This stake button displays your net position on each selection. Selecting the Net-stake button makes that value the stake size for your next bet submission. Allows you to act fast and effectively in fast moving markets when you have been part filled and need to submit an irregular stake size quickly.

On the Ladder interface prices are displayed vertically in ascending order and available to Lay and Back amounts are displayed to the left and right of their price. Facilitates one-click bet submission at any price, Back or Lay. Also makes the market easier to visualise by showing the Lay and Back amounts moving up and down on the ladder.

Keeps the last-traded price of each selection displayed in the middle of the ladder display. Allows you to view prices in a ladder format without needing to manually follow the price to keep it in view.

Counts down the scheduled start time of every Betfair market. When the market is suspended and goes in play the Stopwatch starts to time the event.The count down tells traders when it is time to square their books as the race is about to start. The stopwatch gives a better understanding of in-play prices.

What are the Advantages of Using BetTrader Over Betfair’s Online Exchange?

The key thing that makes BetTrader substantially better than using the normal exchange is the speed at which you can do things. Where the Betfair Exchange updates itself at intervals of anywhere from 1-15 seconds, BetTrader refreshes data every 200 milliseconds or 5 times per second.

This means that as a trader, you are constantly privy to the best and latest prices.

Whilst I have been trialling BetTrader and playing about with the software, it is incredible just how much of a difference this speed actually makes. Of course seeing the available odds updating at such a quick speed doesn’t count for anything if you can’t get bets placed. Fortunately, with one click betting activated, I had no trouble getting bets matched through BetTrader.

What Else is Included?

As well as the software itself, the Racing Traders team have included a very substantial customer support section of their website. This includes a full user manual as well as the ability to contact the support team.

There is more on offer here however with Racing Traders also offering a number of training videos which range from setting the software up to comprehensive betting strategies.

There are also webinars that are hosted by the BetTrader team. These allow you to trade along with an experienced betting professional using BetTrader, in real time. If you prefer, there are also live presentations where you can draw upon the experience of a tutor in real life.

It is worth pointing out that the webinars and seminars are definitely aimed at a more advanced user who wishes to take their betting to the next level.

These seminars are however priced independently of BetTrader and at £399, they aren’t cheap. Personally however, I find this to be a rather reassuring thing. There are plenty of people involved in the Betfair trading industry from start to finish and few of them are so willing to put their reputation on the line.

So How Much Does BetTrader Cost?

I feel that it is important to highlight the fact that your first week of using BetTrader doesn’t cost anything. This trial period is more than substantial enough to give you a good idea of what to expect. Once this period has elapsed, there are technically three options available.

The first is to use BetTrader in a “free” mode however this is massively restricted and isn’t really any better than the vanilla Betfair betting exchange.

Alternatively, you can pay for a full license for BetTrader with both monthly and annual options available. There is no difference in content between the two, the only thing that alters is the price. If you pay for BetTrader on a monthly basis, you can expect to pay £9.99 per month.

If you choose to pay for BetTrader annually, the cost is £99 which is a larger outlay, however this does equate to two free months when compared with the monthly option.

Unfortunately, there is no money back guarantee available for BetTrader.

So What Are the Pros and Cons of BetTrader?

Weighing up the pros and cons of BetTrader is a rather difficult job as on the surface of things, there aren’t that many pros. It is only when you really start to breakdown the weight of these that you can see the full picture.

The biggest pro when it comes to BetTrader is without a doubt the speed that the software runs at. Compared to the Betfair exchange it is mind bogglingly quick and even when laid next to other Betfair software, it still performs very well.

Unfortunately, when put next to other Betfair trading software, this is where the advantage for BetTrader falls down somewhat. Whilst they may have been the first to implement the ladder trading interface, it has become common place now. Admittedly, I don’t think that anybody necessarily does it better than BetTrader, but they still have the general layout.

The cons for BetTrader are generally almost petty sounding, however you have to keep in mind that there area lot of other pieces of software available and they can do a lot more. A big part of this seems to be down to the fact that BetTrader is browser based.

Whilst other Betfair software creators can implement changes to their programme at will, anything that BetTrader does has to be possible within the confines of an internet browser.

I also feel that whilst there are a number of tools that BetTrader comes with, these are all available in some form or another through almost all other software. Furthermore, I can think of several examples of other Betfair trading software that can do a lot more as well. BetTrader isn’t even so inexpensive as to be considered a bargain. At £9.99 per month, it sits pretty firmly in the middle in terms of cost of software.

Conclusion on BetTrader Software

I genuinely feel that BetTrader is one of the better pieces of software one the market when it comes to Betfair trading, however this is heavily conditioned. First and foremost, almost everything that makes the software good relates to how quick it is.

If you want fast, then BetTrader is probably the best option on the market. Unfortunately, in some respects, it feels like a bit of a one trick pony in this regard. I would even go as far as to say that BetTrader becomes decidedly average if you factor out the speed.

The problem when comparing and contrasting Betfair software is that they all have to work within certain confines and rules in the form of Betfair’s API. This means that in broad strokes, they are all more or less alike. Don’t get me wrong, each feels very different and some are much easier to use than others but the general gist is “the same as the exchange, but better and faster”.

As I have said, BetTrader is the fastest of these in my opinion. This really is the be all and end all for a lot of traders as the speed of the software is imperative to taking advantage of small price movements. This is something that creator Adam Todd will no doubt have known all about having focused on the scalping trading method in his trading days.

Personally, I am a fan of BetTrader. Yes, the user interface feels a little clunky and I admit that it can’t do as much as some of the software on the market but it doesn’t need to. The whole principle behind BetTrader is to identify what it needs to do and to do it very well.

Those who want to find something that can be customised a million different ways and fine tuned will likely want to look elsewhere, but there are plenty of people who are looking for the most idealised version of a piece of trading software that they can get.

For those people, I think that BetTrader delivers in droves. It is interesting that despite being such a revolutionary piece of software, the name BetTrader has rather fallen to they wayside however I would strongly recommend giving it the old college try, especially if you already use a different piece of software. I would hope that you can instantly see my point.

BetTrader definitely isn’t for everybody. I am well aware of this and yet despite it, I found using it a pleasure, once I’d gotten to grips with the user interface. The fact is that I could probably pick BetTrader apart and end up rating it a much lower score simply for the things that it misses out on.

Really though, BetTrader has one trick up its sleeve and it does this magnificently and even after a few weeks, I still find myself impressed.

BetTrader Update 26th March 2017

We have recently been informed that the free trial for BetTrader is actually 14 days, and not the 7 days advertised on the website, which is obviously more of an incentive to give this software a try.