The live-game-state gate blocks live bets when the game is in a state where pricing is structurally noisy or unreliable. Default knob: minimum elapsed seconds since tipoff/first-pitch.
The threshold
liveGameState.minElapsedSec — seconds since the game started before live bets are allowed. Defends against early-game pricing chaos when scoring rates haven't settled and books haven't yet calibrated their in-play models.
Currently set to 300 seconds (5 min) in user config — basketball pricing typically stabilizes after the first few possessions; baseball usually after the first inning ends.
Why it matters
Books often have wider spreads or stale pre-game lines for the first few minutes of live play. Sharp money has the same problem (less consensus signal) so EV calculations are unreliable in this window. Better to skip than chase early-live edges.
What this Studio page does
Replays settled positions filtered by elapsed-seconds buckets. Shows ROI by elapsed-time bucket so you can find the inflection where live pricing becomes reliable. Tighter thresholds (e.g. 600s = 10 min) cut volume; looser (e.g. 60s) admit junk early-game pricing.