User's Guide: GCMB Sportsbook

oxrageous

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Okay, I'm always looking to add more free features which I think could add some fun to the experience at Gatorchatter. This is one that could be a hit, or could bomb. No guts, no glory.

What we have here is basically virtual betting. There is no real money involved, this is just for fun. In short, proposed outcomes from real events will be posted, and you can bet on them. The possibilities are absolutely endless. For example on the sports front, we'll have a ton of wagers on the upcoming Gator game each week. Things like total points and spread points, as well as individual stat wagers. Will Luke Del Rio throw for 300 yards? Place a wager. Will the Gators get 5 sacks? Place a wager. The parameters and odds can be set by whoever is creating the outcome. I'll probably have a few posters that put up bunches of games every week (college and pro) using the Vegas lines, but anyone will be able to go into those individual events and create more outcomes, such as player stats.

Every existing and new member will start with $1,000. When you hit $0, you will be given $250 at midnight on Tuesdays. Obviously, the point is to pile up as much money as you possibly can. The Top 5 money leaders at the end of the Super Bowl on February 5, 2017 will win prizes (to be announced at a later date).

There are "Events" (i.e. Florida vs UMass), and then there are "Outcomes" within those events (i.e. Luke Del Rio throws for 300 yards). So there will only be one event for each game, and as many outcomes within the event as people want to create. When you create a new event, a thread for it is automatically generated in the Sportsbook section of the forum. When you create a new outcome for that event, it will automatically generate a post in the existing event thread, describing the new outcome and welcoming bets. Again, the system will generate the thread or the post automatically, you do not have to do it manually. They will look like this:

Thread:
image.jpg


Post:
image.png


image.png


The point is to make the outcomes in the events fair - no obvious gimmes. In other words, someone could start a bet that pays 1000 to 1 that Luke Del Rio will throw for 5 yards, or that Thompson will fumble the ball, in order to rack up a huge and easy payday. That obviously won't fly, so the outcomes will be monitored and removed if necessary. Using the Vegas odds if possible will always be the best reference. If Vegas odds for a particular outcome don't exist, you have to do the best you can. For example, for the UMass game the odds on one outcome are 1/1 that Del Rio will throw for 300 yards (a $10 bet pays off another $10), but there is a separate outcome that pays off 4/1 (a $10 bet pays off another $40) if he throws for 400 yards. Why 4/1? It just sounded good to me. If your odds are too low (particularly on unlikely events), people won't bet and your effort becomes a waste of time. If someone wanted to start an outcome with 25 to 1 odds (or greater) that he'll throw for 500 yards, go for it! The flexibility is the fun of this thing.

The secondary part of this system is the Betting Exchange. In short, the Betting Exchange is when two people want to bet each other on anything. I could set up a bet with Law for $100 that the Gators will beat UMass by 50. Or that Trump will beat Hillary. Or that a movie coming out in a month will have at least an 80% approval on Rotten Tomatoes. It's literally anything you want, with any odds you want. Instead of these stupid sig and avatar bets, you can put your virtual money where your mouth is.

You can also create a challenge and leave it open for anyone else to take you on - it doesn't have to be aimed at one person.
 

oxrageous

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Okay, now the question becomes, how the hell do I create Events, Outcomes, or Bets?

If you click on the Sportsbook tab at the top of the page, you'll see some events I've already created. One is titled "Gators vs UMass", and that's the even that will include all the betting outcomes for that particular game. If you click on it, the list of Outcomes will show up. You can click "Place Wager" and bet on any of them at any time. This is where people need to pay attention:

Do not start a New Event for one that already exists. Add an Outcome to the existing Event.

ADDING AN OUTCOME TO AN EXISTING EVENT:

Let's talk about how to do that first. Let's say I want to create an Outcome in that game about Antonio Callaway getting 100 yards. When you have the list of Outcomes open for an event and you want to add another Outcome, you click "Edit" at the bottom of the list:

image.png


Next you'll come to a long screen. The first half of the screen, which involves editing the event itself, you are not going to touch. Scroll down until you get to the "Outcome" section, which begins with Outcome Title. Looks like this:

image.png


Put in the title and the odds. Make the odds realistic and attractive....but not too attractive. I would put the odds of Callaway having 100+ yards at 1/1 - you double your money if he gets it. If you wanted, you could create another Outcome and put it at something like 15/1 if he got 200 yards. But remember, the whole point is to attract wagers without having gimmes. Creating wagers of things that will never happen, no matter what the odds, is a waste of time.

The Max Wagers, Minimum Wager Amount, and Maximum Wager Amount are already set and fixed, so skip over them. Even changing those numbers here will have no effect - they are already fixed in the settings. I would also leave the two "Auto Lock" fields at zero.

The Auto Lock Date as it sits will mirror the lock date created for the Event. In this case, the event will end 15 minutes before kickoff on week 1. There's no reason to change this date here unless there was some reason you wanted it to end earlier. Otherwise, just leave it blank.

Click "Create Outcome" and you're done! A post in the existing Event thread in the Sportsbook section of the forum will be automatically created, introducing your new Outcome and inviting wagers.
 

oxrageous

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CREATING A COMPLETELY NEW EVENT:

Click on the Sportsbook tab, and then click the blue "Create New Event" button on the upper right hand side of the screen. Pick a category, which should be pretty self explanatory, and click Continue. Now you'll come to the new event page:

image.png


Pretty self-explanatory stuff. Remember, that the title is for the EVENT, not the OUTCOME - so it will be something like "Cowboys vs Dolphins". I don't think the description is that important, but you may want to put the date, or the fact that it's a preseason game or something. Tags will call out specific members if you like, such as @oxrageous.

Now you can choose when the event opens, which is usually immediately. Just click on the box and the immediate date and time will pop up. The Event Close Date may require some closer attention. Usually you'll want bets to end within an hour of kickoff. Just double check your date and make sure it's accurate. Then click "Create Event".

Okay, this will bring you to the long Event and Outcome editor page. The first half of the page will be all the information you already entered on the previous page. If you scroll halfway down the page, you'll get to the Outcome section. Here is where you can entire Outcomes for things to wager on, like point spreads or total points or individual stats. We went over this part already on the previous section of adding Outcomes to existing Events. When you fill out an Outcome and click the "Create Outcome" button at the bottom, the Outcome will appear on a list at the bottom of the page. After you create one, you can immediately create as many as you like, one right after the other.

Here's an important step that's easy to miss: After you have all your Outcomes entered, scroll back up to the Event editor at the top of that same page and change the status from "Pending" to "Open" and click "Save Event".

image.png
 

oxrageous

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USING BETTING EXCHANGE TO BET WITH ANOTHER MEMBER:

Click on the "Betting Exchange" tab and click the blue "Create Bet" button on the right hand side of the page. You'll see this screen:

image.png


This is all pretty self explanatory. The "Sportsbook Event ID" I would keep blank for the time being. Like I said at the very beginning of this tutorial, the Betting Exchange is when two people want to bet each other on anything. I could set up a bet with Law for $100 that the Gators will beat UMass by 50. Or that Trump will beat Hillary. Or that a movie coming out in a month will have at least an 80% approval on Rotten Tomatoes. It's literally anything you want, with any odds you want. Instead of these stupid sig and avatar bets, you can put your virtual money where your mouth is.

As you can see, you can leave the bet "Open" for any poor bastard to take you on, or you can pick someone. When you do it, they'll get a notification on their end to accept it. One accepted, it's out there for all to see.
 

BostonGator84

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TL; DR.

...

Just kidding - looks like an interesting feature, will have to check it out.
 

Zambo

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How do we keep track of our winnings? Can we see how much money other posters have racked up?
 

NVGator

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How do we keep track of our winnings? Can we see how much money other posters have racked up?
When you are in an Event, like Gators vs. UMASS, click on the View Detailed Outcomes tab. Then, under each title, is a hyperlink to Show/Hide Wagers.

As for how to keep track? Good question. We haven't had a winning yet so I'll have to play around with it.
 

GatorJ

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I believe when you click sports book there are multiple drop-downs. It's probably in one of those.
 

Zambo

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Yes if the whole point is to be the guy with the most winnings at the end of the year you have to be able to see not only your bank but others as well.
 

NVGator

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Yes if the whole point is to be the guy with the most winnings at the end of the year you have to be able to see not only your bank but others as well.
If you click on your User Name, you will see your Sportsbook Cash. Working on trying to figure out how to see everyone's bank so you know where you stand.
Screen Shot 2016-08-23 at 12.34.10 PM.png
 

NCOGator

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Looks complicated but I guess it is one of those things that you have to mess with to understand it.
 

T REX

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This is pretty cool Ox. Hats off to you. Thanks for making the board a great place to talk sports and other topics.
 

LeeForThree

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I love this concept.

Just a suggestion....is there anyway to get all of the games for week 1 in one post? It is kind of annoying scrolling through 3 pages of those.
 

oxrageous

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I love this concept.

Just a suggestion....is there anyway to get all of the games for week 1 in one post? It is kind of annoying scrolling through 3 pages of those.
Just go to the Sportsbook section and they are all listed in one list.
 

oxrageous

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I have changed being able to get re-filled with $250 after you hit $0 from every night to every week. That will keep someone from betting all their money quickly, getting a quick $250 the next day, then betting it again, day after day.
 

Zambo

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How are you policing the veracity of these bets? What if someone creates an outcome where the bet is 5 to 1 that the Gators score at least 3 points against UMass? Of course that is an easy one to delete, and you can tie to it Vegas odds. But what about a 3 to 1 bet that the Gators get an interception? Where do you draw that line and who decides?
 

oxrageous

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How are you policing the veracity of these bets? What if someone creates an outcome where the bet is 5 to 1 that the Gators score at least 3 points against UMass? Of course that is an easy one to delete, and you can tie to it Vegas odds. But what about a 3 to 1 bet that the Gators get an interception? Where do you draw that line and who decides?
Myself and NV will decide. If a bet is grossly stacked, it will be removed. It's all written above, not that you bothered to read it.
The point is to make the outcomes in the events fair - no obvious gimmes. In other words, someone could start a bet that pays 1000 to 1 that Luke Del Rio will throw for 5 yards, or that Thompson will fumble the ball, in order to rack up a huge and easy payday. That obviously won't fly, so the outcomes will be monitored and removed if necessary.
 

LeeForThree

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I have changed being able to get re-filled with $250 after you hit $0 from every night to every week. That will keep someone from betting all their money quickly, getting a quick $250 the next day, then betting it again, day after day.
Is this $0...$0 left because you lost all your bets or $0 left because you bet all the money. Basically, if we bet on a year long prop like the heisman, but then eventually lose all of the remaining money by week 4...would the money reset the following week to $250 or do we have to wait until the last money bet is lost?
 

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