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Rated: E · Group · Activity · #960354
Discuss the show and win prizes for picking the top teams on each episode.
Overview

Welcome to The Amazing Race Club! There will be a place to discuss the show, but you can also engage in betting on which teams finish in first, second, and third place at the end of each episode of The Amazing Race, in the same way you choose horses to win, place, and show in horse racing. There are several other ways to bet on a horse race—including exacta, trifecta, superfecta, daily double, pick three, pick four, and pick six—but if these more exotic wagers are unfamiliar to you, then don't worry, because you won't be using them here. However, in case you need some help learning or remembering what needs to happen for a win, place, or show bet to be a success, here is a rundown:

*Bullet* A team you choose to win must finish first.
*Bullet* A team you choose to place must finish first or second.
*Bullet* A team you choose to show must finish first, second, or third.

In horse racing, money received from all the bets is used to pay the winners, but I will not be following that system for two reasons. First of all, the determination of who gets how much is quite complicated; but more importantly, in The Amazing Race Club, you don't need to spend anything to place a bet!



Proportional Points

There are two things that always hold true about payoffs from betting on horse racing:

*Bullet* For any given horse, betting that it will win earns more than betting that it will place, and betting that it will place earns more than betting that it will show
*Bullet* Betting on a “long shot” will earn you more than betting on a horse that is likely to win

I simulate both of these concepts in The Amazing Race Club by using what I call proportional points. First, I’ll explain how you earn proportional points.

Depending on whether you choose a team to win, place, or show, you earn the following number of base proportional points for a successful bet:

Win: 4 base proportional points
Place: 2 base proportional points
Show: 1 base proportional point

What do I mean by “base”? Well, the base proportional points are only half of the story; they just cover the first of the two bullet points above. To figure out the total number of proportional points you earn for an episode, multiply the base proportional points by the standing of that team when they left the last pit stop. For example, if you were betting on the team that finished second on the previous leg of the race (and is thus the second team to start the current leg), you would multiply the base proportional points by 2, meaning you would earn 8 (4 x 2) proportional points for a successful win bet, 4 (2 x 2) for a successful place bet, and 2 (1 x 2) for a successful show bet. This system gives you an incentive to bet on the “long shot” teams that leave the pit stop later and are therefore at a disadvantage. "The Leaderboard" Open in new Window. [E] shows the order that the teams entered each pit stop so you can know exactly which place a team is in at the beginning of each leg.

To determine how many gift points you receive for an episode, the proportional points you won will be divided by the total number of proportional points earned by everybody, and that is the proportion of the 2,500 gift points that you are awarded. If you are the only person to place a successful bet, for example, then you are the only one who receives any proportional points, so you get all 2,500 gift points whether you bet the team to win, place, or show, and regardless of what place the team was in at the beginning of the leg. The number of gift points in the weekly pool and the number of proportional points awarded for each bet are subject to change between seasons but not during a season.

If no one submits a successful bet, then the 2,500 gift points for that week will be placed in the Community Chest, which I will explain right now.



The Community Chest

The Community Chest contains the GPs that will be donated to one or more charitable Writing.Com groups at the end of each season. The default recipient is "RAOK Upgrade Brigade Group" Open in new Window. [E], but the destination of the GPs is up to the winner, so if he or she would prefer to send them somewhere else, that’s his or her choice. These are the sources of funds for the Community Chest:

*Bullet* Donations from group members or non-group members
*Bullet* Weeks without a successful bet (explained previously)
*Bullet* Betting fees

Betting fees? Before you get worried about losing your home, read on.



One Bet or Two?

Each week, you have the option to make either one bet or two. The only catch about making two bets is that I’ll automatically deduct 150 GPs from your winnings, as opposed to deducting nothing if you make just one bet. This “betting fee” isn’t for my own gain; it will be put toward the Community Chest.

There are several important things to note about this. First of all, you will never transfer any betting fees to me. I keep a running total of your winnings and betting fees, and I will pay you your profit (winnings minus fees), all at the end of the season. Secondly, if your betting fees exceed your winnings, resulting in a negative profit, you will not have to pay me. This means that you can’t truly lose GPs from betting; the worst you can do is break even at the end of the season. However, by betting twice, you increase your chances of earning GPs, so by making a small contribution to a charitable cause, you’re likely to earn more GPs than if you make only one bet. If that’s the case, then it literally pays to give.

As I said, if you end the season with a negative profit, you won’t have to pay me anything; however, your betting fees will still be donated to the Community Chest, because I will cover the betting fees that exceed your winnings. For example, if you won 300 GPs and bet 450 over the course of the season, you would break even—effectively contributing your 300 GPs worth of winnings to the Community Chest—and I would contribute the other 150.

Because you can’t lose GPs, everybody has an equal capacity to double-bet, even if he or she has less than 150 GPs.



Example Episode

It’s not important that you understand all the math behind this system, just that you understand the ideas behind it and can make wise bets. However, if this makes sense, you can do the math yourself each week and catch me if I make a mistake. I leave bets up for a week after the episode to which they apply, giving you some time to make an appeal.

Let's say that there are five teams left, and they entered the previous pit stop in this order:

First to Arrive: Team C
Second to Arrive: Team E
Third to Arrive: Team A
Fourth to Arrive: Team B
Fifth to Arrive: Team D

And these are the bets placed for the current leg, with each line representing a single person’s bet(s):

C Win, B Show
A Show
E Place
C Win, A Show
D Show
B Win, B Place
C Place
E Win
C Show, C Show

As you can see, it is acceptable to bet on the same team twice—even to make the exact same bet twice, if you feel really confident!

The first three teams into the pit stop for this leg are as follows:

First Place: Team E
Second Place: Team B
Third Place: Team C

Here are the bets again, this time with the number of proportional points that each receives. The first number in each multiplication is the base points (4 for win, 2 for place, 1 for show, and 0 for an unsuccessful bet), and the second number refers to the team’s position at the beginning of the leg. When two bets are made, they’re added together. The total proportional points the person earns is at the end.

C Show, E Show
         1x1 + 1x2
                   = 3 PPs
E Show
         1x2
                   = 2 PPs
E Place
         2x2
                   = 4 PPs
C Win, A Show
         0x1 + 0x3
                   = 0 PPs
D Show
         0x5
                   = 0 PPs
B Win, B Place
         0x4 + 2x4
                   = 8 PPs
C Place
         0x1
                   = 0 PPs
E Win
         4x2
                   = 8 PPs
C Show, C Show
         1x1 + 1x1
                   = 2 PPs

27 proportional points (3 + 2 + 4 + 0 + 0 + 8 + 0 + 8 + 2) are awarded for this episode. Dividing the number of proportional points each person earned by the total number of proportional points (27) equals the proportion of the 2,500 gift points that person receives:

C Show, E Show
         3/27 x 2,500
                   = 278 GPs
E Show
         2/27 x 2,500
                   = 185 GPs
E Place
         4/27 x 2,500
                   = 370 GPs
C Win, A Show
         0/27 x 2,500
                   = 0 GPs
D Show
         0/27 x 2,500
                   = 0 GPs
B Win, B Place
         8/27 x 2,500
                   = 741 GPs
C Place
         0/27 x 2,500
                   = 0 GPs
E Win
         8/27 x 2,500
                   = 741 GPs
C Show, C Show
         2/27 x 2,500
                   = 185 GPs

Factoring in the fees for double bets, here is each person’s profit for the episode:

C Show, E Show
         278 – 150
                   = 128 GPs
E Show
         185 – 0
                   = 185 GPs
E Place
         370 – 0
                   = 370 GPs
C Win, A Show
         0 – 150
                   = -150 GPs
D Show
         0 – 0
                   = 0 GPs
B Win, B Place
         741 – 150
                   = 591 GPs
C Place
         0 – 0
                   = 0 GPs
E Win
         741 – 0
                   = 741 GPs
C Show, C Show
         185 – 150
                   = 35 GPs



Special Betting Conditions

*Note4* Because all teams are essentially “tied” at the beginning of the race, the base proportional points are all that matter for the first leg. You will earn 4 proportional points for a successful win bet, 2 proportional points for a successful place bet, and 1 proportional point for a successful show bet, regardless of whom you bet on.

*Note4* Bets apply to each pit stop in an episode. If three teams are not shown checking into a pit stop in a given episode, then bets will carry over to the following week.

*Note4* When there are only three teams left in the race, all show bets will earn only 1 proportional point, regardless of the team on which the bet is placed. This is because, with only three teams racing, a show bet is guaranteed to be successful.

I send out a betting reminder each week that reminds you about these things, as well as any other special betting circumstances that may arise.



Winning

Proportional points are only meaningful within the episode they’re earned—the person who receives the most proportional points during the season won’t necessarily have won the most gift points, and it’s the latter that you’re ultimately trying to maximize. Everyone receives the gift points he or she accumulates during the season, but the person who has made the wisest bets and earned the most gift points also receives:

25,000 additional gift points
and
A Foresight Merit Badge
and
The opportunity to have all gift points in the Community Chest donated to the charitable Writing.Com group(s) of his or her choice.



Not a Member?

If you watch The Amazing Race but aren't a member of this group, then why not? It doesn't cost you anything, betting each week occupies very little of your time, there are prizes to be won, and most importantly, you can have some fun. If you want to join, send me an email or a review of this item expressing interest, and I'll add you to the club. It’s perfectly acceptable to join and begin playing in the middle of a season. Even if you don’t want to participate in the betting activity, you can just come and discuss the race too!

  Group Members:  8 Members

Davy Kraken Author IconMail Icon -- Phil
Thumbsucker Author IconMail Icon -- Racer
Petronella60 -on hiatus Author IconMail Icon -- Racer
MaryLou Author IconMail Icon -- Racer
plainsue Author IconMail Icon -- Racer
Ronis brain tumor is gone! Author IconMail Icon -- Racer
THANKFUL SONALI Library Class! Author IconMail Icon -- Racer
breshke Author IconMail Icon -- Racer


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