Please dont tell me specifics! Just stradegy

Zorro: Well, you definitely can win this pond. Your bet now should not be too low since you would fall in the pond but also not too high because you are about 800 points behind the leader and you need to gather these points somewhere. So, your goal in the upcoming round should be to bet as low as possible in order to bet at least 1300 points less than the leader. The other way to win is to let the leader fall in the pond, of course (that's the easier one, LOL).

Pedro Martínez: Thanks! I will give you half my winnings!!

I have not looked at the pond yet so as not to "help" too much, but I will give a general example of what I normally do when 3 players are left in a pond.

Example #1:
Player 1: 5000 points left
Player 2: 4600 points left
Player 3: 1000 points left

If I was player 3, I normally will bet everything I have left. I mean for Player 3, he will most likey be in 3rd place - and if by some-how one of the top 2 bid below my total, I would then move up to 2nd place overall.

Now if I was player 2, this is where it gets interested - since less then 500 seperates player 1 & 2, the 500 point bonus may be the key. I would take a guess that player 1 would bid the min to stay alive - 1,001 in this case - so as player 2, I would probable play 1,100 - which if that gives me the 500 point bonus, would leave me 1 point ahead.

If I was player #1, I would again assume that player #2 will at least play the min to stay alive - 1,001. And since I'm already ahead by 400, I would bid around 1,400 - hopefully enough to keep the bonus away from the other player.

With less then 500 points between the 1st & 2nd place - it can be VERY tricky!

Example #2

Player #1: 5,000
Player #2: 4,000
Player #3: 3,000

As player #3, the same as before - I would bet 3,000. As player #2, it is almost impossible to win. When more then 500 points are between the 2, player #1 can just bid the min to stay alive (3,001) and even if player #2 gets the 500 bonus - it still does not matter. The only way that player #1 can lose is if both Player #2 and Player #3 bid well below the total that player #3 has.

BIG BAD WOLF: Dang..........you should be an instructor! Excellant examples and now I will have no excuse if I loose! Thanks!!!!!!!

I notice I wasnt the only one to see the oportunity in the last round of the first run :o(

I risked it and dropped 22 places, Zetes risked but more and gained around 13 places...
great move mate :oD

If it had worked for me...id have been at the top :o(

Stevie: the question is..... is it worth trying again??

Yea, I've noticed the 500 point bonus was actually being won by lower bidders also - but at the same time it just seems way too early for me to drop any further then I need to. Near 100 players left - around the top 20 - within a couple hundered points - no need to risk too much.

I just can't wait for the round after this (that is after the 19 bids fall) - Do you take a chance and bid 21 in the hopes that someone who bid 20 does not change their bid - or bid 22 in the hopes that some people did bet 21 - or bid 23 to stay above the ones who bid 22 in the hopes that someone bid 21!

BIG BAD WOLF: Nah, you bid 2. Maybe 3 :)

Walter Montego: You know that would probable be a good move - it's been awhile since someone has bid 0 or 1 - so a bid of 2 or 3 should be good! I think I'll go do that!

how come we see things such as

► Fast Start - First 16 to sign - Pond #28 -2 hours 42 mins 10 18 1 BIG BAD WOLF

for the next round, when it's all automatic?

rabbitoid: Because the server was down for two hours, maybe more.

Fencer: that's a good reason

Has anyone else noticed the ponds aren't going to the next round when they should?

None of the "hourly" tasks are running currently I don't think.

when they do, everyone will have a bunch at one time every day for a while

yea, I know - hopefully it is during a good time for me - I usually purposly start my own ponds at a time I know I'll be on-line - so I can always make sure I will be able to play.

does anyone know what happened to kevin ? i noticed his vacations are all used up, and he dropped out of a pond he was in due to auto bid

I can tell you from experience that vacations are irrelevant to ponds.

i know ... what i meant is that a pond showed me that he wasnt online for quite some time .. i wonder what happened to him

(i was on vacation but survived my 5 ponds ... only to fall into 1 with my the next move i made after i was back ;))

Ugh.... Yup, a lot of my ponds now have the start/end time as about 3am my time - about the worse it can be now. :-(

But you can play your turn any time in the 24 hour period surely.

Maybe I'm missing something. Oh well.

But before the round is over, if I'm actually awake (which I made sure I was for all the ponds I started) - I will sometimes go through and see if any of the other players have been away for the past 24 hours (meaning they will auto-bid) - which would help me out in the pond. Of course now I'm not going to get up at 3am to check this.

Good, this is a practice I disapprove of.

For instance you could do that because you started at a particular time. But that may be 3am for some other players - so you are getting an advantage others don't have available to them, which is kind of cheating in my opinion.

This is also a reason to eliminate the auto move rule and just auto resign instead.

Well I did not like it either, BUT when you see others getting a very big advantage from doing this - well it's either join in or fall behind. :-(

... and now in those 10+ ponds, it may now just be the perfect time for someone else to take advantage of this and now put myself at a bigger disadvantage in those ponds.

And the result is?
Complaining is useless. New server is needed.

not complaining.... just.... Um.... OK, was complaing, but I know it won't help anything.

New server?

Fencer: My complaint is not about the server going down, but about people getting an advantage by checking players activity prior to bidding in ponds.

I strongly advocate against allowing autobid to continue as is. Those players tend to drop out anyway (me for instance) and the way it is some players are getting an undue advantage. This game should be about the numbers only.

I'd like to see a "dark" version of the game. Here you only know the number of points that you personally have left as well as the total (or average - same thing) of all those still left in. Also you would see the amount that the players who dropped out bet.

Imagine the round with 3 remaining players when you have 1000 points and the total points = 3500. What's your bet?

The last round shouldn't be played, whoever has the most points of the 2 remaining players is the winner.

To say that ponds should only be about the numbers only is like saying Battleboats should be just about randomly shooting.

Yet in Battleboats, to use extra strategy can help you a lot - for example knowing if a person likes to place boats along the outside walls can eliminate a lot of searching. Knowing that a person never puts boats next to each other will also elimitante a lot of searching.

So to use extra strategy in ponds can also be helpful - for example, knowing who may try to bid high to get the 500 bonus - or know that a person almost always bids the same amount in the first round or so - or to know how much higher another person usually bids over the person who just fell into the pond are all extra strategys that a person can take (AND WILL BE VERY HELPFULL once we can see past moves in all ponds.) So to also see if a person has even been around to make a bid is also another strategy that can be used.

I like the auto-bid, and may allow a player to continue if they are unable to make it in every day. To hide the players or something like that would basicly take much of the strategy involved with the game away.

I agree with using opponents strategy as a guide to playing them. That is normal game behaviour. It's the checking of whether players are auto moving that i object to.

I still like the dark variation, and you would not be hiding the opponents, just their individual totals.

How about a fuzzy variation. You know everyone's total rounded to the nearest hundred. :)

BIG BAD WOLF: so???

Its a European site isnt it LMAO
Thats the sort of reply I would get if I moan..so back at yer for a change BBW LMAO

Stevie: um..... ok... don't ever remember giving you a "so" reply when you moan about something you have worked weeks on getting setup to work for your advantage, but whatever??

I just won my first pond! Thanks for the the strategy session!!!!

Excuse the excitement!

Zorro: Way to Play,Clay!!

Well, it is only you, Zorro, who deserves appreciation for this win...congrats!!! This pond was very special and didn't actually fit in any of the BBW's examples (which are great, BTW). Well played...

i dont like autobid either .. i would like people who dont make their bid to fall in the pond at once

but as there are no weekends and vacation days in ponds, and they can take a long time to finish .. something have to be done for that

i used autobid and didnt fall into the ponds ... i first used it while i was still there for several days .. so people would get used to it and wonder if i was really away .. and then i was on vacation so i had to use it .. i used a higher bet (1 week thinking ahead) and somehow survived

thats what the autobid is meant for and some solution should exist for people on vacation or even weekends .. but the way it is right now it can cause a delay and ruin some rounds in the game

Interesting Game: http://brainking.com/game/Pond?g=243

It's me, and 3 others - and the 3 others just happen to be the 3 with the most wins each! - All 4 of us within 500 points of each other.

.... don't even ask me what I'm going to do here - I have no idea!

current score:
1 BIG BAD WOLF 6979
2 Pedro Martínez 6829
3 Vikings 6502
4 Maxxina 6500

Very interesting game, you and Pedro have a clear advantage but the next round could change things all around

Yea, I'm happy with my position - but with 4 players left, it's basicly anyones game.

I mean what to bid? Can't bid too much or you will not have enough left to last the next couple rounds.... not bid enough, and you are wet.

Ugh..... the stress!

.... and another interesting game between you (Vikings) and me

http://brainking.com/game/Pond?g=247

1 Vikings 6583
2 BIG BAD WOLF 6512
3 HoneyLo 500

... now how can I outsmart you and end up with more points........


UGH - Way too much thinking in my games!

BIG BAD WOLF: I would expect to see a range of bidding allowing cushion for future bidding.. I doubt seriously that vikings or maxima would just throw in the towel.. but, then who really knows their form of stratedgy.. viewing their success records shows that each player has a more positive outcome in their ponds games..

*I suggest each of you contact me privately and ask for a precalculated bid that way you don't have to tire yourselves out thinking about it, and if you wish to see what I have suggested to your opponents..* well.. the green stuff does work on me! LOL

I've got the same problem in another game with Pedro

Vikings: >http://brainking.com/game/Pond?g=54


This one, huh? It had been a hardcore thinking before I decided what to bet...:D

ScarletRose:I think that this particular group knows each others tactics pretty well, heck, BBW tells us his strategy all the time, but this is the first time that all 4 have been in this position without any another players. I will tell you what I will bid, NOT!

Vikings: *Giggle*..

Good luck to you all.. really.. Oh the stressies you all face over the next few days.. haha

thats the one Pedro, I will call that one headache bait

*grin* - Yea, I like to tell people my strategy - so when it serves me the best, I can change it and surprise my opponent - Muhahahahaha!

After doing some math for about 5 minutes, I now have a bid in this game: http://brainking.com/game/Pond?g=247

Or did I bid the min to hopefully get Vikings to overbid - or did I just throw a random number out there - Muhahahahaha