Cymatic Trader Community

[Angelo]

Happy New Year, Gavin.

Sorry to open my post with a bug report!

The attached figures speak for themselves.

The front interface is (sometimes) displayed blank, while the ladder interface as well the betfair graphs show OK for the same market.

When changed to a different market too, the same situation continues.

When Cymatic is re-started, all display OK.

The same had happened about a week ago, and the situation continues even after yesterday's Cymatic update.

Windows 7 Ultimate (64-bit) .

Please look into it. Thanks.

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[Gavin]

Hi Angelo and Happy New Year

Have you tried optimizing your refresh intervals to smooth these processes out and thus reduce the chances of API calls timing out or causing bottlenecks? Please see the instructions here:
http://www.cymatic.co.uk/UserManual/ApiRefresh.aspx

I wonder if some of your API calls to Betfair are timing out? You could look at the API monitor tab to see how many calls are 'Last concurrent' which would show a build up of calls (i.e. it shows the current number of calls that are being sent or waiting for a reply). The limit in the settings is set to 5. So if your software gets stuck with 5 calls outstanding that don't return, then it will get held up until some of the failed calls time-out, which is set to 30 seconds as standard in the settings. Both of these settings can be adjusted in the settings menu (File menu | Settings), but they should not need to be changed really, because it is better to solve the actual problem itself by using less frequent refresh intervals instead.

Also look at the API Monitor tab to see the average and maximum duration of calls to see if they are excessive. Perhaps post a screenshot of your API monitor tab, if you are not sure what to look for.

The call that retrieves the list of runner in a market is 'ListMarketCatalogue'. So if that is timing out then that could explain why the list of runner fails to be populated.

The call that retrieves prices and bet data is called ListMarketBook.

Kind regards,

Gavin

[Angelo]

" And that happened during today's play too; but I noticed that the grid-interface displayed OK when opened in a new grid.... I had to re-start Cymatic to restore the normal display.

Also, during my use of Cymatic for more than a year, I am noticing this only very recently. "

Just as I was about to post the above sentences, I noticed your reply here, and since you have said, 'Perhaps post a screenshot' , I am attaching one. This screenshot was taken after I re-started Cymatic after the problem occurred as in my first paragraph above.

Ever since I have started using Cymatic, I never changed the default settings for minute details like refresh intervals, etc. However, VERY frequently I notice orange-coloured messages like 'Maximum concurrency reached', etc. (as shown in the screenshot) at the bottom of the screen, although they do not affect my trading.

Any specific instruction as to setting any new required values are welcome.

Thanks.

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[Gavin]

Hi Angelo,

Thanks for the screenshot. I think you can resolve this by increasing the size of the refresh intervals, so relieve congestion. The API Monitor picture shows that your calls to Betfair to get prices and bet data for each market (the ListMarketBook API call) are getting some congestion, because the LastConcurrent value is 4. In a well optimized setup, this number should generally only be between 0 and 1 or perhaps 2. This is why you are getting the constant orange messages, because those calls are taking to long to travel to Betfair and back.

You can resolve that by refreshing the data less often (i.e. making calls to ListMarketBook less frequently) by using a bigger number in the setting option for Prices Refresh (File menu | Settings | API Refresh tab, then change the default values for both the primary and secondary markets, from 800 or 1000 to something much bigger to begin with (such as 1500 or even 3000) as explained here:
http://www.cymatic.co.uk/UserManual/ApiRefresh.aspx
Then gradually try smaller numbers in those boxes, so that you can find a balance where you refresh the data reasonably frequently, but no so frequently that it causes concurrency bottlenecks and slow roundtrip time orange messages constantly. Some occasional orange messages are normal each day, because the internet gets naturally congested sometimes regardless of the demands that you create, but you should be able to avoid the orange messages happening too frequently by following the advice above.

The orange message are really just warning you that the data is struggling to get back and forth in a timely manner, so that you are aware of the prevailing messaging conditions.

Kind regards,

Gavin

[Angelo]

Thanks a lot, Gavin, for the detailed explanation. Need just a clarification before I try your suggested steps:

My current main trading method is Backing (pre-race) with offset+greening (in-play). Sometimes I merely Back or merely Lay a selection.

I really don't pay attention to the available odds, and always just take whatever the available price is for my selection.

So, can I say, if the default values for both the primary and secondary markets are changed to 2000, it will not affect my current trading method?

Can I take it for granted that 'gradually trying smaller numbers in those boxes' might not be necessary for MY above main trading method?

I don't care much if there are continual orange messages, I want to only avoid the grid interface going blank.

Thanks for your time.

[Gavin]

Hi Angelo,

Yes, from what you have said, it sounds like using 2000ms as the refresh interval would be unlikely to affect your trading method and therefore trying gradually smaller numbers is probably not necessary. It simply means that the software will check for price changes and changes to the status of your bets every 2000ms (2 seconds). I would expect it to avoid the problem that caused you to sometimes see a blank market grid.

Kind regards,

Gavin

[Angelo]

Thank You, Gavin, for your kind explanations. I will try your suggestions.

[Angelo]

Sorry, Gavin, to return with the same problem which occurred today.

The Grid Interface has gone blank, but the market opens fine in a new grid:

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The ladder interface shows OK:

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All other Tabs 'Current Bets', 'Market Log', 'Account Statement', 'Api Monitor' are ALL blank (which I didn't notice last time):

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[Angelo]

Received the message 'Cannot add another attachment, 3 is the maximum'. So I am continuing here:

Below are my settings:

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Kindly advise. Thanks.

[Gavin]

Hi Angelo,

Sorry to hear that the problem is still occurring.

I am very puzzled by why the other tabs are also blank, because they don't rely upon data refreshing from Betfair, so should never be blank. Did you happen to notice if any of those were blank before the grid starting going blank? Please look at them after you open the software next time, to establish whether they start ok and then go blank at approximately the same time as the main grid going blank.

I presume that you are still using Windows 7 (64 bit).

Do you have any other PCs / Laptops where you can try installing the software too?

How long is the software working normally each time before the problem arises?

Have you changed any regional settings, currency or number formats on your PC, or recently upgraded Windows, i.e. done anything that might coincide with the problem arising?

Thanks and kind regards,

Gavin