www.CostaRicaTicas.com

All,
I will be running this contest again this year. I'm looking for sponsors to once again donate a few prizes to make it more fun and keep the interest high. Sponsors, please post here or PM me if you would like to donate for the contest. Contest details are below.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

if interested in playing, you just need to submit picks on this thread when the lines are posted each week. No need to sign up, just post your weekly pics by the weekly deadline. The rules are below.

Rules:
-Contest is open to all CRT members
-No entry fee, so sign up, just post your picks per the guidelines below
-The contest will run from week 1 to week 17; technically, it is possible to join in week 6 and still qualify
-In order to qualify for a prize at the end of the season, a player must have submitted at minimum of 48 picks throughout the season; this means that a player can take up to 5 weeks off, submit the max (4) each of the other 12 weeks and still qualify for the prizes
-The contest will only include Sunday and Monday night games (For logistical reasons, Thursday games will not be included)
-Early each week (Tue-Wed), I will post the NFL betting lines for that week (point spreads only, no over/unders)
-Each player will select games against the listed point spreads. A winner is when the chosen team covers the spread (favorites by winning by more than the spread and underdogs by losing by less than the spread).
-even if a betting line moves, the posted lines are final for this contest

CHANGES FOR 2016 SEASON
-In weeks 13-17, players will have the option to PM their picks to me privately, to hide them from the rest. The picks will be posted by me after the weekly deadline for all to follow.
-The minimum number of picks will be raised to 52

For example, if the spread is


The Giants are favored by 6 points. A player who selects the Giants needs them to win by 7 or more points, and a player who selects the Dallas needs them to lose by 5 or less or win. If the Giants win by 6, it’s a tie whether you picked Giants or Cowboys. See rules regarding ties below.

-Each player may select a maximum of 4 games per week, there is no weekly minimum (you may skip weeks)
-The picks are submitted by posting them on the CRT forum in this thread for all to see before the deadline. When posting your selections, do so in the format below (post city name (team name optional, but must have city)); no need to give point spreads—easier to score):



-The weekly deadline to submit picks is 5 minutes befor ethe first Sunday game, typically 1pm eastern time (games begin about 1:05)
-A player may change/add/subtract their picks an unlimited number of times up to the weekly deadline
-All picks must be submitted in the same post; in other words, you can't post 2 picks one day and then 2 more on another day separately; it becomes a mess to score
-Any changes to picks (forum post where picks are submitted) after the deadline disqualifies all picks for that week; in other words, if you edit your post after the deadline, all your picks are dead for that week; be careful, I did this once by accident 2 years ago (remember: when you edit your post, it leaves a timestamp)
-If a player submits more than 4 picks on any given week, the first 4 will be counted
-If a player submits a game that is not included that week, that pick is considered a no play and does NOT count towards the winning percentage, nor the 48 pick requirement; any other (legal) picks will be counted
-The winners will be determined according to highest winning percentage; winning % = # of correct picks/total picks, as long as the minimum # of picks is met
-Ties will NOT affect nor count towards the winning percentage, but will count towards meeting the 48 pick requirement

Prizes:
Here are the prizes for this year's contest:

1st place (based on highest pick percentage with minimum games met)
2-night stay at Famous Penthouse at the Sportsmens Lodge (courtesy of Sportsmens Lodge)
1-night stay in any suite at Zona II (courtesy of Zona II)

2nd place
2-night stay in a Modern Wing room at Sportsmens Lodge (courtesy of Sportsmens Lodge)
$100 betting voucher at Gowidesports.com (courtesy of Zona II)

3rd place
$50 betting voucher at Gowidesports.com (courtesy of Zona II)
Ribeye steak dinner at Sportsmens Lodge (courtesy of Sportsmens Lodge)

Most correct games picked
1 hour "room rental" at Zona II (courtesy of Orange/Ilv4play--we ran out of sponsors/prizes )
1 extra thick porkchop dinner at Sportsmens Lodge (courtesy of Sportsmens Lodge)

Any situations that may arise which were not covered in the rules will be settled by me as fairly as possible, and my decisions are final.

Any questions or suggestions, let me know.

Week 1 is Sunday, Sept 13. (Thur games aren't included)

Full NFL Schedule can be found here: http://espn.go.com/nfl/schedule

Contest standings will be posted on my website: http://www.onlineorange99.com/NFL


Good luck to all.

***No need to sign up. Since it's open to all, there's no need to do a roll call. When you see the betting lines posted, post your picks before the deadline and you are in. I will keep track of all the picks, the number of picks submitted, and will post weekly standings/stats.

Make sure you read all the rules on top of this post for all the details.

Good luck to all.

Count me in and I will cover a 1 hour session at Zona 2 as a prize.

There was some discussion at the end of last season about changing how the overall winners would be determined for this season. The suggestion was changing it so the overall winners would be determined by the total number of wins instead of by the percentage of won/loss.

_________________
"In a nation ruled by swine, all pigs are upwardly mobile, and the rest of us are phucked until we can put our acts together; not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely"...Hunter S. Thompson (RIP)

I like the total amount of wins vs % ....

It seems to me that the man who picks 30 winners out of 48 is more skillful than the man who picks 31 winners out of 68. Just my 9.7 colonies

_________________
My English teacher said "I before E except after C". Then she told me to go to science class!

Thanks for running it again Orange.

I would not change a thing unless it makes it easier for you to manage!

Once again thank you Orange..
Please count True Sportsman in the 2015 Challenge

_________________
This post is provided purely for entertainment purposes and free of charge on the part of the author. No "Sex tourism or travel" promotion is expressed or implied. The author of this post was not provided any compensation for this hopefully entertaining contribution. Any posts regarding any event or hotel item are just my humble opinions only.

So you are saying that someone who correctly picks 2 out of 2 is more skillful than someone who correctly picks 12 out of 16 (or 15 out of 16)

If you want to retain the percentage algorithm, at least increase the required minimum number of games picked in the season from 48 to 96 (and increase the maximum number of games played per week). I think that would be more indicative of someone's skill.

_________________
"In a nation ruled by swine, all pigs are upwardly mobile, and the rest of us are phucked until we can put our acts together; not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely"...Hunter S. Thompson (RIP)

Many times the most successful know that it is the games that you do not bet are often more profitable than the games you think you have to bet. A percentage is more important than total wins and a max of four per week is fine.

Here we go again. Every year it seems like there's some guys that want to change the rules. It's quite simple, if you don't like the rules, don't play or start your own handicapper's challenge... geez.

_________________
Take The Highway To The End Of The Night...The Doors

Where does it say that the rules are 'written in stone'? You mean there's no room for improvement
I was merely offering suggestions.

_________________
"In a nation ruled by swine, all pigs are upwardly mobile, and the rest of us are phucked until we can put our acts together; not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely"...Hunter S. Thompson (RIP)

I agree completely. Total wins just forces you to pick the max allowed every week or else you severely handicap yourself. There's no strategy to that and missing a single week could be devastating. Keep it the way it was last year.

I agree with percentage. Last year I got locked out of the forum because someone with a similar IP address tried to hack it. I missed a week before admin got things straightened out. Under the percentage rules no big deal. Severe handicap under total wins.

Of course there is. If I thought it was an improvement I'd agree with you, but it's not. It's a step backward.

_________________
Take The Highway To The End Of The Night...The Doors

I say keep the way it is. Last year when I was in the Chepe I forgot about the contest and missed that week and another on a golf trip. If we played total wins vs. the percentage I would have been finished.