Interactive wagering? Please explain

[natty]

I'm thinking of opening an account with a book that has Interactive wagering. Could someone please explain exactly what it is and the pros/cons. It seems easy from what I gather so I'm assuming I ain't gatherin' too much yet at this point.
Thanks ,
Natty

[Hartley]

E-mail me at "Hartley_g@yahoo.com" and I'll tell you everything you want to know about it. It's a lot of fun but you have to be on top of it - especially late in the games or tournaments.

[natty]

Thanks Hartley. I'll Email ya right away.
Natty

[stardust]

Let me warn you that seeling shares you don't own is "shorting" the shares - ie betting against them.

Be careful and read all the instructions before you take the plunge.

I have used WSEX and with the exception of a stupid error I made - it is real fun. As always - Good Luck,

Sonny

[natty]

Say what Stardust? Whats seeling? Unless you meant stealing in which case I still DONT understand. Please explain.
Thanks
Natty

[This message has been edited by natty (edited 01-07-2000).]

[Hartley]

Natty I think he meant selling not seeling.

Eg. Right now in golf Tiger Woods is 32-37. That means you can pay $37 for a share and if Tiger wins the tournament you get $100. Of course you can also sell the share at any time in the future for whatever the "bid" price is.

On the other hand you can "sell" Tiger right now. What happens then is that if you sell him for $32 then you are betting against him winning the tournament. If you keep it until the end and he loses then you win $32. If he wins then you lose $68 ($100-$32). But once you sell a share you can always buy it back. So if he goes in a slide and becomes (say) 3-5 then you can buy back the share for $5 and make $27 profit ($32-5).

[Hartley]

I almost forgot. Golf is the only sport where selling short is feasible since in other sports (which are head to head), selling short on one team (or player) is the equivalent of buying a share on the other team or player.

For example say for Miami vs. Seattle the line is

Seattle -3.5 bid 50 sell 55
Miami +3.5 bid 45 sell 50

In this case whether you buy Miami at 50 or "sell short" Seattle at 50 you are doing the same thing. And when the line moves, the spread will always be 95-100 in total, so there is no advantage to selling short one over buying the other.

[natty]

So your sayin' Hartley that when VT was down big time and they were at 5-10 , does that mean FSU was at 85-90?
And if I got this right it also means that as VT came back, FSU went down but the final outcome was FSU winning so each share that someone bought with FSU won 100?
I dont know why but I got Lost big time on the example with Tiger Woods. Man , I hope I get this stuff soon as it really sounds fun to do!

[natty]

For teams like St. Louis playing Cleveland , Even though their is a HIGH spread the shares start out the same?
St. Louis-14 bid 50 sell 55
Cleveland+14 bid 45 sell 50

It seems like it's better than playing the spread IF thats the case because IF I'm understanding correctly , I could buy 4 shares of St. Louis at 55($220) and it would flucuate all game but IF they win the game and not the spread I would win $200?!
I know I'm probally mis-understanding that part because that would be too good to be true and Momz always says , "If it's too good to be true , It probally is."
Natty

[phaedrus]

buying a St. Louis share of:

St. Louis-14 bid 50 sell 55
means they need to win by 14, not just win.

although i like your interpretation better
, that WOULD be like stealing. (or seeling or whatever you kids are calling it these days,

[Hartley]

The first number is the spread. The only sports interactive that are payed for winning outright are baseball, golf and tennis. I assume hockey would pay outright as well although I have yet to see interactive hockey at WSEX.

As for your example, if Va. Tech is 5-10 then FSU is 90-95. The vig is always 10 cents.

It's actually easy to follow

If 1 team is 0-5 then the other is 95-100
If 1 team is 45-50 then the other is 50-55

The bid will always total 95 cents and the ask will always total 105 for 10 cents vigor.

[natty]

ahh..let me ask you this..If we had a game of
Minn-7 bid50 sell55
Dal +7 bid45 sell50

and we take some shares of dal+7 of $50(2 shares for $100) Lets say that with 2:00 left in the game and they are down by 7 with the ball and then just got intercepted! At that point would you sell all of your shares quickly before the end of the game so you dont get $0 but get something?

Thanks Hartley and Phaedrus for your help
Natty

[bbuster]

hartley- The interactives are not 10 cents vig. they are 20+ cents if the markets are miami 50-55 and seattle 45-50 and I buy Miami I bet 55 to win 45.

55/45= 1.222

I'm Laying 122 to win 100

[natty]

Is WSEX the only Interactive book or are there others? If so...who?
Thanks
Natty

[Cons]

Try www.sportingindexusa.com for spread betting.