If you are new to betting, new to vBookie, this thread is for you. Below is an accumulated six years worth of questions in what I hope is a comprehensive FAQ for vBetting.
Q.
What is vBookie?
A. It is a betting system allowing you to bet on created events using your vCash. It doesn't use real money, and you will always be given vCash if you don't have any. You can't run up debts or go bankrupt.
Q.
How do you bet?
A. Open an event thread where you will be presented with the betting options for that event. You will be told how much vCash you have as well as the odds for the event. You then enter the number you want to bet and click bet. You can only bet on one outcome per event.
Q.
What is vCash?
A. In short, fake money. By default, every HFBoards poster has 500 vCash. If you bet all of your vCash and have 0 left, you will be returned to 50 vCash when a new event is created. If you have any amount less than 50, you will be returned to that when a new event is created. You cannot go bankrupt in vCash – you will always have at least 50 whenever there is a new event to bet on.
Q.
Can my bet(s) be reversed or negated?
A: No. If you bet on an event, it is final and non-returnable.
Q.
But what if something happened that stopped the event being played?
A: If a match is postponed, abandoned before it finishes or something else befalls it which prevents it from finishing, the event will be refunded and all bets returned.
Q.
How do you create a vBookie event?
A. vBookie events can only be created by
HFBoards Sponsors and Moderators. In terms of the specific process of creating the threads, Buffaloed has a
walkthrough, with pictures.
Q.
What are odds and how do I find them?
A: Odds are best explained fully by
Wikipedia. For sporting events, bookmakers will create odds based on the probabilities calculated by them. In 2014, there are countless online bookmaker websites that offer odds on various sports and events. If you are unfamiliar with betting and online betting.
Oddschecker is a good reference to start with, as it aggregates all major bookmakers and presents the best odds for each event.
Q.
How long can bets last? Can I bet on a Stanley Cup winner at the start of the season?
A. The server is generally unable to handle outcomes which last over a long period like this. Full season bets are not allowed for this reason, and in addition bets like this would be fluid and unsuitable for working over the course of a season. For instance, in the 2013/14 NHL season the odds for the Avalanche winning their division at the start of the season would have been very long because it was unlikely, but the odds would have shortened as the season went on and it became a greater probability. There is no facility for editing odds on events over a long period like this with vBookie.
For special, short events such as the Olympics or IIHF World Championships it is possible to have outright winner events, though these will generally be provided by an experienced vBookie poster. Aside from this, the majority of events that are created on HFBoards will be short-term, single match events.
Q.
Okay, so there is an Olympics/World Juniors/World Championships/Other miscellaneous hockey tournament coming up. Will we be able to bet?
A. Special events like this are generally covered with a stickied information thread, so check there for the latest information. If it isn't covered, then check the link for the request thread at the end of this FAQ.
Q.
How does betting work? How much will I win if I bet on something?
A. Events on HFBoards produce odds in what is called a fractional format, which is the number you see with decimal points on the betting section on a thread. For example:
If the odds on an outcome are 2/1, the fractional odds will be 2. If you bet 100 vCash on this outcome and it wins, you win 200 vCash in addition to the 100 you initially bet. You will turn 100 vCash into 300.
If the odds on an outcome are 5/2, the fractional odds will be 2.5. If you bet 100 vCash on this outcome and it wins, you win 250 vCash in addition to the 100 you initially bet. You will turn 100 vCash into 350.
If the odds on an outcome are 1/2, the fractional odds will be 0.5. If you bet 100 vCash on this outcome and it wins, you win 50 vCash in addition to the 100 you initially bet. You will turn 100 vCash into 150.
Q.
Can I do anything with my vCash?
A. vCash is non-returnable, non-refundable, non-transferrable. You can't give some to other people, you can't buy any more with real money.
Q.
What events can we bet on? Can we bet on Singing Competition Hosted by Simon Cowell? Presidential elections? Academy Award ceremonies?
A. We can only create events for sporting matches.
Q
Can we only bet on straight winners in matches?
A. Any sporting event which has online published odds can be bet on in vBookie. HFBoards will always have every NHL match published to bet on, occasionally there will be different events relating to goals scored, goal scorers, or any number of different outcomes.
Q.
What about parlays, accumulators, or multiple outcome betting?
A. There is no facility in vBookie which allows spread betting or betting a single amount on more than one outcome across multiple events happening. You cannot combine events. You can only bet single amounts on whatever events exist. On occasion, bookmakers offer their own parlay/special bets, which can be added as events in vBookie.
Q.
I want to bet on a league or an outcome that isn't offered. What can I do?
A. You can become a sponsor and create the events yourself. Or you can visit the Event Request thread for a vBookie forum, and ask there. Generally, existing mods/sponsors are open to creating regular events for stuff that people will be interested in betting on. Don't be offended if nobody shows an interest in creating events for Mongolian 3rd division hockey games.
Q.
I bet my vCash on a team and their game is finished and they won and I don't have my vCash back yet. What gives?
A. Every event has to be settled manually, either by the event creator or a moderator of the forum. Remember, event creators have lives and may not be able to settle events immediately upon their conclusion. If an event remains unsettled 24 hours after the event has finished, post in the relevant thread or PM a moderator for the forum and we will get to it as soon as possible.
Q.
I didn't do anything and my vCash has suddenly rocketed to a number in the trillions. What happened?
A. This is a server error. Please don't bet it on something, and PM a moderator right away and it will get sorted.
Q.
How can I check how much vCash I have?
A. Your vCash is shown under your avatar every time you post. When you open a vBookie thread to bet on an event, you will be told how much vCash you have available. There is nowhere on your personal profile page which shows your vCash.
Q.
Who has the most vCash?
A. By clicking on the “vBookie” tab in the top of the page on the command bar will take you to
vBookie home. From here you will be able to see:
Available events to bet on under “vBookie Home”
Your complete betting history since the last reset under “Your Bets”
Stats such as largest bets, most popular events and current vCash leaders under “Bet Statistics.” You can only see the top 5 posters for each leaderboard.
Q.
Wait, reset? What's that?
A. Every year, to start the NHL season, the vBookie will be reset and all posters returned to the default 500 vCash. This is partly to ease the load on the servers each year (probably), as well as to allow everyone a fresh slate at the start of each season.
If you still have any questions that remain unanswered, feel free to ask below. To see who currently Is scheduled for NHL events or to ask for new events to be covered, please view the
vBookie Hockey events schedule and request thread. My thanks go to Jim Boeheim who this FAQ was cannibalised from, Buffaloed for the picture walkthrough and everyone who previously asked and answered questions to fully explain vBookie.
Happy betting!
