Build a Telegram picks bot on live Pinnacle odds

This bot watches Pinnacle prices on the PinnFeed WebSocket and posts a message to a Telegram channel whenever a market steams, meaning its price shortens by 5% or more within two minutes in a market with a decent max stake. It is one file, about 70 lines, with no Telegram library: it calls the Bot API directly.

Step 1 — Create the bot#

1. In Telegram, open @BotFather, send /newbot and follow the prompts. Copy the token.
2. Create a channel, add the bot as an administrator with permission to post.
3. Use the channel's public name (@mychannel) as the chat id, or the numeric id for a private chat.

Step 2 — Set the environment#

export PINNFEED_KEY="pf_live_..."        # Builder plan (WebSocket)
export TELEGRAM_TOKEN="123456:ABC..."    # from @BotFather
export TELEGRAM_CHAT="@mychannel"
npm install ws

Leave TELEGRAM_TOKEN unset to run in dry-run mode: the bot prints messages instead of sending them.

Step 3 — The bot#

Save as telegram-picks-bot.mjs:

// telegram-picks-bot.mjs: post Pinnacle steam moves to a Telegram channel as "picks".
// npm install ws    Node 18+ (global fetch)
// env: PINNFEED_KEY, TELEGRAM_TOKEN (from @BotFather), TELEGRAM_CHAT (e.g. @mychannel or a chat id)
import WebSocket from 'ws';

const WS_URL = process.env.PINNFEED_WS || 'wss://pinnfeed.io/v1/stream';
const { PINNFEED_KEY, TELEGRAM_TOKEN, TELEGRAM_CHAT } = process.env;
const MIN_DROP = Number(process.env.MIN_DROP || 0.05);   // 5% shortening...
const WINDOW_MS = Number(process.env.WINDOW_MS || 120000); // ...inside 2 minutes
const SIDES = new Set(['home', 'away', 'draw', 'over', 'under']);
const events = new Map();
const highs = new Map();   // "marketId|outcome" -> [{t, p}]
const sent = new Map();    // "marketId|outcome" -> last alert time

async function post(text) {
  if (!TELEGRAM_TOKEN) return console.log('[dry run]', text);
  const r = await fetch(`https://api.telegram.org/bot${TELEGRAM_TOKEN}/sendMessage`, {
    method: 'POST', headers: { 'content-type': 'application/json' },
    body: JSON.stringify({ chat_id: TELEGRAM_CHAT, text, disable_web_page_preview: true }),
  });
  if (!r.ok) console.error('telegram', r.status, await r.text());
}

function check(m) {
  const ev = events.get(m.eventId);
  if (!ev || (m.maxStake ?? 0) < 500) return;
  const now = Date.now();
  for (const o of m.outcomes) {
    if (!SIDES.has(o.name)) continue;
    const k = `${m.id}|${o.name}`;
    const h = (highs.get(k) || []).filter((x) => now - x.t < WINDOW_MS);
    h.push({ t: now, p: o.decimal });
    highs.set(k, h);
    const high = Math.max(...h.map((x) => x.p));
    const drop = 1 - o.decimal / high;
    if (drop < MIN_DROP || now - (sent.get(k) || 0) < WINDOW_MS) continue;
    sent.set(k, now);
    const pick = o.name === 'home' ? ev.home : o.name === 'away' ? ev.away : o.name;
    const line = o.points == null ? '' : m.type === 'total' ? ` ${o.points}` : ` ${o.points > 0 ? '+' : ''}${o.points}`;
    post(`📉 ${ev.sport.toUpperCase()} · ${ev.league?.name ?? ''}\n${ev.home} v ${ev.away}\n` +
      `Pick: ${pick} (${m.type}${line})\nPinnacle ${high.toFixed(2)} → ${o.decimal.toFixed(2)} (−${(drop * 100).toFixed(1)}%)\n` +
      `Fair now ${o.fair.toFixed(2)} · max stake ${m.maxStake}`);
  }
}

function connect(delay = 1000) {
  const ws = new WebSocket(WS_URL, { headers: { 'x-api-key': PINNFEED_KEY }, perMessageDeflate: true });
  ws.on('open', () => {
    delay = 1000;
    ws.send(JSON.stringify({ type: 'subscribe', sports: ['soccer', 'tennis', 'basketball'], markets: ['moneyline', 'spread', 'total'], main: true, specials: false }));
  });
  ws.on('message', (raw) => {
    const msg = JSON.parse(raw);
    if (msg.type === 'ping') return ws.send('{"type":"pong"}');
    if (msg.type === 'snapshot') msg.events.forEach((e) => events.set(e.id, e));
    if (msg.type === 'delta') for (const c of msg.changes) {
      if (c.kind === 'event') c.op === 'upsert' ? events.set(c.event.id, c.event) : events.delete(c.id);
      if (c.kind === 'market' && c.op === 'upsert') check(c.market);
    }
  });
  ws.on('close', () => setTimeout(() => connect(Math.min(delay * 2, 30000)), delay));
  ws.on('error', (e) => console.error('ws error:', e.message));
}
connect();

Step 4 — Run and test#

node telegram-picks-bot.mjs

A message looks like this:

📉 SOCCER · Italy - Serie A
Udinese v Fiorentina
Pick: Udinese (spread +0.25)
Pinnacle 1.88 → 1.70 (−9.5%)
Fair now 1.83 · max stake 500

Tune volume with MIN_DROP and WINDOW_MS, for example MIN_DROP=0.08 for fewer, stronger alerts.

Step 5 — Keep it running#

• Run it under systemd, pm2 or a container with restart on failure; the bot reconnects to the WebSocket by itself.
• Telegram allows about 20 messages per minute per group or channel. Raise MIN_DROP if you hit 429 responses.
• Post your record honestly: log each pick and measure it with closing line value.

Questions people ask#

Which PinnFeed plan does the bot need?#

Builder (€99/month) or higher, because it uses the WebSocket. For a slower bot on Free or Hobby, poll /v1/drops every minute instead.

Can I post picks to Discord instead?#

Yes. Replace the post function with a POST to a Discord webhook URL with body {"content": text}.

Is it legal to publish picks?#

Rules on betting tips and advertising vary by country. Check the rules where you and your audience are, and never present picks as guaranteed.