The 50/50 Raffle
The 50/50 raffle is a marvel because it shouldn't exist. It is a suckers game. Half the money is paid out to the winner and the other half goes into the general prize fund. Why is it a suckers game? Because even if you know you are going to win the league and the biggest cut of the prize fund your expected payout is only $0.75 on the dollar.Do I enter the 50/50 raffle every week? Yes, because social norms are a strong thing (most people enter) and $2/week doesn't matter. Watching the results of the raffle is fun even for people that don't enter. If the winner is well known and well liked he is booed. If he is well known and disliked there is silence. Unknown or inoffensive winners get applause.
The 50/50 raffle is quite likely illegal (i.e. the law is an ass). So never let it be said bowling alleys are temples to bourgeoisie conformity: we're the ones bucking the system, man. [the United States Bowling Congress takes a limited stance on gambling. You shouldn't do it if it is illegal and you will be expelled if you bet against yourself. The former is a CYA legality and the latter is a statement about honor.]
Wednesday Doubles
Mike & I have joined the Wednesday doubles league. There is an odd number of teams so our game tonight was against nobody. Bowling nobody in a 100% handicap league is not the same as getting a forfeit. The non-bowlers are considered absent so they "bowl" exactly their average minus a ten pin penalty per game. All we had to do was bowl not worse than 10 pins below our average every game and we would sweep. This is not hard to do but we weren't quite up to it and won 6-2 instead of 8-0.
| vs N/A | ||||
| Who | League Avg | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 |
| jackdied | 145 | 133 (-12) | 173 (+28) | 128 (-17) |
| Mike | 160 | 136 (-24) | 161 (+1) | 203 (+43) |
Sunday Mixed
The second half of the season has started and the team rankings have been reset. An additional 5 teams have joined to bring the total number to 15 (one team dropped out as the season started - sign yourselves up today!). We were determined to suck less this half and we didn't disappoint.
| vs Sour Patch Kids | Post league | |||||
| Who | League Avg | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | For-fun 1 | For-fun 2 |
| jackdied | 145 | 167 (+22) | 165 (+20) | 197 (+52) | 155 | 142 |
| Kristy | 133 | 127 (-6) | 113 (-20) | 135 (+2) | 132 | 126 |
| Mike | 160 | 214 (+54) | 124 (-36) | 135 (-25) | 177 | 116 |
| Dennis | 189 | 206 (+17) | 169 (-20) | 212 (+23) | NA | |
Mike's 214 is his new league best. My 197 is my new league best. Kristy was ill but managed to play slightly better than the 10 pin per game penalty for being absent. Dennis had a good day.
We kicked off the season with a 6-2 win. Here's to many more.