2005 "3+1 Challenge" final rules draft

Easy E · #1 09-02-2005, 02:52 PM

Here are the updated rules planned for the 2005 "3+1 Challenge" that starts next week, with Week #1 of the NFL season.

Last chance for any revisions! I don't expect any, but will post an update if it is required. The major revisions are marked for your ease.

See my immediate reply for other comments

 1. Each week, I will post the official 3+1 contest line in 2+2, in the Sports Betting forum, starting 9/6/05. Primarily I will take the lines from the Stardust sports book online. I may make up missing lines myself to beat the game-posting deadline. I will wait as long as is feasible in order to get as many Stardust lines as possible.
 Each game will have an offical point spread; most games will also have a over/under line as well. 

Once I post the spread and over/under for a particular game, they will NOT change, even if the outside lines change. Feel free to take advantage. Occasionally I may post the 3+1 lines with some games missing, catching up when the sports books do.

 Some games may not have an over/under total in place by the first game of the week (usually Thursday nights). I will not be making a concerted effort to have an over/under total for every game- if it's blank by the time that you choose that game for your picks, you cannot use the o/u total. If you list a game without an o/u, your pick will be changed to the team and points that you have listed! 

2. Your picks should be listed in the following manner:
$400 Bills
$300 Eagles u43
$200 Raiders
$100 Chiefs o55

 If you are just picking favs/dogs, don't list the point spread. If you are picking the over/under, the team nickname is just there to identify the game. 

Please try to use the team names, as in the example above- it will make it much easier for people, including myself, to gather data

The official 3+1 line is the only correct point spread and o/u total for the weekly contest. If your list includes incorrect spreads, those +/- spreads will be ignored /corrected for you in the master ledger. The team chosen will be the corrected choice, regardless of the correct point spread.

3. Each contestant must post 4 games, listing the team they are choosing, along with the amount of the bet on that game. There must be one $400 bet, one $300, one $200 and one $100

I will not be guessing as to the bet values or order, or looking throughout any forums for posts that might qualify as your picks. If your post isn't clear and you don't correct it in time, your picks will be assumed to match up with the lowest bet at the bottom.

So, if you post " Jets +3, Lions -4" and nothing else, you will have a $200 bet on the Jets, a $100 bet on the Lions AND you will have two automatic losses for the $400 and $300 picks 

 4. Your picks must be posted in the official "3+1 NFL Challenge- 2005: Week XX" thread that I will start each week. Your post must be time-stamped at least 1 hour EST prior to the network-listed start time of the earliest game that you have chosen. The 2+2 forum timestamp is the official time for determining this.

I will sometimes post a "Challenge now closed" reply to indicate this deadline, but not always.

Any changes to your picks must be posted by the same deadline. If your picks included an early game, any revisions to ANY of your games chosen MUST be posted by the deadline of the earliest game! 

ALL of your picks must be posted together. Do not post for early games individually and then add a second post with your last 3 games later on in the week.
All cappers must have their picks posted by 12 noon on Sunday at the latest, unless a game is scheduled before 1:00 pm on that day.
 If you have corrections or changes, reply to your own post and make the changes. You still must meet the deadline of an hour before official game time.

5. Scoring- you must beat the point spread to "win" your money points that you "bet" on the game. Ties against the official 3+1 line's point spread are worth $0. Losses subtract from your bankroll, which starts at $0.
There is no vig on any bets! We'll leave that for the real world.

6. I will post the updated standings by the following week, usually the day after the last game (as to when corrections will be posted.... that depends on how badly I screwed up [img]/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img]) 

7. Each week one "winner" will be declared, even if a number of handicappers tie for the top. The final decision as to who is each week's "champ" resides with me. See rule #10 for ways to influence this process 

8. This process will repeat throughout the year for each week of the regular season. When we get within a few weeks of the end of the regular season, we will work out some method of PM the picks for the leaders, so no advantages can be lost by your posting before the others. (we'll call this the "Big Al" rule ) 

Contestants do not have to start at the beginning of the season to compete in the Challenge. So, don't feel that you are shut out if you don't start until Week 8 (though you may be way behind in bankroll). However, they must start during the last month of the regular season if they want to be listed in with the regular contestants. 

9. Any tiebreakers needed for the end of the year to determine the final "3+1" champ for 2005, will be as follows:
a) Total wins
b) Some secondary tiebreaker- possibly a playoff game challenge. 

10. I will finalize all arbitration decisions that are required. Appeals must go through me (bribes are encouraged- compliments don't count). 

11. The only prize won by the champion at the end of the year is the satisfaction of victory and the ability to list themselves as the "2005 3+1 Master NFL Handicapper" until the following year (you have official permission to put that in your bio).

In order to have a chance to claim the right to add this (i.e. be declared the champ), you must post picks in the last two weeks of the season, along with any "playoff" picks to determine a winner. You can't rest on your laurels and win the title by default- no guts, no glory.

 Anything else? [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

Easy E · #2 09-02-2005, 02:57 PM

Previous thread for 2005 setup

One important point that I will repeat here- while we all want to win the Challenge (as you can see), we're all here to help each other make the right picks when it counts, for cash!

Any analysis or explaination for your "3+1" picks would be greatly appreciated, so that we can all think more carefully about the choices we make when we lay the cash on the counter out there in the cold, cold world.

Good luck to all (but mostly to myself! [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] )

Easy E · #3 09-02-2005, 03:03 PM

Here are mine:

1) Beat everyone who handicapped last year. (I'll allow for the slim possibility that some unknown will pop up and defeat the "World's Greatest NFL Handicapper of the Century"

2) Fade every one of MicroBob's MAC picks (a strategy which, if I had followed it last year, would have given me a winning fall rather than a losing one [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img]

3) Limit myself to a dozen mistakes concerning posted picks over the season.
that LAST one is the most ambitious goal of them all! [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img]

Easy E · #4 09-04-2005, 09:23 AM

bump

Easy E · #5 10-04-2005, 02:43 PM

bump [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img]