October 31, 2006
Our house-help Marlyn was watching the PBA game between Alaska and Ginebra on TV the other night. I have no doubt that she's a genuine PBA fan, but the real reason she watches PBA games is that she's just waiting for the end of the game.
"Ending" is a (illegal) numbers game that's immensely popular in the Philippine streets. The game goes like this. Players of this game bet on a pair of single digits. Some possible bets are 1-5, 7-3, and 6-6 (the order matters); there are 100 possible combinations in all. A basketball match-up (e.g., a PBA or NBA game) is chosen as the featured game. The ones digits of the fourth quarter scores of both teams is taken as the winning combination. The first digit is the score of the winning team; the order doesn't matter if the game goes into overtime (i.e., game is tied at the end of the fourth quarter). For example, if Ginebra wins over Alaska with a score of 98-91, then the winning combination is 8-1. As another example, if the score is tied at 93-all at the end of regulation, then the winning combination is 3-3. For the most common variation of this game, only one player can bet on a particular combination, but there is no limit on how many combinations a player can bet on. It's a very simple game; there's nothing but luck involved as all combinations have an equal probability of winning.
(If you're wondering why the score has to be taken at the end of the fourth quarter, it's to ensure that all combinations have an equal probability. If we simply took the score at the end of the game, then there will be a smaller probability of a "pair" combination like 5-5 winning.)
I asked Marlyn how much it takes to place a bet on the "ending" game that she regularly participates in. She said it's 10 pesos for each combination you want to bet on. The one who bets on the winning combination wins 700 pesos (i.e., the payoff is 70 to 1) guaranteed regardless of whether or not all combinations were taken.
There are 100 possible combinations in an "ending" game. Let's assume that all combinations are bet upon. 100 combinations times 10 pesos per combination equals 1000 in gross payments for the house (or bookie). Subtract the 700 that goes to the winner, that's still 300 pesos that the house/bookie rakes in per game!
What a racket!
"Ending" is a (illegal) numbers game that's immensely popular in the Philippine streets. The game goes like this. Players of this game bet on a pair of single digits. Some possible bets are 1-5, 7-3, and 6-6 (the order matters); there are 100 possible combinations in all. A basketball match-up (e.g., a PBA or NBA game) is chosen as the featured game. The ones digits of the fourth quarter scores of both teams is taken as the winning combination. The first digit is the score of the winning team; the order doesn't matter if the game goes into overtime (i.e., game is tied at the end of the fourth quarter). For example, if Ginebra wins over Alaska with a score of 98-91, then the winning combination is 8-1. As another example, if the score is tied at 93-all at the end of regulation, then the winning combination is 3-3. For the most common variation of this game, only one player can bet on a particular combination, but there is no limit on how many combinations a player can bet on. It's a very simple game; there's nothing but luck involved as all combinations have an equal probability of winning.
(If you're wondering why the score has to be taken at the end of the fourth quarter, it's to ensure that all combinations have an equal probability. If we simply took the score at the end of the game, then there will be a smaller probability of a "pair" combination like 5-5 winning.)
I asked Marlyn how much it takes to place a bet on the "ending" game that she regularly participates in. She said it's 10 pesos for each combination you want to bet on. The one who bets on the winning combination wins 700 pesos (i.e., the payoff is 70 to 1) guaranteed regardless of whether or not all combinations were taken.
There are 100 possible combinations in an "ending" game. Let's assume that all combinations are bet upon. 100 combinations times 10 pesos per combination equals 1000 in gross payments for the house (or bookie). Subtract the 700 that goes to the winner, that's still 300 pesos that the house/bookie rakes in per game!
What a racket!
Labels: basketball, gambling
I actually tried to run this kind of business when I was in grade school. haha!
Though "ending" was completely profitable (what are the odds? 1/100?), it wasn't as profitable as "betting on who will win the game." The former attracts P10 per bet while the latter starts out with P50 per bet. Though the odds are more dangerous (1/2), that's what gambling is all about right? In such cases, it's just a matter of pitting the bets of die-hards from team A against bets of die-hards from team B so that the bookie still gets a slice of the cake. :D
@Pipboy: The bookie, by definition, should always get a slice of the cake. :D