BF Bot Manager BSP Bets: How to Set a Starting Price Odds Limit

Updated June 2026. Settings described are for BF Bot Manager v3. Always test new configurations in simulation mode before going live.

One of the most common questions on the BF Bot Manager forum is some variation of: "I want to bet at Betfair Starting Price, but only if the SP ends up between X and Y odds — how do I set that up?" It is the bot equivalent of using Betfair's own "Set SP odds limit" option on the exchange website. The answer involves three specific settings working together, and missing any one of them produces confusing results.

This guide walks through the exact configuration, explains what each setting is actually doing, and covers the mistakes that cause BSP bets to fire at the wrong price or not fire at all.

Related: BF Bot Manager hub · Test in simulation mode first · Build your first bot · Horse racing automation · Pre-race trading guide

What Is Betfair Starting Price (BSP) and Why Use It?

Betfair Starting Price is a price-discovery algorithm that runs at the moment a race goes in-play. BSP bets are submitted before the off and sit in a separate queue — they do not appear in the normal pre-race order book. At the off, the algorithm calculates the single price per runner that maximises matched volume across all queued BSP orders, and matches them at that price.

Key facts that matter for bot configuration:

• BSP orders must be placed before the race starts. After the off, the BSP queue closes. Any attempt to place a BSP bet after this point will either be rejected or matched at the reformed in-play exchange price — not BSP.
• BSP is not finalised until the race starts. You cannot check what the final SP will be before the off. The "projected SP" shown in BFBM and on the Betfair site is an estimate, not the real figure.
• Your odds limit is a guard, not a filter against the final SP. If you set a minimum back price of 3.0 and the SP settles at 2.8, your order is cancelled. If it settles at 4.5, it is matched at 4.5. You are protecting against getting a price worse than your limit.

The Three Settings You Need

To replicate "place a BSP bet, but only if the SP is between 2.0 and 6.6", you need three parts of your BFBM strategy configured correctly:

1. Selection Conditions → Min/Max Selection Price

This rule checks the price of the selection before deciding whether to proceed. For BSP strategies, set it up as follows:

• Add the Min/max selection price rule to your Selection conditions tab.
• Set the price type to "Start price" (not Back price, not Lay price — specifically Start price).
• Enter your acceptable range — for example minimum 2.0, maximum 6.6.
• Apply it to the same selection you are betting on (e.g. "Any runner" if using Bet on favourite, or "My selection" if manually picking).

This rule uses the projected SP shown before the off, not the finalised SP. It acts as a pre-off filter. If the projected SP is outside your range at the time the bot evaluates, the bet is skipped. If it is within range, the order is submitted.

2. Price Settings → Price Rules (set to BSP)

In the Price settings tab of your strategy, configure the bet to be placed at Starting Price. This tells BFBM to submit a BSP order (a LimitOnClose order in Betfair's API) rather than a standard limit order at a specific price.

You also set a Default price here. For BSP Back bets, this is your minimum acceptable back price — the guard. If SP settles below this price, the order is cancelled. For BSP Lay bets, it is your maximum acceptable lay price. Set this to the boundary of your acceptable range — for example, if you never want to back below 2.0, set your default price to 2.0.

3. Staking → Bets Persistence → Limit on Close

This is the critical setting that most guides omit. In the Staking tab, find the Bets persistence option and set it to Limit on close.

Without this, BFBM places a standard limit order at your default price, which may sit unmatched in the pre-race order book rather than being submitted to the BSP queue. With Limit on close enabled, the order is correctly submitted as a BSP order with your guard price attached — exactly what you want.

The guard price (from your Default price in step 2) is what Betfair uses to determine whether to match or cancel the BSP order at settlement.

4. Time to Bet → Before the Off

Set your Time to bet to allow betting before the race starts — not after. A common setting is "start betting 60 seconds before start time" or similar. If your Time to bet allows betting only after the race starts, the BSP queue will have closed and any order placed will match at the reformed in-play price, not BSP.

In BFBM, tick "Allow betting before in-play" and set "Stop betting at" to "0 seconds before in-play" or "at race start". This ensures orders are submitted in the pre-off window.

Complete Settings Checklist

How This Differs From a Standard Pre-Race Limit Order

A standard pre-race limit order (without Limit on close) places a bet at a specific price in the normal order book. If that price is not available, it sits unmatched. A BSP order sits in the BSP queue and is matched at whatever SP emerges — subject to your guard price.

The practical difference: with a standard order at 4.0, you either get matched at 4.0 pre-race or you don't. With a BSP order with a guard of 2.0, you get matched at whatever SP settles — 3.5, 4.8, 6.2 — as long as it is 2.0 or above. BSP guarantees you a matched bet (within your guard), which suits strategies where you want participation at the market price rather than a specific price.

Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them

Mistake 1: Min/max set to "Back price" instead of "Start price"

The bot checks the exchange back price before the off, which may be different from the final SP. Your bet then fires based on a different price to the one you intended to filter on. Change the price type in the Min/max rule to "Start price".

Mistake 2: Bets persistence not set to Limit on close

Without Limit on close, BFBM places a regular limit order rather than a BSP queue order. The order may sit unmatched, or match at your default price pre-race rather than at SP. Set Staking → Bets persistence → Limit on close.

Mistake 3: Time to bet set to after the off

If your strategy's Time to bet begins after the race starts, the BSP queue has already closed. The order is placed at the reformed in-play price instead of BSP. This is why some users report their bet matching at, say, 4.8 instead of the BSP of 5.3 — they were in-play when the order fired. Set Time to bet to the pre-off window.

Mistake 4: Default price not set

If you leave the default price blank or at a default value, BFBM may submit your BSP order without a meaningful guard. For Back bets, this means accepting whatever SP emerges, including very short prices. Always set a Default price that matches the lower end of your acceptable range.

What About Laying at BSP? (Lay BSP Configuration)

Everything above covers Back BSP bets. Lay BSP bets work on the same principle but with inverted logic for the guard price:

• Selection conditions → Min/max selection price: set to Start price with a range — e.g. maximum 4.0 if you only want to lay at SP odds of 4.0 or less.
• Price settings → Default price: for a Lay BSP order, the Default price is your maximum acceptable lay price. If you never want to lay above 4.0, set Default price to 4.0. If SP settles above 4.0, the order is cancelled — protecting you from laying at bigger prices than your strategy can sustain.
• Staking → Bets persistence → Limit on close: same as for Back bets — mandatory.

One additional consideration for Lay BSP: at very short prices (1.10–1.30), lay liability relative to stake is low and BSP orders are common, so the BSP queue is liquid. At longer prices (8.0+), lay BSP orders are less common and the projected SP can diverge significantly from the actual SP. For Lay BSP strategies, keep a tighter max price guard to control your exposure.

Troubleshooting: Why Is My BSP Bet Not Firing?

Run through this checklist if your strategy is not placing BSP bets as expected:

1. Bets persistence not set to Limit on close — the most common cause. Check Staking → Bets persistence. If it says "Lapse" or "Persist", change it to "Limit on close".
2. Min/max price set to Back price, not Start price — the projected SP and the current back price are different numbers. Check the price type in Selection conditions → Min/max selection price.
3. Time to bet fires after the off — if your strategy's betting window starts after the race starts, the BSP queue has closed. Change Time to bet to include pre-off betting, then set stop at race start.
4. Default price not set or set to 1.0 — a Default price of 1.0 on a Back bet means you accept any SP above 1.0, so the guard is effectively disabled. Set it to the lower bound of your acceptable range.
5. Market type not BSP-enabled — not all markets support BSP. UK and Irish horse racing does; most football and tennis markets do not. Check Market conditions includes only markets where BSP is available.

If the strategy fires in simulation but not live, verify your account's API connection and check that you are not hitting BFBM's per-market betting limits. Post your exported strategy file to the BFBM forum with screenshots of each tab — the support team typically responds within 24 hours.

Testing Before Going Live

BSP strategies can be tested in BFBM's simulation mode, which has supported BSP since version 3.1.7. In simulation, BSP bets are matched at the projected SP visible in the software. The simulated SP is an approximation of the real one, but it is sufficient to verify that your settings are firing the bet at the right time, on the right selection, and being cancelled correctly when the projected SP falls outside your range.

Run at least 20–30 simulated races before switching to small live stakes. Check the bet history log after each session — BFBM records the BSP column so you can see the actual SP at which bets were matched. This is invaluable for verifying the guard is working correctly.

Combining BSP With Other Filters

BSP bets work well alongside other BFBM selection conditions. Common combinations for horse racing:

• Bet on favourite + BSP limit — back the market favourite at SP, but only if SP is between 2.0 and 6.0. Avoids very short-priced favourites and big outsiders.
• Bet on Nth runner + BSP limit + minimum matched volume — adds a liquidity filter to avoid BSP in thinly-traded markets where the SP may be unreliable.
• Race filters + BSP — combine with market conditions (UK races only, flat/jumps, minimum runners) to limit the universe of markets where BSP bets are placed.

For horse racing strategy context, see the BFBM horse racing guide and the pre-race trading guide. The horse racing statistics guide has UK data that can help you set evidence-based odds ranges for your BSP filter.

Summary

• BSP bets in BFBM require three settings: Min/max selection price (Start price) + Price settings at BSP with a Default price guard + Limit on close in Staking.
• The min/max price check uses the projected SP before the off — not the final SP.
• The Default price is your guard: the minimum back price (or maximum lay price) at which you will accept a BSP match.
• Time to bet must be before the off — the BSP queue closes when the race starts.
• Test all settings in simulation mode before going live.

If your strategy is still not firing as expected after following this guide, post your exported strategy settings to the BF Bot Manager forum with a screenshot of each tab — the support team are responsive and the community is helpful. See also the specific forum thread on SP odds limits in BFBM.