Degenerate Gamblers Rejoice! The 2019-20 Picking Contest is Here!!

I totally forgot to do this so you will need to sign up quickly. The first games are tomorrow! Yikes!

For folks who are not familiar, this is a contest where you pick college basketball games against the spread or the over/under. You make wagers in the amount of 100-500 units on each game and we keep track to see who is the best picker. In years past we have done a version of this for the pre-ACC season and one for the ACC season, but with the ACC moving to a longer schedule it makes no sense to separate those two things any longer so the contest will last the entire regular season this time.

Important rule: Though the website will display games that do not involve ACC teams, YOU CAN ONLY PICKS GAMES INVOLVING AT LEAST 1 ACC TEAM. If you pick, for example, the Ky-MSU game, then (regardless of whether your pick is right or wrong) you will pay a penalty of being forced to make an incorrect pick in some other game to balance out your improper pick. It really is easier if we do not go there so just remember to ONLY PICK GAMES INVOLVING AN ACC TEAM!

One more important rule-- it is possible to be such a loser that you are eliminated from the contest. As in years past, if you find yourself 5000 units in the hole, you are out and may not make any more picks. Now, if you are -4900 you can still make a bunch of picks that day in the hope of catching up, but the moment you get to -5000, you are done picking.

If you have any other questions feel free to post it here and I can answer. For now, follow the instructions below and get started!

Contest Name: DBR 2019-20 ACC Picking contest
Access Password: GoDuke
Commissioner: JasonEvans
Start Date: Nov 4 2019
End Date: Mar 24 2020
How To Join: Click on to the following link --> DBR 2019-20 ACC Picking contest

-Jason "this contest will begin now and continue until the end of the regular season (including conference tournaments). We will then have a new contest for the NCAA tourney" Evans

Another year of self flagellation begins----I am in

I am only seeing the Duke-KU game available for picks but none of the ACC openers on the 5th. Am I doing something wrong?

Rejoice, indeed!

- Chillin

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by AGDukesky

I am only seeing the Duke-KU game available for picks but none of the ACC openers on the 5th. Am I doing something wrong?

---

The lines on the other games have not been posted yet. It is not uncommon for lines to be posted the morning of games or the night before.

I’m in. Looking forward to another exciting season.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JasonEvans

The lines on the other games have not been posted yet. It is not uncommon for lines to be posted the morning of games or the night before.

---

Gotcha, thank you

Would just like to note that I am currently tied for first place !

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by du_bb1

Would just like to note that I am currently tied for first place !

---

And last! You're on a roll.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by CameronBlue

And last! You're on a roll.

---

does that make me amphibious ???

I’m in! Full season contest will mean a new tactic. Not sure if 500 bets all year long will hack is. Especially since early on, non-conference games are A crap shoot. In the past, by the time we get to the ACC in January, we have a sense of how these teams stack up. Not so much early.

Lines and O/U are up for all the ACC games tonight.

Lou -7 over Miami, OU 146
Duke -1 over Kansas, OU 153.5
Clemson -6.5 over Va Tech, OU 129.5
NCSU -7 over GaT, OU 150.5

Please join the contest and do not bet on any other game than these tonight!!

I want to take Duke but can't accept taking a worse line that what is widely available elsewhere.

Hopefully Covers gets its act together and updates the Duke -1 to Duke +2.5

I am in! This is my first time doing anything like this but it sounds like fun. And of course, I got so excited that I submitted a pick for the MSU-KY game even though I had just read the rules five minutes prior and knew that I wasn’t allowed to do that. And I don’t see a way to cancel the pick. So I will accept whatever form of punishment comes.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by NYBri

I’m in! Full season contest will mean a new tactic. Not sure if 500 bets all year long will hack is. Especially since early on, non-conference games are A crap shoot. In the past, by the time we get to the ACC in January, we have a sense of how these teams stack up. Not so much early.

---

HAH, I was wondering if your 500 every game every bet strategy would hold...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by UrinalCake

I am in! This is my first time doing anything like this but it sounds like fun. And of course, I got so excited that I submitted a pick for the MSU-KY game even though I had just read the rules five minutes prior and knew that I wasn’t allowed to do that. And I don’t see a way to cancel the pick. So I will accept whatever form of punishment comes.

---

So, here is how it works...

If you lose the wager, we do nothing. You made a bet and you lost and that money is deducted from your account (along with a 10% vig... the vig will wreck you if you don't watch out!). But, if you win the wager you will be required to make other bets that cause you to lose the money you improperly gained.

I see you bet on Michigan State -2.5 tonight. So, lets say that wager was for 300 units and MSU covers. You would have to find some other game (any game, doesn't have to be an ACC game) and you would bet 300 on that game and hope to lose. But if you win that bet then you now have to find games where you can lose 600 units and so on. You need to post your "losing" picks in this thread so we can keep track of them.

Does that make sense? I don't think we've had a case where someone had to make more than a couple make up bets, but it could happen. Remember the vig... if you found that you had to make up 600 or 1200 in improper winnings, that 10% vig could start to be meaningful.

-Jason "thanks for admitting your mistake and for joining the game!" Evans

That makes sense, except for the part about finding a bet to intentionally lose. If I knew how to pick a bet that would definitely lose, then I’d be pretty darn good at this game, wouldn’t I?

Is weekly betting unlimited? In other words, could I bet 500 on every game involving an ACC team?

Also, I think Jason is keeping the Covers line at Duke -1 as a test of loyalty. Anyone who doesn't take it is a coward and a traitor.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by UrinalCake

That makes sense, except for the part about finding a bet to intentionally lose. If I knew how to pick a bet that would definitely lose, then I’d be pretty darn good at this game, wouldn’t I?

---

Ahh, there is the rub. Finding a losing bet ain't easy. That is how folks could potentially get into a situation where they have to lose thousands of fake units (the vig on which would be nasty). If you fail to make enough losing wagers, at some point I would be forced to ask covers to remove you from the pool.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ShaneRyan

Is weekly betting unlimited? In other words, could I bet 500 on every game involving an ACC team?

---

I think I set it for a max of 30 wagers per day, which is enough to cover the line and the OU for every ACC team. So, the betting is unlimited.

But, remember, if you get to -5000 then your game is over. Aggressive wagers can be dangerous if you get on a losing streak. I think we lost someone in the first week of the contest last year.

By the way, if you want to see more of what this is like, here is the thread from last year's ACC contest. Duketaylor took the title. I don't have the final standings, but this was the leaderboard coming into the final day of wagers:

https://i.ibb.co/pbSzLc8/Capture.png

As you can see, some folks did really well by betting on a lot of games (Rasputin) and some did well by being more selective (Bob Green was famous for picking 1 or 2 wagers a day and getting them mostly right). I did not capture the bottom of the standings but I recall at least 3 or 4 people hitting the -5000 and being out.

-Jason "I think we did really well last year and I sorta doubt many of us are more than 5000 positive this year" Evans