2015 WoV Picks Game (Discussion Thread)

Quote: beachbumbabs

If you want to PM your picks to me before the deadline (or to your choice of person) I will simply leave them unread in my box with your timestamp on them. You always open our picks after the deadline. That will show, should there be any question, that you made your picks prior to seeing any others.

Quote: beachbumbabs

If you want to PM your picks to me before the deadline (or to your choice of person) I will simply leave them unread in my box with your timestamp on them. You always open our picks after the deadline. That will show, should there be any question, that you made your picks prior to seeing any others.

Quote: Mission146

As an aside, EdCollins, I downloaded a Backgammon app and am playing that for the first time ever today. I am 3-14 so far, so I'm pretty awful.
Should I try to make my first priority getting my checkers out of the other person's scoring area, or is that a mistake?

Quote: Mission146

Thanks, Ed.

I don't think this is the right time of my life to learn Backgammon...The app I was trying is called Backgammon Plus and you play other people.

Quote: beachbumbabs

Awwwww...c'mon, Mission! Ed will play you, I'll play you, why, we could get a club together! Might be lots of others interested. Sure beats Trivia Crush or whatever that was called.

Quote: JW17

I know Mission is about the integrity of the game, but I don't ever question if he would cheat this game or not, the answer is he would not. I have played the last 3 or 4 years and have never doubted the honesty of the game, by any member, plus with the little amount of money at stake is it worth anyone losing their reputation over? Just my opinion, but Mission, what ever you feel is right, I am all for, but I don't think you need to go out of your way to prove you are not cheating. BUT if you feel better about it, I support that also.

Bottom line is I highly enjoy this game year after year.

Quote: beachbumbabs

Wow!! We have a new leader! Who would've thought? WTG, Mission!

Quote: MidwestAP

As I understand it, if Mission wins, then second place collects from the rest, but Mission's $50 at risk is safe, correct? If that's the case, I want to state right now, that if I'm fortunate enough to finish second behind Mission, I want all winnings to go to him since he won the contest fair and square.

Quote: MidwestAP

As I understand it, if Mission wins, then second place collects from the rest, but Mission's $50 at risk is safe, correct? If that's the case, I want to state right now, that if I'm fortunate enough to finish second behind Mission, I want all winnings to go to him since he won the contest fair and square.

Quote: Mission146

That's quite kind of you, and your understanding of the Rules is correct. I would say that I neither expect nor would refuse such an offer. We may be getting ahead of ourselves with five weeks left, though. I put my probability of winning at maybe 10%.

Quote: jml24

I don't think my chances are that great either but I am currently in third and I will do the same for Mission should I come in second to him.

Quote: Wizardofnothing

Chip Kelly did me in

Quote: Mission146

Greetings!

It is time, once again, to kick off the annual WoV Picks Game as hosted by your favorite Admin and mine, Mission146!

I would suggest that everyone read over the Rules as there have been misstatements, misinterpretations and misunderstandings in the past. If anything in the Rules is unclear, let us please try to address it now rather than in the middle of the game.

I will be sending PM invites over the next five days, apologies if you get more than one, but I'll try to avoid that. You are free to announce you want to play in-thread to receive PM reminders, and you may also play even if you do not receive an invite.

The criteria for receiving an invite is simple:

A.) To have played (and paid if you lost) last year.

B.) To be a Member in good standing with, at least, fifty lifetime posts.

If anyone wants to help with Invites, please PM me.

Rule Changes

For the benefit of those who have played this game before and know the Rules, I'm going to just summarize the changes to the Rules really quick:

1.) My contribution to the winner is now $50 instead of $25. Furthermore, in order to keep players interested, I am offering two consolation prizes:

THE MOST AVERAGE CONSOLATION PRIZE: This will be a prize of $25 to the player who picks the closest to .500. In the event of a tie, the same Rules that adjudicate the winner of a tie in the main game will apply.

THE 'YOU SUCK' CONSOLATION PRIZE: This prize will go the player with the worst record. In the event that the amount of money this player loses to the winner exceeds $25, the $25 can be used to offset the payment to the winner and I would simply pay the winner $75 while this player would owe the balance.

2.) Proper formatting of Picks WILL BE enforced as of Week 3. For the first two weeks, if your Picks are formatted improperly, I will send a return PM acknowledging your Picks, but will convert them to the proper format.

The Rules will be as follows:

Format:

Winner Take All (w/exception)

Participation:

You will not need to announce that you are participating in-thread or via PM in advance. The Lines will be posted on Thursday, September 10th, so simply PM me your picks and you are in the game. You MUST make Week 1 Picks to participate, or participate as of Week 2, but Week 1 shall constitute your, 'Skip,' Week. If you wish to receive a reminder, however, please announce you are playing in-thread.

Rules:

1.) The winner will be determined by having the highest winning percentage. In the event of a tie, the winners will have the option of either splitting the take, or they may agree to PM me a Super Bowl pick prior to the Super Bowl, but after the combatants are known, consisting of the winning team, spread and TD's thrown; the winner will be determined in that order. If two Members PM me the same thing, they will BOTH be asked to change at least one aspect of their picks.

2.) The procedure for this will be that at some point on Thursdays, I will post the point spreads and Over/Unders from one source per week. I will likely use VegasInsider and the Spreads & Over/Unders I post will be constant and may be picked at any time prior to 11:59p.m. EST the Saturday before the game.

3.) Sunday/Monday games will be the only games considered. Every player must pick exactly five winners against the Spread, exactly five Over/Unders, or a combination totalling exactly five.

4.) Players may, "Skip," one week without making any picks, but they don't have to. If a player accidentally fails to submit picks, that will constitute the, "Skip," week.

5.) If a player fails to make picks for more than one week, he/she forfeits and will owe any monies lost to the winner(s).

***Any player missing two weeks will have the option of EITHER forfeiting immediately or accepting a record of 0-5 for the second missed week. If the player misses a third week, the forfeit is automatic.

***If a player forfeits or stops playing, then the record of that player will be locked in place, but the player will not receive any of the prizes.

6.) Picks will be PM'ed to me at any point prior to 11:59p.m. EST Saturday, all picks will be openly posted by me between midnight Sunday and kick-off.

***The exception to this Rule is that I will accept E-Mail Picks from banned Members, but only if they are banned. If you are banned, you can still receive PM's, so I will PM you my E-Mail address.

7.) At some point on Tuesday the picks, results and updated Standings will be posted by yours truly.

8.) CONFIDENCE PICK: You may make one, "Confidence Pick," per week, though you don't have to. Your, "Confidence Pick," must be made expressly clear in your PM. The CONFIDENCE PICK result will count either as two wins or two losses, if made.

PAYS

1.) If you are not the winner, then you will pay $0.10, with a minimum of $1.00, for every one-hundredth of a percentage your winning percentage is off from that of the winner. (i.e., if you batted .000, and the winner picked perfectly, you would owe $100)

2.) In the event that you forfeit the game, your winning percentage is fixed and you must pay accordingly. You are not eligible for consolation prizes if you forfeit or stop playing.

3.) I will not be handling any money other than my own. Everyone participating is on the honor system. I am not responsible for non-payment or under-payment. The winner(s) and loser(s) will be responsible for determining privately and amongst themselves how the transaction is to be handled. The winner(s) may post the name(s) of any loser(s) who has AGREED on a method of payment yet failed to pay the winner within sixty (60) days of said agreement being established.

4.) Just to give this thing +EV, I will be paying the winner $50 within thirty days of the SB being played. I will pay by sending a Money Order. I will be defending the $50 or the consolation prizes, but am incapable of winning any prizes. There will be two consolation prizes, the, "Most Average," will be the player whose record is closest to .500 while, "The 'You Suck,' Consolation Prize," is $25 to the player with the worst record.

TIME

1.) The first Sunday of the Season is September 13th, Lines will be posted on Thursday, September 10th.

Pick Format

I WILL be enforcing a uniform Pick format this year for all Picks after Week 3. For the first two weeks, if you send me Picks that are not in the correct format, I will acknowledge that I have received your Picks by re-sending them to you in the correct format. Since I'm throwing $100 into the prize pool of a game that I cannot win, I don't think I am asking for too much, here.

1.) No Line Breaks

2.) For Spread picks, simply put the team nickname and the spread. (Ex: Bengals +5)

3.) For Over/Unders, simply put the team nickname for EITHER team, and the Over or Under amount. (Ex: Bengals OVER 25)

4.) To designate a Confidence Pick, simply put a hyphen and, "Confidence," after the pick. (Ex: Bengals OVER 25-Confidence)

So, a full set of picks might appear:

Patriots -15
Patriots OVER 52
Jaguars +12
Jaguars UNDER 42
Jets +4-Confidence

Let's have a great time, as always!

Quote: aluisio

Ooops... Last week was crazy hectic and I forgot to post my picks. Sorry folks, I'm out :(

Quote: jml24

I think the Giants won 31-24 so I was actually 3-3 for the week, 40-31 total for 56.34%. That would put me up to third overall. The bunching is very tight.
Interestingly I am the only one who had a pick on the Giants game.

Quote: jml24

I think the Giants won 31-24 so I was actually 3-3 for the week, 40-31 total for 56.34%. That would put me up to third overall. The bunching is very tight.

Interestingly I am the only one who had a pick on the Giants game.

Quote: EdCollins

Only if you want to be. Per the rules this year, you can still accept an 0-5 forfeit this week, and continue. For now, the standings I will post below will reflect this.

Quote: aluisio

I did not know that. Ok. So I'll stay in the game. Maybe I have a shot at finishing near .500
Count me in again :)

Quote: Ayecarumba

Was Wizard of Nothing's "Tiana" pick supposed to be "Titans"?