LUFCTALK

Following a discussion starting on one of the other threads I thought it a good idea to ask members that have taken part in previous games and those interested in joining how should we do it for the world cup ?

I've come up with 3 potential options (that could be easily adapted) :-

Option One :-
We use the entire World Cup (64 matches) and split into 10 rounds like the previous games.
Rounds 1-6 will be all the group matches (8 matches per round)
Round 7 would be the Last 16 matches (again 8 matches)
Round 8 would be the quarter finals (4 matches)
Round 9 the Semi-Finals (2 matches)
Round 10 the Final and 3rd/4th play off (2 matches)

Option 2
Actually split the World Cup into two separate competitions of 32 matches.
No need for rounds as most of the games are played at separate times hence you can potentially use winnings from one to bet on another later the same day.
Gamblers Game 4 would be made up of the first two rounds of Group Matches.
Gamblers Game 5 would be made up of the final group matches and all the knock out games.
Advantage of this method is if someone loses their money early they can get back involved in a new game half way through the WC.

Option 3
Actually do a one off system where everyone is given a set amount of money to bet during the group stage.
Say £50 on each group which they can split into all 6 matches or put it all on one.
Their winnings can't be used until after the groups and its their starting amount during the knock outs.
The knock outs of course is done as normal and you can use anything you have.
This method should keep everyone involved until later stages.

What do you all think ?
Any other ideas ?

All looks good to me

Definitely NOT option 2 : it's too much work for you to check when people place their bets, trusting them to use winnings from the lunch-time game on the evening match, for example. Imagine doing that every day for three weeks with twenty players involved ??
I just don't think it's workable and it's far too messy.

I'm a bit OCD, see ?

I think that the third option is the best solution all round.
I like the option of £50 per group - that matches the way the game runs now in that you can choose which games you want to bet on, ignoring some and lumping on others.
Plus I like the chance of carrying the winnings/losses into the knock-out stage because the betting game itself will resemble the tension-building rounds of the tournament at the same time, with some players going for broke with a do or die bet while others will play more conservatively knowing they have strength in depth and should keep their power dry for the QF/SF and final !

Yep, option 3 looks very good to me, but I'm happy with whatever you go with Selby. Every round has been great so far.

Whatever is easier for you, though I think there is a natural break between the first round games and the knock out stage.

I'm with option 3 as well

Option 3 works for me, as you say, everyone will be involved and we should all have plenty in our pots for the knockout rounds. Also, it would be lot easier to manage. But happy to go along with the majority.

Happy to play whichever one you choose

Now Panama 50 pounds to win against..................

With the WC been a one off special I'm going to try Option 3 with one slight difference to make it easier to keep things active.

Rather than bet on each group I'm going to split the matches into batches based on the order they are played (eg, first 6 matches are batch one, next 6 batch 2, etc). This is during the group stage and players will get £100 to use on each batch however they wish.

Whatever they have in their pot when it comes to the KO's can be bet when and how they like.

Hope that makes sense.

If it makes your life easier, we need to do it that way

Well done, mate - and thanks again !