Training Mode
BetTrader has a training or practise mode which is designed to be as near to real life as possible. This enables you to learn how to use the software or test a new trading strategy without risking real money. It is important to realize that although we have done our best to make this appear real, there are certain aspects of trading that are not possible to mimic, most notably the effect of your bets on other people in the market, as they cannot see your training mode bets.
To enter training mode, click on the icon in the left panel. This will turn orange showing that you are now in training mode.
Your training bank balance will now show instead of your Betfair account balance. You can change the amount in your training bank at any time in the Settings menu.
In grid mode everything looks exactly the same as in real money mode. In ladder mode the prices in the middle of the ladders will show in white when you are in training mode rather than the usual black. Placing a bet will result in the stake or liability being deducted from your balance immediately, as happens in real money mode. You will see an increase in the amount of money showing at that price on the ladder, exactly as though you had placed a real bet, and your bet will show as matched when that amount plus any queue in front of you has been matched. All the tools etc. work exactly as they do in real money mode, so this is a great way to try them out and see what they do.
If you close down the market tab while you are in training mode, all bets you made on that market, whether matched or unmatched, will disappear. If you reopen the same market there will be no evidence of previous training mode bets, apart from any adjustments that were made to the training bank, as this happens immediately when you place a bet.
As BetTrader cannot read results from anywhere, it relies on Betfair to adjust your account balance when the market is settled. This is not an issue in real money mode because the software simply reads the updated balance from Betfair. In training mode nothing happens to your Betfair balance, and therefore in order for your training bank to update with any winnings, BetTrader needs to use the data sent when Betfair closes the market. It will only read this if the market tab remains open in the browser until after the closed market report forms. If you close the market tab before the closed market report appears, your training bank balance will remain the same as it was when you closed the tab, regardless of the actual result. You can open another market to trade while you are waiting for the closed market report to form.
To exit from training mode, click on the training icon in the left panel. A warning popup will appear telling you that training mode is off and all bets will now be in real money. You need to cancel the popup before you can bet. This prevents you from going back to real money mode without realizing it if you accidentally click on the training icon.
BetTrader does not keep a record of your bets, either real money or training. You can always check your real money bets in your account section of the Betfair website, but if you want a record of your training mode bets you will need to record them manually.
IMPORTANT WARNING – TRAINING MODE
From the point of view of Betfair, training mode bets do not exist. A customer using BetTrader in training mode looks very like a rival bookmaker using the Betfair API to monitor Betfair’s prices for commercial use. Betfair do not like this because it puts strain on their servers for no income (commission) and if they detect you doing nothing but this they will delay your access to the API, rendering trading software useless. To be on the safe side we recommend that if you are going to spend time in training mode you place at least one real money bet during the session. You can trade out of this, it simply shows Betfair that you are a real customer, intending to use your account for betting, not a bookmaker’s bot.
If you find yourself in a position where the prices are jumping about, you can only see 3 prices either side of the trading area, and the brown matched amounts alongside the ladders are missing even in busy markets, please email support and we will do our best to help. (The same symptoms occur if your Betfair account is empty, so if this is the case, please add funds!)