Welcome to Piston’s Pleasure Palace, your home for gambling in the Tournament of Champions. We’ve tried all types of gambling throughout Althanas’ history and four types have been the most popular: playing the bank, playing the pot, playing the spread and betting each other. We’re pleased to announce that all four formats will be available for you to use in the tournament. The rewards are GP, lots of it. GP is pretty useless outside of Althanas, so this side event is primarily for them (any member, whether they are in the tourney or not, can participate). For those of you who aren’t from Althanas, be aware that you receive 100 GP (and a potential 200 GP extra) simply for signing up. If you haven’t already, be sure to post a profile in the Realm of Greeting.
Here is a breakdown of the rules for each of the different types:
Playing the Bank
This type is the easiest game to win, but it has the lowest payout.
Betting: To place a bet on a tournament match, post a reply here with the name of the battle, your choice of the winner and the amount of the bet. The minimum bet on a single match is 20 GP and the maximum is 100 GP. The maximum amount that can be won using this method is 500 GP per round. Your bet must fall within the above restrictions to qualify. Though GP will not be added or deducted from your account until after the round has ended, you can only bet GP that you have at the start of the round. This will be strictly enforced! If you bet GP that you don’t have, you will be disqualified from gambling. Bets can be placed at any time during the battle subject to the restrictions found below.
Winning: If you choose the winner you receive the amount that you bet (essentially a 2x payout). If you choose the loser, you lose the amount of your bet. However, the final payout is decreased 5% each day after the battle begins. This is to encourage folks not to wait to the end when they see a clear victor to place their bets. So if you post your bet on day one and win, you will receive the full 100% payout, but if you post on day two and win, you’ll only receive 95% payout.
Format: Post a reply using the following format if you wish to play the bank:
Play the Bank
Team 1 OVER Team 2
Bet Amount: GP
Note: All money lost returns to the Althanas Bank, never to be seen again!
Playing the Pot
This type requires the most luck, but potentially has the second highest payout.
Betting: To place a bet against the pot, post a reply here with the name of the team you think will win the tournament. The minimum bet for this type of gambling is 100 GP but there is no maximum bet!. Bets can be placed at any time during the tournament subject to the restrictions found below. Though GP will not be added or deducted from your account until after the tournament has ended, you can only bet GP that you have at the time the bet is made. You may only bet for a maximum of 5 teams using this format, so choose wisely!
Winning: If you are the earliest to choose the tournament victor, you receive the highest share of the pot! The amount received will be spread amongst the winners based evenly on the time when they originally posted their bet (based on days). For example, if one person bets for the winner on Day 10 and a second votes for the winner on Day 20 and there are 30 Days in the tournament, the first person will receive a 50% higher payout. Even in the case of 3 or more winners, the first winner will always receive the majority of the pot. Please note: each time someone places a bet the pot is increased so the more that play (even with smaller numbers) the more you can win!
Format: Post a reply using the following format if you wish to play the pot:
Play the Pot
Team 1 to WIN THE TOURNAMENT
Bet Amount: GP
Note: All money returns to the Althanas Bank, never to be seen again if no one wins!
Playing the Spread
This is Drax Piston’s favorite type, will it be yours too? It has a high payoff for those who are willing to take a little risk. At the start of each round, Piston will post a number presumed to be the score difference between the two teams when the thread is judged. The carrots indicate which team is favored to win the battle. For example:
Sons of Terrinore >6> Circus
The above reads Sons of Terrinore will defeat Circus by 6 points.
Betting: To place a bet against the spread, post a reply here with the battle title, the amount of the bet and whether you choose the "over" or the "under" or the "spread." The minimum bet on a single match is 20 GP. The maximum bet on a single match is 200 GP. Your bet must fall within the minimum and the maximum. Bets can be placed at anytime during the battle and players can bet multiple times on the same battle to a maximum of 3 different bets. Bets are placed into a pot to determine the payout.
Winning: If you correctly choose "over" or "under" or "spread" in a battle, you win the bet. If there are multiple winners, the pot for each battle is spread evenly among the winners. Tip: the more people that participate, the higher the payout. If someone isn't betting opposite of you, don't bother placing a bet. In the example above, if Sons of Terrinore win by 7, anyone who voted over wins. If Sons of Terrinore lose by 3, everyone who voted under wins. Betting spread would net someone the GP if Piston’s prediction was indeed true (i.e. Sons of Terrinore beat Circus by 6 points).
Special Bets: There is a way to secure a higher payout in the event of multiple winners. For an additional 50 GP, you can lock your bet to a particular score difference. If the battle ends with the score difference you predicted, you automatically receive a 25% greater share of the pot than the other winners. If multiple people lock in score differences, but no one predicts the correct score difference, the person with the closer score difference earns the 25% greater share of the pot. If only one personal purchases the score difference lock, that person automatically receives 25% greater payout. If no one secures the bet, and no one wins, the bank keeps the money.
Format: Post a reply using the following format if you wish to play the spread.
Play the Spread
Choose “over,” “under” or “spread”
Bet Amount: GP
Special Bet: Yes or No. If yes, what score difference?
Betting Each Other
This has the highest payout, hands down. If someone is willing to take the bet, that is.
Betting: To post a wager in this thread, you must include the name of the battle, the team you wish to bet on, how much you are wagering and your odds/payout ratio (see below). Unlike the other formats, you must be wise with how much you wager. If you wager too much, others might not be willing to accept. Similarly if you give a low odds/payout ratio, it might not be worth it to others to accept your bet. All wagers must be placed and accepted before 14th post in the battle is made.
Winning: If you win the bet, you get the other person’s GP based on the odds/payout ratio. The ratio represents how much of an advantage or disadvantage your chosen battler has in your opinion and it also decided how much GP another gambler would need to accept your bet. Example: You place a wager of 500 GP on Team A, but set the odds as 2:1 in the favor of Team A against Team B. This would mean that someone accepting your bet would only need to put forth 250 GP to meet it. As with the quantity being wagered, you may set this as whatever you like, but keep in mind that you want to make your open wager appealing to other potential gamblers. Note: if multiple players accept the bet, the amount is split. Using the example above, if another player accepts your bet, they would each pay 125 GP and if they win, your money will be spread evenly between them.
Format: Post a reply using the following format if you wish to bet eachother.
Open Bet
Team 1 OVER Team 2
Odds/Payout Ratio:
Bet Amount: GP
To accept a bet, post the following:
Accepting name's Bet
Bet Amount: GP (based on the Odds/Payout Ratio)
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That’s it! If you have any questions, you may ask them here. All amounts will be deducted after the battle is complete. You are on the honor system. If you want to continue to have this feature, do not abuse your gambling privileges. We may add in odds and other ways to win if this takes off. A few notes: the gambling will begin when the first round begins. Judges, obviously, cannot participate. The first reply to this thread will be reserved for the spread and for Drax to give his take on who will win each tournament battle.
