Introduction

Before I get into the Live Value Calculator and Live Value Shortlists tools, there are a number of filtering options you need to know about that will significantly speed up your research and trading.

Firstly, we have split the 85 leagues into 'zones'. These are switched on and off by using the toggle switches under the green 'Select Leagues' button.

An example of the "Select Leagues" filter.

European A are the biggest leagues (English Premier, German Bundesliga, etc), European B are generally ok for trading (English Championship, French Ligue 2, etc) and European C are smaller leagues (Danish 1. Division, Portuguese Segunda, etc).

This is particularly useful at the weekend when European C leagues are often not tradeable because of a lack of liquidity in the markets and can be hidden completely.

Of course, if you're betting (rather than trading) then liquidity is less of an issue.

We also have zones for European Summer (mainly Scandinavian and Irish leagues), Americas (North, Central and South American leagues) and Africa/Asia/Middle East.

You can switch individual leagues on and off if you choose to.

An example of using the "Select Leagues" filter to switch individual leagues on and off.

Here is the full list of leagues...

Show/Hide by Status

Selecting the 'Show/Hide by Status' filter allows you to hide leagues which are at the beginning or the end of their season.

Maybe you would prefer to switch off '0%-10%' and even '11%-20%' as there are often more erratic results early on and there is limited data to research early in the season.

You may also prefer to switch off '91%-End of Regular Season' as the season is coming to an end and this can make a big difference to how teams play.

An underdog fighting for survival, for example, may be more likely to get a surprise win over a mid table team who have nothing left to play for.

Personally, I always have 'Group Stages and Play-Offs' switched off. I prefer to focus on settled league games as I find them to be more consistent, but it does mean that I miss all the other opportunities.

An example of the "Show/Hide by Status" filter.

In the 'Head Coach Status' section you can hide fixtures in which teams have a new head coach.

A red triangle is for new coaches from 1-5 games and amber is for managers who have been in charge 6-10 games.

Often, teams change the way they play with a new coach in charge. Players may try harder in order to keep their place in the team or tactics and formations can change.

This is something to bear in mind as you are looking, as much as possible, for consistent teams doing consistent things.

Hover over a triangle next to a fixture to see who the new head coach is and how long they have been in charge.

An example of a pop-up showing details about a new head coach.

We don't hide postponed games by default because we get inundated by emails asking about missing fixtures. However, you can hide them using the 'POSTP' option.

Show/Hide by Kick-Off Time

The 'Show/Hide by Kick-Off Time' tab allows you to narrow down the fixture list to the times that you're available to trade.

If you are only free in the evening from 7pm, for example, slide the bar along to see which games are kicking off after that time.

An example of the "Show/Hide by Kick-Off Time" filter.

If you are set-and-forget betting you can ignore this and research the full fixture list.

Betfair Price Filters

In order to calculate perceived value, we regularly import Betfair prices.

The Betfair Price Filters are useful if you want to exclude certain prices when carrying out your research, perhaps anything under 2.00.

You can also use this filter to hide fixtures that feature very strong favourites.

An example of the "Betfair Price Filters" filter.

Filter by Ticks

The next button gives you the option to filter all selections by 1, 2 or 3 green ticks:

1 = Fixtures that have a green tick in the 1 year row.
1/3 = Fixtures that have a green tick in the 1 and 3 year rows.
1/3/10 = Fixtures with a green tick in the 1, 3 and 10 year rows.

I will explain how to use these ticks in later lessons.

Below, you can see that I have selected '1/3/10' for a number of rows. Immediately, all fixtures that do not qualify for my criteria are hidden.

An example of the "Filter by Ticks" filter.

When you select multiple filters you can apply either an 'OR' or 'AND' operator (bottom left).

If you choose 'OR' then the fixtures shown will satisfy any of the filters. For example, 3 green ticks in the '1H Home' column OR 3 green ticks in the 'O2.5' column.
If you choose 'AND' then the fixtures shown will satisfy all of the filters. For example, 3 green ticks in the '1H Home' column AND 3 green ticks in the 'O2.5' column.

To show all fixtures again, click the 'All' button at the start of each row.

More Filter Options

Next, there's a toggle switch to 'Hide fixtures with missing calculations'.

The most common cause of missing calculations is that at least one of the teams was in a different league the previous season so there's not enough data available.

If you use 'Filter by Ticks' then you don't need this option, but many members like to browse the entire fixture list and it's useful to hide games that do not have calculations.

An example of the "Hide fixtures with missing calculations" filter.

Further along, there is a toggle switch to 'Filter My Games'.

As you research fixtures and pick out potential bets or trades, click the black + at the end of the fixture row. This instantly adds the fixture to your 'My Games' list.

Once you have done this, a green tick appears to indicate the fixture has been added.

An example of fixtures added to "My Games".

You can then 'Filter My Games' which gives you a shorter list to work with.

An example of the "Filter My Games" filter.

You can also add 'Notes' to any fixture by clicking the black pencil icon. You can even colour them differently by bet or trade type, perhaps blue for first half and green for second half.

Back to the top row of filters... there's a red 'Reset' button that resets all filters back to default. If fixtures are missing and you can't work out why, there may be a filter to clear.

Once you have fixtures added to 'My Games' and 'Filter My Games' is switched on, click on the 'Export' button and details will be exported to a .csv file.

This will include the fixture details, Betfair prices, value calculations and even your 'Notes'

It's a very useful feature that makes updating your results sheet a breeze... simply copy/paste!

Finally, if you are in a different timezone, at the very bottom you can change kick-off times to match your location.

Introduction: Filters and Features

You must be logged in to access this course