| Get Lucky with Wimpy | |||||||||||||||
| cost/square | cost/square | cost/square | cost/square | ||||||||||||
| $36 | $34 | $43 | $54 | $57 | $48 | $54 | $55 | $64 | $55 | Final Score Payoffs: | |||||
| 0 - 0 | 0 - 1 | 0 - 2 | 0 - 3 | 0 - 4 | 0 - 5 | 0 - 6 | 0 - 7 | 0 - 8 | 0 - 9 | Round One: $25 | |||||
| (32 chances to win) | |||||||||||||||
| 1 - 1 | 1 - 2 | 1 - 3 | 1 - 4 | 1 - 5 | 1 - 6 | 1 - 7 | 1 - 8 | 1 - 9 | 1 - 0 | Round Two: $50 | |||||
| (16 chances to win) | |||||||||||||||
| 2 - 2 | 2 - 3 | 2 - 4 | 2 - 5 | 2 - 6 | 2 - 7 | 2 - 8 | 2 - 9 | 2 - 0 | 2 - 1 | Sweet 16: $100 | |||||
| (8 chances to win) | |||||||||||||||
| 3 - 3 | 3 - 4 | 3 - 5 | 3 - 6 | 3 - 7 | 3 - 8 | 3 - 9 | 3 - 0 | 3 - 1 | 3 - 2 | Elite Eight: $150 | |||||
| (4 chances to win) | |||||||||||||||
| 4 - 4 | 4 - 5 | 4 - 6 | 4 - 7 | 4 - 8 | 4 - 9 | 4 - 0 | 4 - 1 | 4 - 2 | 4 - 3 | Final Four: $300 | |||||
| (2 chances to win) | |||||||||||||||
| 5 - 5 | 5 - 6 | 5 - 7 | 5 - 8 | 5 - 9 | 5 - 0 | 5 - 1 | 5 - 2 | 5 - 3 | 5 - 4 | Final Halftime: $300 | |||||
| 6 - 6 | 6 - 7 | 6 - 8 | 6 - 9 | 6 - 0 | 6 - 1 | 6 - 2 | 6 - 3 | 6 - 4 | 6 - 5 | Championship Final: | |||||
| 7 - 7 | 7 - 8 | 7 - 9 | 7 - 0 | 7 - 1 | 7 - 2 | 7 - 3 | 7 - 4 | 7 - 5 | 7 - 6 | $ 1,000! | |||||
| 8 - 8 | 8 - 9 | 8 - 0 | 8 - 1 | 8 - 2 | 8 - 3 | 8 - 4 | 8 - 5 | 8 - 6 | 8 - 7 | ||||||
| 9 - 9 | 9 - 0 | 9 - 1 | 9 - 2 | 9 - 3 | 9 - 4 | 9 - 5 | 9 - 6 | 9 - 7 | 9 - 8 | ||||||
| The above chart represents all the possible combinations for the final | |||||||||||||||
| score of a sporting event, in our case, basketball. The 1st number is the | |||||||||||||||
| final digit of the winning score, and the 2nd digit is the final number of the | |||||||||||||||
| losing score. You've all probably seen similar squares for football games. | |||||||||||||||
| With football, some of the squares are so highly desirable whlle others are | |||||||||||||||
| highly undesirable that the numbers have to be assigned after the squares | |||||||||||||||
| are sold. That's the beauty of Wimpy Squares. Everyone who plays will | |||||||||||||||
| have the opportunity to select the square(s) of their choice (presuming | |||||||||||||||
| they're available). Each square will offer 64 distinct chances to win. | |||||||||||||||
| The idea came from local friend who runs a similar pool every year. He | |||||||||||||||
| often sells out 2-3 sets of squares, however he charges the same | |||||||||||||||
| amount (usually $100) per square. His problem is that while most of the | |||||||||||||||
| squares sell quickly, a small yet significant percentage tend not to sell at | |||||||||||||||
| all. It's not hard to imagine which squares are the most and least popular. | |||||||||||||||
| As a result, he usually has to buy whatever squares go unsold for himself. | |||||||||||||||
| He pays out 92% and often lost money. Still, the pool is very popular | |||||||||||||||
| and I'd recruited dozens of people. I thought I could do better. Rather | |||||||||||||||
| than sell all squares for the same price, I felt I could make the perceived | |||||||||||||||
| least popular combinations more attractive at a discounted price. Similarly, | |||||||||||||||
| it seemed that a small premium for the most popular squares would be | |||||||||||||||
| at most a minor deterrent. Note that I'm taking the same amount in, but | |||||||||||||||
| paying out a staggering 98%!! This is not trivial. Ignoring the extra work | |||||||||||||||
| involved to pull this off, margin for profit/loss is thin indeed. | |||||||||||||||
| This is a LOTTERY type pool, and as such, you should not go into it thinking | |||||||||||||||
| you have a good chance to win money. Exactly the opposite is true. At least | |||||||||||||||
| 40% will lose their investment - and at least another 35% or more will win back | |||||||||||||||
| less than they put in. Your goal - besides to enjoy yourself with a healthy | |||||||||||||||
| rooting interest for every game - should be to come close to breaking even | |||||||||||||||
| before the final game, so that you have a free shot to win that $1000! | |||||||||||||||
| None of this takes away from the simple truth that it's a great deal of fun. I've | |||||||||||||||
| always wished that I could offer this game (through my friend) to my loyal | |||||||||||||||
| group of wimpy fanatics. I'm not blind to the fact that many, if not most, of the | |||||||||||||||
| rabid college basketball fans who find my March Madness competition so | |||||||||||||||
| challenging, might have no interest whatsoever in a random chance lottery. | |||||||||||||||
| While this may not be for you, it's probably just what your brother-in-law or | |||||||||||||||
| colleague at work is looking for. Most of you will have no trouble finding friends | |||||||||||||||
| who like, but don't live for March Madness. This is tailor-made for them! | |||||||||||||||
| Return to Main Page | |||||||||||||||