Good [insert time of day here], Giant Bomb users! Not only is today the 60th anniversary of the declaration of the founding of the People's Republic of China (a topic you may discuss here if you wish), but it is also the opening night of the new NHL regular season! To celebrate, why don't we put together a stock-picker pool?
It's pretty straightforward, even if it seems complicated. You're given 30 points to distribute how you choose (with a few riders I'll get into shortly). You then multiply the points you've invested in a team by the amount of points they've earned in their games (2 for a win, 1 for an overtime loss), and you can hedge against teams you think are just going to downright suck. So, here are the riders:
- Even split across conferences (15/15)
- No more than 10 points per division
- You must invest more than 1 point in at least 1 team (i.e., you can't just give 1 point to every team)
- No more than 7 points per team
- You can't hedge more than 7 points against a team either
To understand how the points system works, I've provided a table below with my choices, and the following example.
Let's say I invest 7 teams in the Sharks and hedge 1 point against Colorado. Tonight they play each other in Colorado's home-opener, and let's say that San Jose wins in overtime. I would get 14 points (7 invested multiplied by 2 for the win) from San Jose, but I would lose 1 point (-1 multiplied by 1 equals -1) because Colorado earned a point and I was hedged against them. Seems complicated, but it's really not. In fact, I've already built a spreadsheet to calculate investors' scores automatically. Let's say the Sharks lose in overtime. I would get 7 for the Sharks' one point, but lose 2 as a penalty for hedging against the victor, so I would get 5 points from that game. The spreadsheet I've built will calculate these totals whenever I update the standings, and I can send it to any participant who wants to be able to calculate their totals themselves.
| League Table | Points | Suicrat's Investments |
|---|---|---|
| WEST | 0x | 15 |
| PACIFIC | 0 x | 4 |
| Anaheim Ducks | 0 x | 2 |
| Dallas Stars | 0 x | 1 |
| L.A. Kings | 0 x | 1 |
| Phoenix Coyotes | 0 x | -7 |
| San Jose Sharks | 0 x | 7 |
| | ||
| NORTHWEST | 0 x | 4 |
| Calgary Flames | 0 x | 1 |
| Colorado Avalanche | 0 x | -1 |
| Edmonton Oilers | 0 x | 0 |
| Minnesota Wild | 0 x | 1 |
| Vancouver Canucks | 0 x | 3 |
| | ||
| CENTRAL | 0 x | 7 |
| Chicago Blackhawks | 0 x | 4 |
| Columbus BlueJackets | 0 x | 0 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 0 x | 2 |
| Nashville Predators | 0 x | -1 |
| St. Louis Blues | 0 x | 2 |
| EAST | 0 x | 15 |
| ATLANTIC | 0 x | 6 |
| New Jersey Devils | 0 x | 1 |
| New York Islanders | 0 x | -2 |
| New York Rangers | 0 x | 1 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 0 x | 2 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 0 x | 4 |
| NORTHEAST | 0 x | 4 |
| Boston Bruins | 0 x | 3 |
| Buffalo Sabres | 0 x | 2 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 0 x | 0 |
| Ottawa Senators | 0 x | -1 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 0 x | 0 |
| SOUTHEAST | 0 x | 5 |
| Atlanta Thrashers | 0 x | -1 |
| Carolina Hurricanes | 0 x | 2 |
| Florida Panthers | 0 x | 1 |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | 0 x | 0 |
| Washington Capitals | 0 x | 3 |
| TOTAL | 0 x | 30 |
So all you have to do is copy and paste this table, and add your own values, and I'll enter them into my spreadsheet, and add them to the post below for all to see. If you think one team is a lock to win their division or conference, feel free to invest as many as 7 points in them, and if you think another team is going to stink up the league, feel free to hedge as many as 7 points against them. As you can see, I'm biased by my love of the Sharks and the abject hopelessness of the Phoenix Coyotes. After tonight's games (and hereafter every sunday night), I will post updated scores and standings. Your point distributions will be fixed for the whole season (unless we can all agree on set times to redistribute points, like the Olympic Break for example, or month-to-month), so choose wisely!
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