You could almost hear it quietly muttering,
“Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission. If we wish to make it louder, we will bring up the volume. If we wish to make it softer, we will tune it to a whisper. We will control the horizontal. We will control the vertical”.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Magic Backing Bot trial was a complete disaster, and I pretty much wrote bots off as a result. And anyway, there was a silver lining… I mean, I didn’t want to automate myself out of business, did I!?
That said, I have been ignoring an important fact…. There is more than one kind of bot.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I give you MarketFeeder Pro.
Now, before you ask, I am in no way affiliated to this product, even though it does sound like it might be loosely related to my very own SkewTrader Pro. (I guess we all like to be considered professionals nowadays…. but seriously, it has nothing to do with me!)
However, what is different is the degree of its ambition. Unlike Magic Backing Bot, this thing doesn’t claim to have a clue about picking winners.
Yeehaa. I still have a job.
Instead, you control the horizontal, and you control the vertical. Specifically, you get to write pseudo-code in the form of scripts, then this little beauty dutifully toddles off and executes them, precisely as it’s told.
If the Magic Backing Bot was my master, MarketFeeder Pro promises to be my slave. And as I’m currently testing some new Betfair trading techniques, I needed a little slave to put my bets on.
Even better, for just £1, anyone can get it for a month during Euro 2012.
I shall add further comments here, as I get to know it. But my first impressions are of shock and awe. It is very powerful, and likely in particular to appeal to the IT crowd amongst my audience.
It comes with a remarkably realistic test mode, and a comprehensive range of step-by-step tutorials, so I shouldn’t accidentally empty my betting bank if one of my new scripts suddenly gets stuck in an infinite loop.
And if it does – well, unlike with the Magic Backing Bot, this time I will only have myself to blame…
You can get MarketFeeder Pro here, including their great £1 for a month trial offer, which is the one I’ve gone for.
My faith in bots is restored.
Lx