BerniceC: at least 16 is required to start a pond.

WhisperzQ: I don't think there is anything suspect about it, I have noticed that opening bids have been grouping closer lately

66 is no longer safe in round 1
http://brainking.com/en/Pond?g=2200

Czuch Chuckers: I dont see the need for the reply anymore,
I know what you mean about the ratings but I don't think it is as bad as it was at first

Czuch Chuckers: I think that you can achieve top ratings and wins, there will be dips in the ratings however for agressive play, but the #1'S AND #2'S help the bkr recover quickly

Czuch Chuckers: I think the only difference is that the box is more efficient

Czuch Chuckers: I am certain that it does matter the same as it matters in any other game

Nothingness: the exact formula has never been shown but it is something like that

Nothingness: It also depends as to what your rating is, in this scenerio if you have a high rating, say 2100 or more, you would probably lose points for 5th, if you had a low rating,say 1700, would probably gain just a few points, I think this may not have been the best example as rating were very low and it is rare to have 1600 and 1900 finish 1-2

Thad: I've never looked at the average, but what do I know,lol

Rambo37: you are correct, only the lowest is eleminated each round, the trick is to bid just higher than that. You can also get a bonus of 500 points for having the highest bid but you really don't want to bid more than 500 points higher than the lowest bid because you don't gain anything. you also have to remember that your 20,000 points has to last you the entire game. Bids usually increase each round for example a bid of 45 may fall in the 1st round, 86 the 2nd, 135 the 3rd, 278 the 4th and so on(these were only examples) what I suggest is that you look at the ratings page http://brainking.com/en/Ratings?tp=1000 and pick out higher rated players that have played quite a few ponds and then join a pond that has moves at 1 day and study how they they bid. To get you to last at least 5 rounds you could bid 74,130, 150, 330,and 700. These wouldn't probably put you near 1st place but they are safe bids so you can study them. This is a game that takes a little time to get used to, be patient and good luck.

here is where you can read the oficial rules http://brainking.com/en/FAQ?ht=21

WhisperzQ: Heartless!!!, read it again, the very first thing I said was sympathetic, the very second thing was supportive

BerniceC: thats too bad, 2 or 3 top 3's should get you back where you were, anymore 59 is a dangerous bid on the first round, let alone the 2nd

SueQ:no matter what, player #11 will fall in next round

SueQ: they can stay in with zero points left as long as their last bid wasn't the lowest but the next round they will fall in

grenv: yes, I believe that lower rated players affect you more now. I nead more 1st and 2nd place finishes to maintain my rating

alexlee: It happens, I've lost points for 3rd place. The higher your BKR gets, the harder it is to maintain it. In the pond you played in there was no one with a higher rating than yours ,so yes you beat 13 other players but many had ratings of 1500 or 1800 and you got beat by 3 players all with at least 100 BKR points lower you.

Eriisa: so lets see, if I bid 131 I will be safe?

Foxy Lady: I don't think so, most of that conversation and feelings came about because of another pond

WhisperzQ: I could come up with 16 people I could trust, you would be 1

WhisperzQ: I think golf applies here also

WhisperzQ: I agree with Czuch, I really like that, and I like the Idea of an cricket (honor) pond, it wouldn't work as a dark pond I fear as someone would slip through. I wish Fencer would make these ponds invitational, as I think you could easily find a core group that would abide by your "cricket" analogy

WhisperzQ: I don't get it, enlighten me

Czuch Chuckers: exactly, there is only 2 or 3 people that I would care to know if they are in it. thats easy to look up and anybody can. That doesn't give me a huge advantage, maybe 100-150 total, and I have always said that it is unwise to go for the bonus early imo. I know there are some players that have gone all out looking for vacation days and making charts etc. And if its public information, I can't begrudge anyone spending the time. I don't like to spend that much time myself, I'd rather use my formulas, mostly

Czuch Chuckers: I understand what you are saying, but the game is still dark, and who would want to go through enough profiles to find everyone? Heck I'll save everyone the trouble I play every dark pond that is at least 2 days time limit, and that I am welcomed to play

BBW gets the credit for this one, he discussed it on one of the boards a couple of weeks ago

Czuch Chuckers: It's not a secret, if you suspect someone is in a dark pond, go to their profile, click tournaments, and look for the name in the pond in signed or started section depending on the situation, you won't neccessaraly know everyone that is in it but just the ones that you look for

BIG BAD WOLF: I used your trick to find out about the person that I was thinking of, good thing because I might have gone next had I not have known because of one of the bids

never mind, I figured it out

Did you manage to get the low BKR's out of your elite dark pond? Specifically a certain somebody that always tends to lose in the 3rd or 4th round. I ask this publicaly so everyone will have this information

BerniceC: they will not be able to bid, therefore they will receive a bid of zero which in the first round will drop out along with the lowest bid higher than zero, then the pond rill run like normal from that point.
As far as people who are now pawns who have set up ponds, they will run like normal as long as 16 people or minimum required by that particular pond remain for it to start.
Why not let the rest of the people in the pond play it out?

Foxy Lady:

Foxy Lady: it should keep runing like normal since all pond games are created in general

I can forsee where this discussion is heading and I think it is a relevent discussion, however, I wan't to remind everybody as this could get a little heated....
DO NOT LIST INDIVIDUAL NICS IN THIS DISCUSSION!!!

Goonerg: unfortunatly you are preaching to the choir

grenv: your independant panel idea seems good on the surface but I think it would cause more problems than it is worth, I think the accusations would fly all over the place, just look at the animosity towards moderators, think how much that would increase if ratings are at stake, and what about the innocent person that just took a chance that someone would bid zero, some kind of proof or pattern and investigation would be required.
I think that the invitational solution is the best

BIG BAD WOLF: your idea is fine, but I would like to creat invitationls without fellowships just like any other tournaments, for other reasons

BIG BAD WOLF: What I would like to see is a way to make a game an invitational without having to take the time to copy and past and having to kick people out

BIG BAD WOLF: I'm kind of on the fence on this one.
Does this suggest that you will be playing ponds again soon?

grenv: I agree, or at least I would call it poor sportsmanship, but it's not our call, Fencer has 2 reasons that he does not consider it cheating, 1.) It is a multiplayer game and therefor does not fall under the same guidelines as other games here. 2.) This isn't a reason it is not cheating but rather an excuse for not calling it, there is no way to prove it, even though in your example it is admitted.

grenv: unfortunatly fencer does not consider this cheating, and unfortunatly that is the end of the story.
By the way, there are others who do this.

since there have been quite a few new members here recently, I have created 2 ponds for those to get there feet wet, 1 of which is acceptible for under 1900 players to join
http://brainking.com/en/Pond?g=1304&trnst=0
http://brainking.com/en/Pond?g=1303&trnst=0

Czuch Chuckers: carefull with your response

congratulations, 3 more games before it will show your BKR

wellywales: first of all, left over points means nothing, so don't be afraid to use them. 2nd the ratings works simmilar to other games with the exception that an average is taken from all the people you beat vs. all the people that beat you. so you do not have to win to gain bkr. It all depends on the BKR of your opponents and their finish vs. your bkr. I know that is a simplistic answer but it really hasn't ever been explained much better.
Bottom line-WIN, and if you can't win, finish in the top 5

ginifish: while Clays suggetions is a valid one, I would suggest clicking on the winners link at the top of the page, and choosing any of the top 10 winners, then look at a few recent games that they have won, you can go through them round by round and get an idea on how to bid, then play a few ponds (it takes a few to get the handg of it)_good luck.

Pbarb2: there's nothing to look for, it will automatically use your last bid over and over until you fall in, just make your last bid before you go higher and your set.

Walter Montego: good idea, why don't you post it on feature request board?

Pedro Martínez: dang, I missed it by 4 BKR points

3rd out of 249 players, BKR change +93. I was hoping for a little better, but that is not such a bad place to end up (2518) considering in this last week I finished last, 2nd to last twice, and 3rd to last. I thought I would end up around 2300