Matchbook - is there an elegant way to do accounting?

[Mudcat]

I don't know if anyone else tracks their wagers like me but what I've got is a spreadsheet where each bet is entered at the time it is booked. It includes the risk amount and the odds. When the bet is settled, the net result is entered on the sheet. That result is either minus the risk amount (on a loss), or else it's the risk amount times/divided-by the odds (for a win).

This works for every bet I have ever placed until this new Matchbook system.

The problem with the new system of course is that you don't know your risk amount or the exact odds you are playing until after the bet is settled, because if you lose they deduct a commission and you have actually risked more than the risk amount you were using if the bet won. And the odds are different depending if you win or lose.

I guess it's not that big a deal. I just have to treat Matchbook different than every other out and not enter the bet details until after the bet is settled. Or rather, enter them assuming a win but be prepared to amend them if it's a loss. Basically I think I'm just having a moan here.

But if anyone has any elegant accounting ideas, I am interested.

[Santo]

I just have an IF statement for Betfair that applies commission, could you not do the same with a toggle column to the right for accept/offer and Nested IF's?

Pseudocode:

IF(Book="Matchbook(If(MBToggle="A",PL=(P L*1.01),PL=PL+(PL*0.002),<Existing Code>)

[Mudcat]

That was fast. It may be a world record for speediest confusing of a fellow poster.

The truth is, I don't know what that means. That was the intrinsic problem with this thread I created. In asking for an elegant spreadsheet solution - while not being particularly adept at spreadsheets - I was basically inviting an answer I wouldn't understand. Silly of me.

Is this about adding a new column to my spreadsheet especially for Matchbook commissions? Because I do know exactly what the commission will be at the time I place the bet. That's the one thing I do know for sure. I just don't know if it will be added/deducted to/from the risk or added/deducted to/from the win.

(To be honest, I don't recommend devoting much energy to replying if it's at all complicated - unless you think it may help someone else. The flying-over-my-head threshold is pretty low here.)



Maybe I should have just said right from the beginning, I love you Matchbook but I wish you would just keep it simple - and left it at that.

[Santo]

Mine was an example, but not strictly correct. I'm in the office on a Mac so don't have Excel to test..

Basically a small column where you type A or O (Accept or Offer). Then if the book is Matchbook:

If Win and A then deduct 1% (of smaller risk/win) from win.
If Win and O then add 0.2% (of smaller risk/win) to win.
If Loss and A then add 1% (of smaller risk/win) to loss.
If Loss and O then deduct 0.2% (of smaller risk/win) from loss.

You can do it with nested ifs, Ganch may be able to give you the exact formula quicker than I if you want to go down this route, depending when he wakes up/starts work ;p

[Mudcat]

Yeah, it's really no great hardship the way I am doing it. I just enter the bet as if it's going to win and make the necessary adjustments if it loses. My spreadsheet remains simple and tidy.

My real problem is that, no matter what new columns and formulae I may put on my spreadsheet, it doesn't change the fundamental fact that when I accept 4K bet at +100, I do not know whether I am betting

4040 to win 4000 or
4000 to win 3960



I don't like that. So again I'm back to the truth: that the spreadsheet issue was just a red herring and my true purpose was to grumble about the changes in Matchbook's system.

[Ganchrow]

You could try using the MB2US() and/or MB2DEC() functions of my http://forum.sbrforum.com/handicappe...ate-excel.html.

You can use tehse functions to adjust the Matchbook price at which you make your bet so that it accurately reflects net price after commissions.

[u21c3f6]

Yeah, it's really no great hardship the way I am doing it. I just enter the bet as if it's going to win and make the necessary adjustments if it loses. My spreadsheet remains simple and tidy.

My real problem is that, no matter what new columns and formulae I may put on my spreadsheet, it doesn't change the fundamental fact that when I accept 4K bet at +100, I do not know whether I am betting

4040 to win 4000 or
4000 to win 3960



I don't like that. So again I'm back to the truth: that the spreadsheet issue was just a red herring and my true purpose was to grumble about the changes in Matchbook's system.

Neither. When you accept a 4K bet at +100, you are risking $4,040 to win $3,960.

Ignoring pushes, when you wager 4K to win 4K, you will pay a $40 commission whether you win or lose. If you win, you win $4,000 - $40 commission for a net win of $3,960. If you lose, you lose $4,000 plus an additional $40 for commission for a net loss of $4,040.

Joe.

[Mudcat]

Yeah I get where you're coming from Joe but that is not entirely true to my way of thinking.

If I was betting 4040 to win 3960 in that situation - and I won - I should end up with the risk+win - which would be 8000 added to my account balance. But I would only get 7960 added to my balance. That's because I only risked 4000 to win 3960.

But I get where you're coming from.

[lost4]

If I was betting 4040 to win 3960 in that situation - and I won - I should end up with the risk+win - which would be 8000 added to my account balance.

That's exactly what happens.
4040 are subtracted when accepting and 8000 added when you win. Makes a net win of 3960.

[Ganchrow]

Also see:

Simple Matchbook Commission Calculator

<iframe src=http://bettingtools.sbrforum.com/newcalc/mb.html frameborder=0 height=270></iframe>

[Mudcat]

That's exactly what happens.
4040 are subtracted when accepting and 8000 added when you win. Makes a net win of 3960.

Yeah maybe that is the simplest way to do things. Just enter the risk of $4040 at a line of -102.02 to win 3960. There will be some disharmony between my spreadsheet account balance and the actual - because the actual won't have deducted that commission yet - but that is probably the least of all possible sins.

[BouncedCheck]

Joe and Ganch know what they're talking about. Just assume the commission is taken out immediately upon your acceptance of a bet. Your MB account balance won't have it deducted yet, but it's a guarantee that it will be deducted, win or lose. So here's your simple solution: Enter your bet on the spreadsheet exactly as you would for a bet at any other book. Then calculate the commission rate, and enter it as a separate bet that has lost.

So in your example, you'd enter an ordinary bet of $4000 to win $4000 at +100.

Then you'd enter a second bet with a risk of $40 (at any odds - doesn't matter - that money is as good as gone) and enter it as a loss immediately.

The only time this doesn't work is when you get a push. Then you simply delete the $40 losing bet from your spreadsheet, as if it never happened. Actually, in that case, you could also delete the bet itself if you wanted.