Tipping Challenge Rules & Regulations

[BC]

I have based the above Rules and Regulations on Old-Timer's 2009 set.

Tipping Challenge Rules & Regulations

1. Only races in the UK and Ireland will be eligible. This is a change from previous years as the RP website results now include Irish racing including NR's.

2. Each month a new betting bank of 5000 pounds will be awarded.

3. Up to a maximum of five (5) races a day may be selected.

4. Stakes:
win 25, 50, 75, 100, 125, 150, 175 and 200 only
e/w 25, 50, 75 and 100 only

5. Dutching: Two (2) or more horses per race providing maximum stakes per race do not exceed 200.

6. Results will be taken as per RP/Sporting Life once weighed in (NOT first past the post).

7. Rule 4 will NOT apply (too much hassle)

8. Winnings (losses) will be added (subtracted) to/from the monthly bank. You can continue making selections until your bank runs dry (hardly likely, but it can happen).

9. E/W bets will be settled at 1/5 odds for non-handicaps and 1/4 the odds for all handicaps.
5-7 runners 1/2
8-15 runners 1/2/3
Handicaps 16+ runners 1/2/3/4

10. All selections must be posted on Classified Racing a minimum of 10 minutes before the scheduled race time – there can be no argument then.

11. When making selections please state Meeting, Time, Horse, Racecard Number, Stake.

Please don’t just use a single letter for the meeting (For example, Newcastle, Newbury and Newmarket all start with an ‘N’). Please use the first FOUR letters of the course. And remember to put a comma between each item, e.g.

Newc,13:10,First Offering,5,W,150
Newb,17:50,Last Again,12,W,100
Newm,14:35,Heartbreak,14,E,25

Just as in a betting shop, an each-way selection of E,25 (as in the example above) will total 50 points used.

An explanation for 'why the commas' may be found here.

12. To try and make a level playing field, qualification for “Tipster of the Month” (TOTM) requires a minimum of 5 selections to be made and 500 pounds to be staked during the month. As we are currently in that season of the year when meetings are lost due to inclement weather, allowances will be made for those who make a genuine effort.


* * *


Tipster of the Year (TOTY)

13. Bonus points for the TOTY will only be awarded to the top three provided they finish the month with 5000 pounds or more in their bank

14. The month-end bank total will form the initial basis, to which will be added:

1000 pounds for TOM
500 pounds for TOM runner-up
250 pounds for TOM 3rd
To be shared in the case of ties

15. Again to try and level the playing field, I think it’s only fair to request a minimum of four (4) months involvement during the year, coupled with a minimum of 60 selections made during the year. allowance will of course be made for people going on holiday etc, providing prior notice is given. I also have to make allowances for possible newcomers who wish to join later in the year. However, to win the coveted “Tipster of the Year” award, participation in three (3) of the last four (4) months is obligatory, as is in the final month of December.

16. Those joining late or those who miss a month will be awarded the average score for the missed month(s). Once a player makes one (or more) selections, he is deemed to be playing the month. If a player fails to stake at least 500, then the minimum to be staked (500) will be deducted from the 5,000 bank and then whatever had been won on the selections that were made will be added.

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Well that’s it as far as I can see it, but if anyone thinks there’s something I’ve missed or that they find unclear, please let me know ASAP – if not sooner.

Good luck.

BC

[BC]

For any newcomers to the Spacedout Tipping Challenge, this is "why the commas?"

(See Rule 11 - selections must be posted in that order and format, and with commas used as shown).

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It is essential that the format for posting selections is followed for Spacedout's sake.

The commas are what is used by his program to put the right bits in the right place. In other words, the program reads the comma as "next field".

When selections are posted correctly, the program takes the amount staked and automatically calculates the payout.

After copying and pasting the selections into his program, all Spacedout has to do is to enter its finishing position, price and whether it was a handicap.

The program even automatically recalculates the table!!

If there are no commas present, the copy and paste will put everything as a lump in the meeting field, so no calculations can be done.


This is what is written in the Rules section:

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11. When making selections please state Meeting, Time, Horse and Racecard Number, plus Stake – and don’t just stick a single letter down for the meeting (Newcastle, Newbury and Newmarket all start with an ‘N’ for example!). Remember to put a comma between each item, e.g.

Nwcs,1.10,First Offering,5,W,150
Nwcs,1.10,Second Choice, 2,W,50
Nwmk,2.35,Heartbreak,14,E,25
Newb,3.20,Last Chance,6,W,100

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You can write time as 320 or 3.20 or 3:20 or 15:20 or whatever. You can even put a space after the comma if lumping it altogether offends the eye!!

But the imprtant thing is that the commas are used to separate the fields.

There you go!! Lesson over!! ;D

Spare a thought for poor Old-Timer, who used to have to do all of these calculations manually, to the point where he was unable to play himself.



Hope that makes sense - if in doubt, don't hesitate to ask.

BC

[Spacedout]

Hi All

I am trying to reduce the time I spend (and reduce errors) when checking results - to help this process -I really need all to follow this following when submitting selections;


Newb,15:20,Last Chance,6,W,100

so changes are
coursename is only first 4 letters(max), time is 24hour clock with :

course,time,horse,card pos,bet type,stake

anything not clear please ask

cheers - spacedout (swamped)