Anything in bold face is new, changed, or reinstated for the 2022 season.
1. THE SEASON: The 2022 contest begins Monday, August 22.1.1 FUTURES SEASON: Futures bets may be made starting on August 22. You may place a futures bet on any team until their first game starts.
1.2. Week 1 includes "week zero" games played on Saturday, August 27, and games played the week of Saturday, September 3. (As a result, teams may have two Week 1 games.)
1.3. The next-to-last week of the competition will consist of conference championship games, the Army-Navy game, and any other games that may be played. This typically encompasses the first and second week of December.
1.4. The final week of the competition will consist of all bowl games, including the National Championship Game.
2. WEEK: The week offically begins on Tuesday morning (for all you MACtion! degenerates) and ends Monday night, except as noted in 1. above. First lines for a new week may become available sooner than Monday night, but no lines will be released until the previous week's games are complete.
3. THE SITE: Gameplay is done via https://www.protectyouru.net. The game collects real lines from a variety of online and brick-and-mortar casinos.4. FUTURES BETS: Starting August 22 and ending on the kickoff of each team's first game, the contest will offer Futures or "proposition" bets, which a season-length outcome. These may include National Championship winner; confererence championship winners; conference division winners, and team won-lost totals.
4.1. Players may wager up to 250 of their allotted 1,000 units on futures bets.
4.2. Futures bets are entirely optional. It is not required to make any futures bets, or any AAC bets if you make any futures bets.
4.3. In general, futures bets do not win or lose until the season is complete, or the underlying proposition is formally announced (not when it is mathematically clinched). See also rules 14.6 and 14.8.5.1.
4.4. Futures bet offerings are subject to change, and may vary depending upon availability or other factors.
4.5. Any money bet on futures is unavailable until the bet is resolved. For example, if you wager $100 on futures and win $50 in Week 1, your Week 2 limit is calculated as if you had $950, not $1050.
4.6. In the event of unforeseen factors that render a futures bet impossible to evaluate fairly, management has the power to void a bet. A voided bet does not win or lose.
5. REGULAR SEASON BETS: We will offer the most favorable -110 line for each point spread and over/under wager, and the most favorable money line wager. Odds will be updated approximately once a day. Only lines appearing at protectyouru.net are official. We reserve the right to disallow any bets on erroneous lines. See Section 14, "Odds Fine Print" for full details.
5.1 GAMBLETRON 2000: At all times, one randomly-selected point spread A number of games, typically 3, will have all over/under and point spread offered at -102. This point spread will be one team in a
Such games will not involve South Florida, Central Florida, Florida State, or Florida. (Miami, FAU, FIU, and other AAC teams may appear.) The offering is changed every 60 to 120 minutes about once a day.
5.1.1 Gambletron bets are entirely optional. Gambletron bets, if made, count towards weekly minimums.
5.1.2 Gambletron bets may not be used as part of a parlay.
6. BANKROLL: Everyone will start with 1,000 units of fake money.
7. ALLOWABLE BETS: Point spread, money line, over/under, parlays. Any combination of legal bets is allowed.
8. PAYOUTS/VIGORISH:
8.1. All point spread and over/under bets are -110. That means you must bet $110 to win $100, or $100 to win $90.91. (Exception is the Gambletron bet, see 5.1.)
8.2. Money line bets pay the listed amount. No further vigorish is removed.
8.3. Parlays are not subject to vigorish. Two-team parlays pay +260. Three-team parlays pay +600.
8.3.1. Parlays may only include over/under and pointspread bets (not money lines).
8.3.2. Only parlays of two or three bets are allowed.
8.3.3. If any bet in a parlay is a push, that bet is removed, and the parlay is recalculated as a two-team parlay or single bet.
8.3.3.1. If a parlay has to be recalculated as a single bet, that single bet is not subject to vigorish. A win pays +100.
8.3.3.2. Cancelled games in a parlay are treated as pushes. Players may not change components of a parlay, as rule 14.6.1 allows for single bets.
8.3.3.2.1. If all games in a parlay wager are cancelled or postponed, the entire bet is returned as per Rule 14.6.1.
9. BET MINIMUMS/MAXIMUMS/REQUIREMENTS:
9.1. You must have between 5% and 25% (or between $50 and $250, whichever is greater) of your bankroll in play each week.
9.2. Your weekly bet maximum is 25% of your bankroll, or $250, whichever is greater.
9.2.1. This amount is set at the beginning of each week based on your total ending the previous week, and does not change during a week. In other words, if you win a game early in the week, this does not increase the maximum you may bet on games later in the week.
9.3. The minimum bet is $1. These $1 bets are typically made out of spite. We encourage this wholeheartedly. A bet in the amount of $1.01 ("lol") is a convention used to signify a spite bet.
9.4. You must make at least three bets, either individually or as part of a parlay. A parlay counts as one bet.
9.4.1 If you have less than $250 fake dollars remaining, you may bet it all on one wager, if desired.
9.5. You must bet at least one game involving a long-term American Athletic Conference team. Teams slated to join the league for 2023 are considered AAC teams; teams slated to leave the league do not. AAC teams are: Alabama-Birmingham, Central Florida, Charlotte, Cincinnati, East Carolina, Florida Atlantic, Houston, Memphis, Navy, North Texas, Rice, Southern Methodist, South Florida, Temple, Texas-San Antonio, Tulane, Tulsa.
9.5.1. The list of teams that count as AAC teams will not change during the 2022 season, even if realignment occurs, or if the nature of conference play is redefined during the season.
9.5.2. If a parlay wager includes at least one wager on an AAC game, it fulfills this requirement.
9.5.3. You do not have to bet on the AAC team. Betting against the AAC team, or an over/under bet, fulfills this requirement.
9.5.4 Any game involving at least one AAC team qualifies as an AAC game.
9.6. During the last week of the season (bowl season), weekly requirements raise to: 25% - 50% of your entire bankroll or $250-$500, whichever is higher; 5 bets overall; and 2 wagers involving an AAC team.
10. DEADLINE: The deadline for submitting bets is kickoff time. There is no "week deadline." You may continue wagering as long as there is still a game that hasn't kicked off yet, and as long as you have not exceeded your allowable maximum bet for the week.
10.1. OFFICIAL BETS: Once a bet is submitted via the website, it is official and may not be changed. If you make a mistake, you must contact Gary Stephen immediately for a correction.
10.1.1. Corrections will not be allowed if any lines have changed since your bet was entered.
10.2. ALLOWABLE BETS: You may bet any combination of lines that is offered. (This allows for split bets, hedge bets, etc.)
11. SUDDEN DEATH BET: If you burn through your entire $1000, you will have one (1) chance to stay in the game. The week after you run out of money, you must successfully pick one AAC game against the spread. If you win the bet, you get a $500 "loan" to continue playing in future weeks. If you push the bet or lose, you are out of the game. Only one sudden death bet per customer. If you lose the entire extra $500, you are out of the game. Also, if you run out of money at the end of the regular season, your sudden death bet will be on the first game of bowl season.
11.1 If you have money locked into Futures bets, but run out of money to bet otherwise, you may still take the Sudden Death bet. If you later win the futures bet, that money is added to your total.
11.2 If you win the sudden death bet and then build this amount to over $1000, you will then "repay" the loan by having the $500 deducted from your new balance.
12. BYE WEEKS: While it's more fun if you play every week, if you're just not feeling any of the games, you are allowed up to two "bye weeks" where you don't place any bets. If you skip more than two weeks, you're not eligible to win the title, but you may continue betting for fun and amusement.
12.1. You may not use one of your bye weeks during the bowl season.
12.2. If you bet during a week, but fail to meet all the betting requirements, that will count as a bye week.
13. POSTING TO THE DAILY STAMPEDE: Friday at noon Eastern time, all bets are made public, and will appear in the "Weekly Bets" post. Bets made after that time will immediately become public also. Otherwise, bets are hidden until the game starts.
13.1 DEADLINE: This is not a deadline; you may continue to place bets up until each game kicks off. On Monday (or earlier, if all games are ended) results will appear in the "Weekly Results" thread.
14. ODDS FINE PRINT:
14.1. UPDATING: The first lines will be posted as soon as possible after the previous week's games end. Typically this is Sunday night, Monday night or Tuesday morning. Lines are updated approximately once per day. The date/time of the most recent update will appear on the bets page.
14.2. LINES OFFERED: We compile odds from a variety of real live and online sports books. We will offer the most favorable -110 line for each wager. If one sports book has the game at -6 and another has it at -5, we will let you bet the favorite at -5 or the underdog at +6.
14.2.1. Only point spreads and over/under wagers with a -110 payoff will be used in our main offering. Real sports books will occasionally offer a higher payout in exchange for a less favorable point spread, or vice versa. Since our house vig is always 10%, it's not realistic to offer lines that are more/less favorable at the same price.
14.3. OPENING/CONSENSUS LINES: Will not be used.
14.4. OFFICIAL LINES: Only lines appearing on protectyouru.net may be wagered. If a more favorable line appears elsewhere, you may not request it. We try to keep our odds current, but we can't maintain a constant vigil over it, and live feeds are expensive.
14.5. ERRONEOUS LINES: We reserve the right to disallow any wagers made on erroneous lines. We try to get things right, but we may accidentally mis-enter a +300 money line as +300 points, or some such thing. Any disallowed lines will be announced on protectyouru.net. Any wagered money will be returned, so you can place a different bet if desired. Depending on the nature of the error, you may be offered a replacement bet.
14.5.1. In general, if a line can be found in the line history of a real casino at least twice - they published it and did not immediately correct it - it will be considered valid.
14.6. CANCELLED/POSTPONED GAMES
14.6.1. If a game is cancelled, non-parlay wagers placed on it are set to 0, and you may re-use this money to bet on a different game. If a player does not wish to re-bet, the original bet will still count towards meeting weekly bet requirements.
14.6.2. If a game is postponed to a later week, any bets placed do not carry over to the later date. You must re-bet if you want to make the same bet again.
14.6.3. If a game is moved to a later date/time within the same week at the same location, any bets placed will stand.
14.6.4. If the site of a game changes, players will be given the choice of keeping an existing bet, or having the bet voided as per rule 14.6.1. If the player does not choose, it will be voided.
14.7. SHORTENED GAMES
14.7.1. A football game that ends early is considered complete if 5:00 or less remains on the game clock, or it is ended early by mutual agreement of the teams.
14.7.2. A game ended before 55 minutes have been played, without mutual consent of the teams, is considered incomplete. All bets on it are voided (even bets that would have won, such as over bets). The original wager is returned and nothing is won or lost.14.7.3. If a game is cancelled or fails to play 55 minutes, any bets on that game still count towards meeting weekly bet requirements.
14.7.3.1. Forfeited games are treated as cancelled games, unless 55 minutes of action were played before the forfeit occurred. Money line bets on forfeited games do not win or lose.
14.8. FUTURES BETS
14.8.1. HEISMAN TROPHY: Not being offered in 2022.
14.8.2. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP. Select a school. If that school wins the National Championship game, the bet wins.
14.8.3. PLAYOFF. Not being offered in 2022.
14.8.4. CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP. Select a school. If that school wins its conference championship game, the bet wins.
14.8.4.1. DIVISIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP. Select a school. If that school wins their division, and is selected to play in their conference championship game (meaning they must win the tiebreaker), the bet wins.
14.8.5. WIN TOTAL. Select a school. Each school has a win total listed. You may bet that the school wins more or less than that number of games during the regular season (conference championship games and bowl games excluded).
14.8.5.1. A team must play its complete, as-scheduled season for a Win Total bet to have any effect. If any game is unplayed, incomplete, or if an opponent or location changes, the bet is voided and the player neither wins or loses. This includes bets that have already clinched, such already a team already having met its win total. Postponement of a game to a later date without changing the opponent or location does not void a bet.
14.8.6. OTHER FUTURES BETS: Other season-length prop bets may be offered. The Futures page will include a detailed explanation of any such bets.
14.9. OTHER: In case of any situation not covered by these rules, The Daily Stampede's ruling is final. We will do our best to be fair to all players.15. THE POINTS RACE
15.1 In addition to the player with the largest bankroll at the end of the season being declared the winner, there will also be a "points race" in which points will be awarded each week, and the player with the most points at the end of the season will also be declared that season's winner.
15.2 Each week, points will be awarded to each player, in descending order of the amount of fake money they won that week. The player who wins the most fake money in a week will receive 20 points. Second-most will receive 15, then 10-7-5-4-3-2-1 through ninth place in a week.
15.2.1 Players' betting must show a net gain of at least $1 during a week to earn any points for that week. A net gain of less than one dollar (such as 91 cents) does not qualify. For example, if only five players earn more than $1 in a week, then the sixth-place and lower point awards will not be given that week.
15.2.2 If 10 or more players profit more than $1 in a week, all of those players lower than 9th place will also receive 1 point.
15.2.3 If two or more players tie with the same profit in a week, the points for those positions will be equally divided amongst all players in the tie. For example, if two players tie for second place, the second- and third- place point awards of 15 and 10 will be equally divided among them; each player will get 12.5 points. The fourth-place finisher would then get 7 points.
15.2.4 A player must met weekly betting requirements as per section 9 to receive any points.