Bot minutes: why a short window works better

In step 2 of the new bot builder, Minutes, you choose the window in which the bot looks for matches. You can save wide windows, even from minute 0 to 90, but the bot gives better alerts with a short window around the moment you would place the bet. In this guide you'll see why and how to choose yours.

What the minute window is

It is the period in which the bot checks the conditions. Outside it, the bot doesn't alert, even if the match meets every condition.

An alert is only useful if it tells you what is happening at the moment you are about to bet. That's why the bot should only look around that moment.

Why a 0 to 90 window doesn't help

A window from minute 0 to 90 is almost the same as having no time condition at all. A bot set to 1 dangerous attack per minute, from 0 to 90, can alert in the 8th minute of one match (8 attacks are enough) and the 83rd of another (that's already 83), and the two situations have nothing in common:

• in the 8th minute, at 0-0, the odds are still high and almost anything can happen;
• in the 83rd minute, a goal down, the team is throwing everything forward and the market has already adjusted the odds.

The alert is the same, but the bet is completely different.

That's why, if you choose a window longer than 20 minutes, the builder shows a warning and recommends 20 at most. The warning doesn't stop you saving: the choice is yours. If you edit an old bot that already had 0 to 90, you'll see the same warning and you can save it as it is.

Start with the bet, then the minutes

Think first about the bet you want to place and only then choose the window. Some examples:

• Over 0.5HT, for a goal still in the first half at odds worth taking: minute 20 to 35;
• corners at the end of the match: minute 75 to 85;
• a second-half goal, when the team that is behind comes out pressing: minute 46 to 60.

You don't need to type these minutes: they are the ready-made windows Middle of the first half, End of the match and Start of the second half. There are also Start of the first half, End of the first half, Half time and Middle of the second half. If none of them suits you, choose Others and type the start and end minute.

Before and after

• Before: Over 0.5FT · 0–90' · Shots on Target, at least 5 · Dangerous Attacks, at least 50 · the competitions you follow. It alerts in matches that are already 2-1 in the 70th minute (the Over 0.5 is already won and the alert is useless) and in matches at 0-0 in the 15th.
• After: Over 0.5FT · 60–75' · 0-0 · Shots on Target, at least 5 · Dangerous Attacks, at least 50 · the same competitions. It only alerts at the moment the bet makes sense.

Only two things changed: the window and the score. The competitions you pick also count as a condition, so both bots meet the 3-condition rule.

What if I want the whole match?

There are two better options than a 0 to 90 window:

• Two or three bots, each with its own window and with conditions adjusted to it. A lot of pressure in the 20th minute is not the same as a lot of pressure in the 80th.
• Conditions that already depend on time, instead of match totals. In a stat, open More options, choose Average per minute and, under From when, Last 5 minutes or Last 10 minutes. Not every stat has this option.

Test it first

After you create the bot, the Test in the Time Machine button runs it on past matches and shows which matches it would have alerted in. If they are matches in very different situations, shorten the window and test again.