No idea what's going on
Still not worked it out? Well I promised I would write a quick explanation for you. So here goes...
S&L offers a different way of punting on sports. Instead of gambling with the bookies, users gamble with each other. It is pools betting, which means you all put in money to enter and the winner(s) scoops the prize. Think of office pools or sweepstakes... it is the same basic concept.
So for example, let's say you are just about to watch a football match on the telly. You know it is better with a bet on it. Instead of making a bet with the bookies you choose to enter one of our pools for the match you are watching. When entering the pools you have to give your answers to (usually) 6-7 questions. For example,
Will Man United win?
How many corners will there be?
How many minutes until the first booking?
How many goals will be scored in total?
What will be the time of the last goal?
etc
You give your answers, pay your entry fee, and you are now in the pool. Perhaps 10 other users will have entered the same pool, so there is a decent prize to be won if you get more of your answers correct than the other users. You score for each answer that you get right, and the entrant with the highest score scoops the prize pool (some pools pay multiple prizes). You don't have to get every answer right, just more than your opponents.
The idea is that entering a pool like this gives you a lot more sweat for your bet than just backing ManU to win at the bookies. Some of the questions will be decided in the first part of the game (e.g. time of first goal), others will not be decided until the end of the game (e.g. time of last goal, total corners). So you get a sweat right the way through the match. Most of the time you will still be in with a chance of winning even near the end of the match. This is not the case with many bets with the bookies where the sweat has often gone halfway through - e.g. you back Wayne Rooney as first goal scorer...as soon as the first goal has been scored you no longer have a sweat, you have either won or lost but no longer have as much interest. A lot of sports punters like to make quite a few different bets at the bookies to make sure they will have something to sweat all the way through the match. With our pools you don't need to do this, don't need to spend as much money to get a great sweat. You can enter one pool, and get a sweat all the way through. Plus a chance to win some money.
When a pool goes live (i.e. when the football match starts) you can watch yourself move up and down the leaderboard as events unfold in the match. You can also see what your opponents have chosen for their answers. This means that you can work out what you need to happen to win. So perhaps with 10 minutes to go you work out that you need exactly 2 more corners and a yellow card. Now you have a really good sweat, praying for corners and a booking.
It is 'social betting' and this is one of the things that distinguishes us from the bookies. If you enter pools with other users that you know then you get to rub them down when you beat them. Part of the experience is about rub-downs, piss-taking, taunts and bragging rights.
This post has already turned out to be as long as one of my PHA posts! And I haven't talked about lots of stuff, for example not mentioned the fantasy games we offer. Really though George the best way to 'get it' is to enter a pool (we give you some free credits to enter your first few £1 pools). Next time you are planning to watch some sport on TV, enter a pool on it before it starts. Then have your iPad or laptop open next to you (works on iPhones too although it is more simplified) whilst watching the telly, and load up the live pool so you can see the leaderboard, watch yourself move up and down, compare your answers to other users, and work out what you need to happen for you to win money. It is fun.
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