Pick em 2021 ideas and disussion thread

Okay gents it's that time of year again, and whilst we ain't done and dusted with the 2020 season and we're looking like it's gonna come down to the wire, I gotta start looking ahead to the 2021 season. Now usually I get a little bit of a break before the fights start picking up in the New Year but someone - yeah I'm looking at you Oscar and Eddie - saw fit to drop Garcia vs Campbell on 2nd Jan. The upshot is that any potential changes have to be ironed out like... right now. Actually gonna have to put up the first Pick Em thread of 2021 before we got a final winner decided for 2020 just cos of the timing. Now, far as I'm concerned it's been a great season and it seems that mostly everyone's been pretty happy with how it's run. I know one or two players would maybe have prefered slightly fewer fights to give more time for research... and that's something we can look at again. Other ideas? Well Ima revisit the same one I do every year and put it to the poll, that is adding in an extra detail for 'DECISION' picks. The proposed change would bring it from CLOSE being <12 and WIDE being 12+ to CLOSE anything up to 6, CLEAR 7 - 18 and WIDE 19+. Now we've moved away from the polled picks for good I think we're no longer constrained by the need to limit the picks to 10 options and I think it's an idea that makes sense, but as ever I ain't about forcing anything on the players... this is your game gents so make your feelings known. kushking also brought up the idea of a voluntary sweepstakes for those who wish to participate, but whilst I'm completely amenable and would probably participate myself, Ima leave that to someone else to set up and run if anyone wants to step up the plate... I'm more than happy to offer ideas and assistance but that'll have to be someone else's baby in terms of actually running it. Not sure what else... umm... oh yeah, CREW changes, I been a bit remiss in keeping in touch with the other CREW since Rona hit for which I offer my apologies HeadBodyBodyBody NC Uppercut, CauliflowerEars and otrocubiche, but I think we may have lost otrocubiche for good now for IRL reasons so I've invited long time player and contributor Mammoth onto the team as a replacement. As to the rest of you I'll check in by PM or contact me yourselves over the next coupla days just to get back upto speed for the new season... and I'll try to be a bit more inclusive next year! :thinking: I think that's about it for now, but the whole point of this thread is to invite ideas and comments and thoughts about we can improve the game, get more players on board and... well anything else Pick Em related. Main thing is we all get an opportunity to have our ideas heard and as much as possible give us the game we all want, so please gents, if you got anything share it on here and we can talk in over: More fights, less fights, a greater emphasis on competitive fights or a greater emphasis on big names... All the best, and it's been a genuine pleasure this year - let's make 2021 the best Pick Em yet... :boxing: Yuletide greetings K Little sticky would be appreciated mods and thanks for your pateince with all my eff ups this year.:beerchug: BostonGuy TBear jaded LoadedWraps bigjavi973

Comments (20)

2nd babeh. (kell brook voice) if the rest of the year all boxing gets cancelled, im gettin 150 fiddy :boxing:

5y ago

soul_survivor

Be good to have you back, man, all you need to do is make a pick when the next Pick Em thread goes up... it'll be for Fulton vs Leo in a coupla weeks. Damn... looks like you ain't played since early in 2018. Best of luck, man.:beerchug: I know man, been ages. Looking forward to it!

5y ago

b_morph

Yeah, they were all over the place TBF... and I was throwing out as many fights onto the Pick Ems as I could to make up for lost time and also cos you were never quite sure how many of em were gonna be cancelled each week or if everything was gonna shut down again. So we ended up doing shitloads. Been one of the genral themes on this ideas thread that we slow it back down to more like the 2019 pace... maybe 80ish fights over the full year rather than the 110 odd over 9 months we did last year. Which actually suits my lazy ass rather well anyway.:lol1: Yeah I’d be up for a basketball type of schedule as opposed to a baseball schedule as well lol.

5y ago

Citizen_Koba

The fight schedules were so whacky last year. I mean when they came out of COVID they just bombarded TV airways with cards and I couldn’t keep up. Yeah, they were all over the place TBF... and I was throwing out as many fights onto the Pick Ems as I could to make up for lost time and also cos you were never quite sure how many of em were gonna be cancelled each week or if everything was gonna shut down again. So we ended up doing shitloads. Been one of the genral themes on this ideas thread that we slow it back down to more like the 2019 pace... maybe 80ish fights over the full year rather than the 110 odd over 9 months we did last year. Which actually suits my lazy ass rather well anyway.:lol1:

5y ago

b_morph

Not quite sure whether to shame you with a participation trophy or salute you for having the kinda laid back 'who gives a f#ck' attitude I so thoroughly approve of... :lol1: The fight schedules were so whacky last year. I mean when they came out of COVID they just bombarded TV airways with cards and I couldn’t keep up.

5y ago

Citizen_Koba

Hmmm. 29th place last year. Not bad for a guy who missed half of the picks. Not quite sure whether to shame you with a participation trophy or salute you for having the kinda laid back 'who gives a f#ck' attitude I so thoroughly approve of... :lol1:

5y ago

b_morph

Hmmm. 29th place last year. Not bad for a guy who missed half of the picks.

5y ago

ShoulderRoll

How many folks played in the last full season? How many didn't pay? Seems like a way for sketchy mfers to free roll & then create a new account & IP to free roll the next year. But I'd be curious how the honor system has worked out in an anon environment like this forum. These were 16 team leagues. Everyone paid who was supposed to. But we are all long time posters on here who play every year and generally trust each other. If this Pick 'Em things ends up having more people than that then the honor system might not be a good idea.

5y ago

Citizen_Koba

yOU KNOW WHAT, I might make a return this year. put me down Be good to have you back, man, all you need to do is make a pick when the next Pick Em thread goes up... it'll be for Fulton vs Leo in a coupla weeks. Damn... looks like you ain't played since early in 2018. Best of luck, man.:beerchug:

5y ago

soul_survivor

yOU KNOW WHAT, I might make a return this year. put me down

5y ago

ShoulderRoll

As far as money games go, several of us do fantasy football on here. Each player agrees to pay a set amount to the winner via PayPal. No one has to collect or escrow any money and we are on the honor system...if you don't pay you get kicked out and aren't allowed to participate going forward. This seems to work well.

5y ago

ShoulderRoll

Thought we ended up maybe putting too many fights in this year that didn't deserve to be on here, but of course that was largely affected by the covid problem and just being a weird year in general. I'm OK with having some mismatches with boxers at the top level of the sport because it maybe gives guys a better chance to pick up some points that aren't quite as educated as others. One thing I've been hoping since the start though is that we do every legitimate title fight in boxing (no interims or IBO titles or **** like that.) That gives full coverage to all divisions and a wide variety of matchups but still keeps an eye on the top guys in the sport. Basically, a real world title belt is on the line (for men) and there is a pick em for it. Any other pick em's have to be really competitive and at a significant level, either decided on by the pick em adjudicators or getting a large/overwhelming vote from the participants. Thought we had too many this year that were B level and non-competitive or competitive but C or prospect level. Just my 2 cents I agree with this. All legitimate title fights should be in the Pick 'Em. Anything else should have a very good and obvious reason for being included.

5y ago

SNPER

I like it. I'd just like to see it start & end on the boxing holidays of Cinco De Mayo & Mexican Independence day. That feels like some sorta unofficial boxing "season" to me. Totally down with a sweepstakes idea, however it'd be run, whether alongside the regular Pick Em using the same picks or using variants on the rules... either way is cool, but my thought is that as long as I got the biggest role in running the Pick Em I reckon it's better if someone else works out the sweepstake details and escrow or whatever. More than happy to help figure out the details or provide suggestions or whatever though. The Cinco de Mayo kickoff and the finale on Mexican Independence Day is perfect. We would have a smaller amount of fights than the regular Pick Em, and spreading them out over a few months gives the players time for strategy and research. BIGPOPPAPUMP would be an ideal pick to handle the account for the contest. Anybody on the admin team or an active moderator would be a solid choice. Eff Pandas has hosted contests and paid out prizes on here, so he would also be a good fit for the role. Once again I'm down with the 3 decision picks... just wish I had a more clear show of support. I was on the fence when I voted because I like the 3 decision picks for flexibility, but I also like the 2 picks because players have become comfortable with that. But you know, less limits is probably a good thing, so you can count me in. I support the new option!

5y ago

BigZ44

5y ago

Citizen_Koba

Summer Sweepstakes Tournament (separate from the Pick Em) that will run during June, July, August. 30 fights total. Uses the same rules as Pick Em, but without multipliers (or with less multipliers). $100 entry fee to participate. The total pot will be split by top 3 participants with the highest score after the final game in August. I like it. I'd just like to see it start & end on the boxing holidays of Cinco De Mayo & Mexican Independence day. That feels like some sorta unofficial boxing "season" to me. Totally down with a sweepstakes idea, however it'd be run, whether alongside the regular Pick Em using the same picks or using variants on the rules... either way is cool, but my thought is that as long as I got the biggest role in running the Pick Em I reckon it's better if someone else works out the sweepstake details and escrow or whatever. More than happy to help figure out the details or provide suggestions or whatever though.

5y ago

Citizen_Koba

Okay... so what seems to be coming through most is that whilst most of you are generally happy, there's a general sense that maybe we coulda done with a few less fights this year and perhaps concentrated more on those fights where the outcome was genuinely in doubt... there have been a number of notable upsets this year... especially in the first few months - pre-COVID - if anyone remembers that far back - but I think in the scramble to make up for lost time, and the fear that we might get locked down again I got in the habit of basically including as many fights as possible within reason. So - upshot, be looking at scaling back a little in 2021, maybe aim for closer the 2019 level of around 80ish fights I'd guess, with more of an emphasis on the competitive match ups even where it means looking a bit further down the rankings. With regards to the three decision picks thing, I'm still undecided, ain't really got a mandate on it but I still think it'd be a significant improvement so I'll sleep on it and decide tomorrow... although if anyone got any commnet, either for or against, please let me know in the thread. Ok gents, think that's about it for now, gonna get some sleep, been a kinda hectic few days. Apologies for the delay in the updating but I'll aim to have eveything up to speed by tomorrow night. Seasons greetings all.:beerchug:

5y ago

Citizen_Koba

I like adding a clear option to decision. Equals it out with the KO Early, Mid & Late options so make it a harder perfect pick than it currently is. And I think I always mention this, but I still like the idea of adding in a multiplier for the betting odds. So like a -200 fighter vs a +150 fighter would give a 1.5x to the -200 guy if he won & a 2.5x to the +150 guy if he won. I think dogs should get you more points if they win. Granted you got the generic multipliers, but I think you could do it more specific to each fight. I think it makes the game harder + more interesting at the same time. Not sure the degree of difficulty this would add to the process doe & if its too much of a hustle I can understand the juice not being worth the squeeze with adding it. Once again I'm down with the 3 decision picks... just wish I had a more clear show of support. WRT the odds multiplier I have been giving it some thought... it is doable, at least now that I got accustomed to using a spreadsheet rather than doing all the updating on site. My main concern would be scoring balance, and also I ain't sure the gamesmanship angle would suit everyone. You familiar with Continental / Decimal odds? Outside the UK in Europe they tend to write odds as winnings plus stake so what would be -200 in the US or 1/2 in the UK would simply be 1.5 in continental odds. 4/1 would be 5.0 and 1/4 (-400) would be 1.25 etc. If we were gonna go down that route I'd probably just switch to using decimal odds for convenience and just apply it as a multiplier to any points earned... But... I think probably not this year. It'd represent quite a major change I think, and one I'd have to give a little more thought to I reckon, although I might look at tweaking the existing system a little further. What I might do is kinda keep a running tally using decimal odds multipliers on my own spreadsheets for this year and see just how big a difference it would make and then look at it again after I got more idea how it'd play. Share the results on here too, maybe, see what folk think.

5y ago

SNPER

5y ago

Citizen_Koba

I like the 3 types of decision win change for next season. Forgot to vote for it so speaking up in this post. More sports hall jank if anything lol... I'm a fan of the sports hall jank too man, you ask me that's where the spirit of the sport often is - away from the big crowds and the hype machines. Away from the PPVs and the entourages, just two guys putting it all on the line to get one step further up the ladder.. I also really think the 3 decision picks would be an improvement, but year after year we fail to get a huge amount of interest and I'm never quite sure whether that means folk actively don't want it or that they just don't mind one way or another... I'm seriously thinking about just going for it despite not really having a ton of support but Ima sleep on it and see what I'm thinking in the a.m.

5y ago

Citizen_Koba

This current pick'em is already good as it is for me tho i very much like to suggest to add quarterly champions in the league with a $25 (or a $100 ? ) cash prize :D I reckon the determination of quarterly champs is not much of an additional load since it will be just based on the leaderboard at the end of each quarter. This is also one way for the late comers/late joiners to become a pick"em champ... a Quarter Champ The more Pick'em Champs... the merrier... . I'd also suggest to introduce interim champs and franchise champs :lol1: :lol1: Titles for everyone, man, I like it.... the brib.... err 'sanctioning fees' should help replenish my depleted post Xmas bank balance.:lol1: In seriousness though I got no problem with declaring a quarterly or 6 monthly champ, but prizes wouldn't be down to me and I don't fancy trying to sell the idea of quarterly prizes to BigPoppaPump. If anyone fancies pulling together a sweepstakes though I guess you could include something like that in it.

5y ago