Strategies

How To Manage The Ipposnif Strategies

  1. Strategies Management
  2. Shared Strategies

1.Strategies Management


You can open the Strategies Window clicking on the 'green star' button, from the menu 'View' or pressing the hotkey F3.
A strategy consists of a set of criteria that defines which runners, when and how much to bet on them. A strategy can be fully automatic, or it can require an input from the user before placing bets.
Ipposnif comes with a rich set of example strategies, of which, the Manual - Free Hand strategy is already active and ready to play. With it you can place BACK or LAY bets in the number you want, specifying manually the properties. The 'Manual - Free Hand' strategy is the only resident system strategy, it cannot be deleted and only a few parameters can be changed.
The other shared strategies cover specific betting techniques. You can import them from the XML files of the directory 'Ipposnif Strategies' (right-click the Strategies Window → Add From File)

Every Ipposnif strategy produces trades, and each trade can contain a minimum of one bet (betting strategies), or more than one (trading strategies).
Each strategy has its own allocated amount of money called Initial Capital. All the trades produced by a strategy are accounted within its capital and a strategy can never lose more than the Initial Capital amount.
In order to place bets, a strategy must be activated checking the checkbox in the first column of the Strategies Window.

You can create your own strategy from a clone (right-click an existing strategy → Clone) or from scretch (right-click the Strategies Window → New).
To edit a strategy, double click on it to open the Configuration Panel.

Grid

Active: enable/disable the strategy.
ID: unique identifier of the strategy.
Strategy name: name of the strategy.
Net P&L: net profit and loss of the strategy, including the P&L of the previous rounds.
Liability: current liability of the strategy.
Td Net P&L: today net profit of the strategy.
Last Net P&L: net profit and loss of the current round.
Fees: sum of all fees paid in the strategy.
Fees Last: sum of all fees paid in the current round.
Investment: sum of all the amounts of money risked (maximum liability) in all the trades of the strategy.
R.O.I.: return on investment of the strategy, including all the resets of the strategy.
Trades: [tot] xx/yy x/y where
  • [tot]=total created trades, including deleted, lapsed and voided ones.
  • xx=total matched trades.
  • yy=total winning trades.
  • x=total matched trades since the last reset.
  • y=total winning trades since the last reset.

Reset: x/y where x=total resets performed. y=maximum number of resets.
Avg price: average price of all matched bets.
Winning trades in a row: winning trades in a row since the last reset.
Losing trades in a row: losing trades in a row since the last reset.
Winning reset in a row: count of consecutive reset with profit.
Losing reset in a row: count of consecutive reset with loss.
Last trade: datestamp of the last trade.
Status: shows if there are issues with the strategy.

Context Menu

Right-click on a strategy to open the context menu, from where you can manage the selected strategy. Only one strategy at one time can be managed.
New: create a new empty strategy.
Add From File: create a new strategy from an XML file.
Save To File: save the strategy to an XML file.
Save All Strategies: this option is not present in default and it must be activated from the .ini file.
Edit: open the Configuration Panel where you can configure the properties of the strategy.
Clone: create an exact copy of the selected strategy.
Reset: There are two level of strategy reset:
  • Soft Reset: the strategy restarts funding a new capital. All the trades previously created are kept and accounted separately.
  • Hard Reset: all the trades of the strategy are canceled and it restarts from zero.
Stop & Hedge: disable the strategy and perform an hedge of all open trades.
Statistics: opens the Statistic Window for this strategy.
Trades: open the Trades Window for this strategy.
Delete: cancel the strategy.
Grid: customize font and size of the grid.

2.Shared Strategies

You can import the strategies from the XML files in the directory 'Ipposnif Strategies' (right-click the Strategies Window → Add From File)

Manual Strategies

Manual strategies always require an input from the user in order to place bets. Bets are placed immediately after the user's action.

Manual Scheduling Strategies

Semi-automatic strategies where the user chooses the selections to bet earlier, and then Ipposnif place the bets at the start of the event or when the trigger conditions become true.

Automatic Level Strategies

Fully automatic strategies that place bets on the runners selected by one or more criteria. The size of the bet is normally a fixed amount, or a percentage of the strategy capital.

Automatic Progression Strategies

Fully automatic strategies, in which the size of the bets is calculated following a progression algorithm.

Automatic Fishing Strategies

Fully automatic strategies, that place numerous bets searching for value prices. Only a small percentage of the bets remains matched.

Automatic Scalping Strategies

Fully automatic strategies, that enter the markets when there are favorable conditions, to perform a trade or a scalp (few ticks trade). This kind of strategy produce at least two bets each trade of opposite types (BACK-LAY). The capital and the stakes used in the shared strategies are expressed without the currency symbol, because the currency of your account will be actually used. The amounts used in the strategies below are meant to be in Euros, Pounds or Dollars. If your currency is a low-valued currency, you may need to increase the amounts.



Auto - BACK The Favourite

Initial Capital: 20   Trigger: Automatic   Type: BACK   Progression: Capital %   Bets Per Trade: 1

This strategy is a good start to understand how automatic strategies work.
One minute at the start, BACK the favourite with a price between 1.5 and 3.9
The runner must have won its last race and the total amount of matched money on the runner must be greater than 1/2 of the total amount matched on the market.
The bet size is 1/100 of the current capital, offset to a minimum of 1/100 of the initial capital.
Max 3 open bets at the same time, in 3 different markets.
The BACK overround of the market must be fair (lower than 105).
If the bet remains unmatched the price is updated (every 5 seconds) to the current best BACK price, without going below 1.5
Strategy stops placing bets when it has lost more than 4 currency units, in the current day.



Auto - Chase Losses BACK

Initial Capital: 25   Trigger: Automatic   Type: BACK   Progression: Chasing Losses   Bets Per Trade: 1

One minute at the start, BACK the favourite with a price between 1.7 and 5.3, to win 1/500 of the initial capital plus all the losses accumulated with previous losing bets.
Only one bet at a time.
If the bet is unmatched the price is updated to the best BACK price at that moment.
The BACK overround of the market must be fair.
The strategy stops when it has doubled the initial capital.



Auto - Chase Losses LAY

Initial Capital: 25   Trigger: Automatic   Type: LAY   Progression: Chasing Losses   Bets Per Trade: 1

One minute at the start, LAY the second favourite with a price between 2.3 and 5.3, to win 1/500 of the initial capital plus all the losses accumulated with previous losing bets.
Only one bet at a time.
If the bet is unmatched the price is updated to the best LAY price at that moment.
The LAY overround of the market must be fair.
The strategy stops when it has doubled the initial capital.



Auto - D'Alembert BACK

Initial Capital: 25   Trigger: Automatic   Type: BACK   Progression: D'Alembert   Bets Per Trade: 1

D'Alembert is a famous betting progression applicable to even odds, and it has the following rules:

  • bet one unit size on an even odd (in our case we BACK horses with a price between 1.9 and 2.3, one minute at the start)
  • if the bet is losing, increase the next bet size by one unit
  • if the bet is winning, decrease the next bet size by one unit (without going below 1 unit)
When the number of losing hands and the number of winning hands are at least equivalent in the mid-short term, the system provides a net profit in units of half of the played hands.
In this configuration the unit size is 1/50 of the initial capital.
The strategy stops when it has doubled the initial capital.



Auto - Masaniello BACK

Initial Capital: 20 (1 x 20 rounds)   Trigger: Automatic   Type: BACK   Progression: Masaniello   Bets Per Trade: 1

Masaniello is a progression where the goal is to get a certain number of wins on a certain number of events. The profit as well the loss is pre determined.
Ipposnif uses a simplified version of the Masaniello considering only runners with similar price (in a range).
In this case we want to get 5 winners with a price between 4.2 and 4.8 on a total of 8 events. The chance to win is 1/36 considering an average price of 4.
The capital of the strategy is the total amount spent in one Masaniello round.
'Max Reset' is the number of times we want to restart the progression (when it loses as well it wins). In this case we want a maximum of 19 reset that means a total of 20 rounds.
Bets are placed in the timeframe that goes from 40 seconds at the start to two minutes after the programmed start time, only if the race is still not in-play and if the overround of the market is fair.
Finally the bet is placed only if there is only one runner in the race with a price between 3.6 and 4.9.

With the Masaniello calculator you can know the gain of alternative combinations price/events/wins/bid-type and apply them to the Masaniello function used in the Size criteria of the strategy.

Notes:

  • The difference between the reference price (4.0) passed to the function and the minimum price (4.2) that a bet can have is used to cover the Betfair fees. The formula to calculate the minimum BACK price starting from the reference price is:
    ((ReferencePrice-1)*(1+BetfairFees))+1
    So in this strategy is: ((4-1)*1.05)+1=4.15 rounded to 4.2
  • The amount of the capital passed to the function is 10% lower than the amount allocated for the round (Initial Capital), to cover some edge cases like for example a deduction due to a retired runner.




Auto - Masaniello Accumulator

Initial Capital: 5 (per day)   Trigger: Automatic   Type: BACK   Progression: Masaniello   Bets Per Trade: 1

This strategy is a variant of the strategy Auto - Masaniello BACK.
In this case we want to get 2 winners with a price between 4.2 and 4.8 on a total of 14 events. The return is around 15% of the round capital, considering an average price of 4.
The capital of the strategy (total amount spent in one Masaniello round) is 5. There is no limit (99999) in the number of times the strategy can reset itself after a win or a loss round, but maximum one losing round in a day. So this strategy must be manually stopped by the user, in win as well in loss.
All the eventual winnings are capitalized in the next round.




Auto - Outsiders LAY

Initial Capital: 50   Trigger: Automatic   Type: LAY   Progression: Capital %   Bets Per Trade: 1

Ten minutes at the start, LAY a maximum of three outsiders trying to get matched on the BACK side of the market.
The gap between the best BACK price and the best LAY price must greater than 30%.
If the price moves and the bet is still umatched, the price is updated with an interval of 60 seconds.
The maximum LAY price allowed for a bet is 100.
Maximum three markets open at the same time (so a maximum of 9 open LAY bets at the same time).
The bet size is 1/1000 of the capital with a minimum size of 0.05.
The strategy stops if it has won or lost more than 15 in a day.
Bets are placed only on Horse Racing WIN markets.



Auto - Scalping BACK WOM

Initial Capital: 50   Trigger: Automatic   Type: BACK → LAY   Progression: Fixed Amount   Bets Per Trade: 3 max

From 16 to 6 minutes at the start, perform a trade with a BACK entry bet of size 1/20 of current capital and an exit bet of type LAY that hedges the current position 2 ticks below the entry bet price.
Trades are created if the WOM (Weight Of Money) is less than 0.28 and the gap between the best BACK price and the best LAY price is less than 3 ticks.
The entry bet is cancelled if it remains unmatched for more than 45 seconds or if the price drifts away for more than 5 ticks.
The third bet is placed to hedge the losses if the market is against us for more than 5 ticks or at 15 seconds at the start of the event.
A maximum of two runners on a maximum of three markets can be played at the same time.

WOM is calculated with the following formula (where Bx and Lx are the available stake amounts for the best 5 BACK and LAY prices):
(B1 + B2*0.5 + B3*0.25 + B4*0.12 + B5*0.06) / (B1 + B2*0.5 + B3*0.25 + B4*0.12 + B5*0.06 + (B1 + B2*0.5 + B3*0.25 + B4*0.12 + B5*0.06 + L1 + L2*0.5 + L3*0.25 + L4*0.12 + L5*0.06)
You can personalize this formula (fn_WOM) from the Ipposnif database.
Bets are placed only on Horse Racing GB/IE WIN markets.
The strategy stops if it has won or lost more than 10 in the current day.



Auto - Value Is The Master

Initial Capital: 100   Trigger: Automatic   Type: LAY   Progression: Fixed Amount   Bets Per Trade: 1 max

The principle of this strategy is to place LAY bets, at extremely favorable prices for us, as soon as the horse races go in-play.
These bets, with 1€ of responsability each, are kept pending in the market only for a certain amount of seconds, that is proportional to the race distance.
Bets are placed at a price 50% lower than the last matched pre-race price.
A large number of bets is placed every day, but only a small percentage of them are matched, and those ones, statistically, should have a better value for us.
This kind of strategies needs to place and delete bets very fast. It is important that the Ipposnif instance runs smoothly and without any bottlenecks. If you are running Ipposnif on a small VPS, use "api_vps" as API Configuration (from the Options).
Especially on a VPS, when you don't need the Main Window of Ipposnif, close it because it is quite resource consuming.



Auto - Yankee*5 Place/Win BACK

Initial Capital: 20.80 (2 x 0.52 x 20)   Trigger: Automatic   Type: LAY   Progression: Capital %   Bets Per Trade: 1

The two strategies, Place and Win, are meant to be run together, but you can decide to run only one of them. Each strategy has its own independence, but they cannot bet on different horses when they bet on the same market.
Both of them place bets on the runner with the lowest price greater than 1.50. One bet at one time.
A Yankee is a betting system in which the chosen runners, on different events (5 in this configuration), are combined together to form accumulators. The accumulators cover all the combinations of doubles, trebles, fold-4 and fold-5 of the events. One of the strategies creates WIN accumulators, the other one creates PLACE accumulators.
In this configuration we have a round formed by 5 events that produces 26 different accumulators. You can read more about the Yankee combinations from the function dbo.fn_YankeeSize.
Each one of the accumulators has a cost of 1/26 of the round capital (26 x 0.02 = 0.52). In this configuration each one of the two strategy will play for a maximum of 20 rounds.
The round capital of these two strategies is set from the Options, in the Global Variable @global_08. In default it has a value of 0.52. So you can change the bet amounts of both the strategies, changing this single global variable.
If a historical profit (profit at the start of the round) is present, 1/8 of this profit is added to the next round capital.
Max daily loss is 5 times the default round capital plus 1/3 of the eventual historical profit.
Bet size is offset to produce a maximum win of 10000.




Auto - Forecasts 5-6-7

Initial Capital: 50   Trigger: Automatic   Type: BACK   Progression: Capital %   Bets Per Trade: 1

150 seconds at the start, on the market type 'FORECAST' and 'REV_FORECAST', place a BACK bet on all the combinations of runners with number 5-6-7.
When the market type is 'REV_FORECAST', six bets are placed with a size of 1/500 of the capital. If the market is 'FORECAST', three bets are placed with size 1/250 of the capital.
The strategy can play on maximum of 3 markets at the same time. Maximum daily loss is 5.
The strategy places bets only on combinations with a price equal or greater than 6.



Manual - Free Hand

Initial Capital: 1000   Trigger: Manual   Type: BACK & LAY   Progression: Arbitrary   Bets Per Trade: 1

This strategy has always ID=1 and it is the only resident system strategy: it cannot bet deleted and only a few parameters can be modified.
This video will show how to place a manual bet and how to cash out a position.

With the Free Hand strategy you can place BACK or LAY bets in the number you want, specifying manually the properties like you do with the Betfair website.
To place a bet insert the price and the size of the bet clicking the cell 'BACK' or 'LAY' in the grid of the runners.
A right-click opens a betting frame of the opposite Bid Type (BACK/LAY).
All the controls present in the betting frame are explained here.
To place another bet simply insert price and size of the new bet.
You can change the default size of the bet from the options. You can also use the hot buttons present in the betting frame, that you can customize with a right-click on the button.



Manual - Hedge The Field

Initial Capital: 20   Trigger: Manual   Type: LAY   Progression: Capital %   Bets Per Trade: 1

Hedge (LAY) the selected runners with a liability of 1/5 of the initial capital.
To hedge the whole field, check the checkbox in the header of the runner grid.
The initial hedge price is the best BACK price minus 1 tick.
Bet unmatched are kept in-play.
Only one bet open on the same runner at the same time.



Manual - LAY Insured Input

Initial Capital: 50   Trigger: Manual   Type: LAY → BACK   Progression: Fixed Amount   Bets Per Trade: 2 max

This strategy works with horse races from GB and IE.
Perform a trade with an entry LAY bet, with liability 5, that is kept not hedged unless the price falls below the inputted hedge price.
To start a trade simply insert the hedge price in the column 'Input'. The LAY price of the runner must be lower than 20. If the price is higher than 20, a LAY bet is placed at 20/1 waiting to be matched for a maximum of 10 seconds.



Manual - LAY Insured Check

Initial Capital: 250   Trigger: Manual   Type: LAY → BACK   Progression: Fixed Amount   Bets Per Trade: 2 max

This strategy is similar to 'Manual - LAY Insured Input', but this one is meant to be used in-play and with larger stakes.
Perform a trade with an entry LAY bet, with liability 25, that is kept not hedged unless the price falls below 1/3 of the matched price.
To start a trade simply check the runner. The LAY price of the runner must be lower than 20. If the price is higher than 50, a LAY bet is placed at 50/1 waiting to be matched for a maximum of 10 seconds.



Manual - LAY The Field

Initial Capital: 20   Trigger: Manual   Type: LAY   Progression: Capital %   Bets Per Trade: 1

LAY the selected runners with a bet size of 10% of the current capital at 1.52 price.
To select all the runners at the same time use the checkbox in the header of the first column of the runner grid.
If two or more bets are matched there is a guaranteed profit.
The bets size is offset to a minimum of 2.



Manual - One Check Bet

Initial Capital: 20   Trigger: Manual   Type: BACK   Progression: Fixed Amount   Bets Per Trade: 1

BACK the runners selected by the user with a bet of the specified size.
To increase the chance to be matched (expecially in-play), an adjustment of -10% is applied to the best BACK price.
Normally this strategy is cloned in different amounts, and linked to Hot Buttons.



Manual - One Check DOB BACK

Initial Capital: 20   Trigger: Manual   Type: BACK   Progression: Fixed Amount   Bets Per Trade: 2

Perform a trade on the selected horse with an entry bet of type BACK and an exit bet of type LAY that hedges the current position with a 100% profit (Double Or Bust).



Manual - One Click Bet

Initial Capital: 300   Trigger: Manual   Type: BACK & LAY   Progression: Fixed Amount   Bets Per Trade: 1

With this strategy you can place BACK or LAY bets in the number you want with a single left or right-click.
To place a BACK bet, left click one of the columns that contain the BACK prices in the row corresponding to the wanted horse.
To place a LAY bet, left click one of the columns that contain the LAY prices.
The price will be the one of the clicked column, the size of the bet is specified in the Bet Size criteria.
Instead with a right-click on price cells, you place a bet of the opposite type than said before.



Manual - Scalping

Initial Capital: 100   Trigger: Manual   Type: BACK → LAY   Progression: Arbitrary   Bets Per Trade: 3 max

Perform a trade in which the entry bet is placed manually by the user (like Manual - Free Hand) and as soon as it is matched, an hedge bet with 1 tick of gain is placed. If the prices moves to the wrong directions for more than 4 ticks, the trade is hedged in loss.



Schedule - BACK My Selections

Initial Capital: 50   Trigger: Schedule   Type: BACK   Progression: Capital %   Bets Per Trade: 1

This strategy is a good start to understand how scheduling strategies work.
One minute at the start BACK all the manually selected runners with a bet size of 1/100 of the current capital.
Bet size is offset to a minimum of 1/100 of the initial capital.



Schedule - BACK Red Flags

Initial Capital: 50   Trigger: Schedule   Type: BACK   Progression: Capital %   Bets Per Trade: 1

To stick a red flag to a horse, right-click the horse name → Flag Runner → Red. Once the flag has been sticked, it remains for all the horse's future races until the user removes it.
BACK, with a bet size of 1/100 of the current capital, all the runners with a red flag. Minimum BACK price is 1.5. Bets are placed 1 minute at the start, if the overround of the market is fair. If there are two or more red flagged runners in the same race, the one with the lowest price is chosen. Maximum 5 bets, on different markets, at one time. Maximum daily loss is 10% of the actual capital.



Schedule - LAY Blue Flags

Initial Capital: 50   Trigger: Schedule   Type: BACK   Progression: Capital %   Bets Per Trade: 1

To stick a blue flag to a horse, right-click the horse name → Flag Runner → Blue. Once the flag has been sticked, it remains for all the horse's future races until the user removes it.
LAY, with a responsability of 1/50 of the current capital, all the runners with a blue flag. Maximum LAY price is 11. Bets are placed 1 minute at the start, if the overround of the market is fair. If there are two or more blue flagged runners in the same race, the one with the highest price is chosen. Maximum 5 bets, on different markets, at one time. Maximum daily loss is 10% of the actual capital.



Schedule - LAY The Draw

Initial Capital: 50   Trigger: Schedule   Type: BACK   Progression: Flat   Bets Per Trade: 3 max

This strategy is dedicated to all the sports that have a market with the selection "The Draw"; normally this strategy is applied to Soccer.
One minute at the start of the selected matches, LAY the draw with a bet of size 1. Maximum 5 matches played at the same time. To select matches first you have to show the column "Selected" in the events grid of the main window (right-click on the header of this grid).
LAY price of the draw must be between 3.00 and 3.6.
After the bet is matched, if the BACK price falls below 1.98, the trade is hedged in loss.
After the bet is matched, if the BACK price raises above 4.5 the trade is hedged in profit.
For every bet to be placed, BACK and LAY overrounds must be fair.



Schedule - Multiple BACK

Initial Capital: 0.50 x 20 rounds = 10   Trigger: Schedule   Type: BACK   Progression: Accumulator   Bets Per Trade: 1

BACK the runners selected by the user, one at a time, using all the current capital of the strategy. The capital starts with 0.5 and all the winnings are capitalised.
The strategy resets itself every losing runner (the capital is lower than 0.03).
The strategy also resets if it has won more than 100 times the initial capital.
The reset is triggered a maximum of 19 times (20 rounds in total * 0.5 = 10 total risked capital).
Bets are placed only if the race is not in-play and if the overround of the race is fair.
The price is the best BACK price, updated every 5 seconds, with option market_on_close ON.
The bet size is offset, in any case, to a maximum of 50.



Schedule - Multiple LAY

Initial Capital: 2.00 x 10 rounds = 20   Trigger: Schedule   Type: LAY   Progression: Accumulator   Bets Per Trade: 1

LAY the runners selected by the user, one at a time, using all the current capital of the strategy as liability. The capital starts with 2 and all the winnings are capitalised.
The strategy resets itself every winning runner (lost for us, the capital is lower than 0.03) or when it has won more than 5 times the initial capital. The reset is triggered a maximum of 9 times (10 rounds in total * 2 = 20 total risked capital).
Bets are placed only if the race is not in-play and if the overround of the race is fair.
The price is the best LAY price, updated every 5 seconds.
The bet size is offset, in any case, to a maximum of 50.



Tips - LAY

Initial Capital: 50   Trigger: Auto   Type: LAY   Progression: Fixed amount   Bets Per Trade: 1

LAY the runners from the tipping service with 1€ of liability as soon as they are downloaded. Max LAY price is 10.



Tips - Masa LAY 2/4 @5

Initial Capital: 10 each Round   Trigger: Auto   Type: LAY   Progression: Fixed amount   Bets Per Trade: 1

LAY the runners from the tipping service using a Masaniello progression 2 wins out of 4 events. The capital of a Masaniello round is 10 plus the eventual winnings accumulated in the previous rounds. The price of reference for the Masaniello function is 5, but the strategy will bet runners with a price lower than 8, adjusting the size to have the same responsability. The strategy stops at the first won or lost round in the current day. There is no limit to the number of rounds played by the strategy, but maximum one round played every day. Bets are placed 90 seconds at the race start.
Due to the responsability adjustment, the winnings could be lower than expected. So in this Masaniello implementation, only the loss can be pre-determined and the win remains uncertain till the end of the progression.

*** 14 Apr 2022 - In the shared strategy the calculation of the responsability is wrong. You can fix it replacing the 'Bet Size' formula with the following one *** 

(dbo.fn_masaniellosize(@id_strategy, (@initial_capital*0.9), 2, 4, 5, 'l', 0)*4) 
/ (case when @best_lay_price>8 then 8 else @best_lay_price end -1)




Tips - Trading L-B

Initial Capital: 50   Trigger: Auto   Type: LAY → BACK   Progression: Capital %   Bets Per Trade: 3 max

Perform a trade LAY → BACK on the runners from the tipping service with a liability of 1/25 of the capital. The LAY bet, opening the trade, is placed as soon as the tips are downloaded. Bets are placed if there are more than 15 minutes at the start. The trade is hedged if the prices goes against us for more than 15% of the matched price, or if the prices goes in our favor for more than 25%. The trade is hedged in any case at 60 seconds at the start.