Betfair Official Rules & Guidelines

After yesterday's debacle with the lack of a suspend after  Gareth Bale scored Spurs second goal at Old Trafford, I thought I'd do a little digging into the whole subject of in-play suspensions. Consquently,  after having several furtive conversations with my inside source at Betfair headquarters (my Betfair Deep Throat, if you like), I have amazingly managed to acquire the official set of rules and guidelines that Betfair employees are given when they have to monitor live football matches.


I have to say, it's a real eye-opener and, in the wrong hands, could prove to be quite an explosive document. Unfortunately, most of the contents I will have to keep to myself, as my inside source has made me promise not to reveal them - but he has given me permission to print small extracts of the document which, even on their own, are really rather shocking. Below is a just small segment:



Betfair Suspend Technician: Official rules and guidelines


You, the technician, should:

• Arrive at your match control station at least ten minutes before the match is due to begin.

• Ensure you are relaxed and fully hydrated before a match begins. A great deal of concentration is required throughout a match, so be prepared.

• Always remember that "discretion is the better part of valour". If in doubt, activate the SUSPEND. An incorrect SUSPEND is much better than a missed SUSPEND.

• Remember the danger areas. Goalmouth action; a corner; a bad tackle; a breakaway. All these could lead to a goal or a sending-off. Try and anticipate what is going to happen next. Don't worry if this annoys or upsets traders.

• After a goal has been scored, ensure that the SUSPEND is maintained well beyond the period you think is necessary. Even after the restart, it is sensible to maintain the SUSPEND for at least three minutes. This has the advantage of making doubly-sure that the goal is indeed valid. This will inevitably cause a great deal of unhappiness from traders who are unable to close their trades, and a second quick goal will of course mean that they will lose money - but the additional advantage to Betfair is that we will not be caught by the quick response goal.
• Do NOT move away from your monitoring station while the match is in-play. If you absolutely do have to step away, ensure the colleague next to you can adequately cope with monitoring two matches at once. If you are helping out a fellow colleague, ensure you are not monitoring more than twelve matches at the same time.

• Ensure that you stretch and participate in mild exercise at half-time. Climbing frames are provided for technicians to swing from to help them relax their muscles and de-stress.

• Take five minutes at half-time to re-energise. A selection of bananas will be provided for refreshments, but do NOT eat these during the match itself. Half-time only.

• Refrain from flinging pooh at your work colleagues. If this should hit your colleague's monitor, it could interfere with their ability to effectively monitor the match. Separate pooh-flinging facilities are provided, but these are only available after you have completed your match-monitoring duties.

As I said, quite a relevation, huh?

______________________________________________

On a slightly more serious note, I did receive another comment yesterday on my What a Loser post.


Bonus Bagging29 September 2012 19:11
I don't get these people that try to claim that you, me and other bloggers are all some sort of compulsive liars on ego trips that write bull crap just to make us feel good and claim we win.

Why would we go to the trouble of writing a blog if we are just going to lie? I wouldn't waste my time. I've had 5 weeks of small profits on my football blog, in the past I have always lost, so I'm sure I'll have someone questioning me soon. 

I think these people are cynical 'you know whats,' maybe you could call them trolls, even. I can understand them challenging someone trying to sell their tips, etc, but why just the random blogger trying to write about his/her experiences? 

It these sorts of blogs that help traders in my view. 

It's funny, but when G first asked the question, I didn't take it at all that he was calling me a liar. Personally, I think he was just interested and curious why I only had winners and no losers. It may well be that there are cynical people out there who just want to shoot people down in flames but - and I may be wrong here - I don't think G was that type of person. I think it was a genuine enquiry and nothing more.

I just felt that with his question, it would be a good time to clarify how, why and when I post-up my P/L.