Backyard Bookie Home Pari-Mutuel Betting Window Software - Great for your Kentucky Derby Party!                                               www.backyardbookie.com

 

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Frequently Asked Questions

Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions about Backyard Bookie.  If you have any other questions, feel free to contact us and we'll get you an answer as quick as we can.

Managing scratches:  To manage scratches - go to Edit / Setup Race Card, choose the Racer Setup tab, double click on the horse to manage, switch the "Scratched" checkbox and hit OK, then OK

Does Backyard Bookie only work for horse racing, or are there some other uses?
If you purchased Backyard Bookie - Thoroughbred Edition, then the product is limited to use for only the four major horse racing events of the year (Derby, Preakness, Belmont, and Breeder's Cup.)  With Backyard Bookie - Premium Edition, you can take bets on virtually any type of competition or event. You can use it to run your golf tournament if you like, or on the pro football, basketball, or hockey playoffs. One customer was very creative with the product, using it to raise funds for charity by betting on a wine tasting contest. 

Can I enter payouts from the track instead of calculating my own odds and payouts? 
Yes! If you wish, instead of using the payouts calculated by Backyard Bookie, you can enter your own payout amounts, such as the official payout amounts from the track.

How would Backyard Bookie be used for football, or other sports league betting?
Backyard Bookie is a pari-mutuel software program. Any sporting event in which there is a clear winner is suitable for wagering with Backyard Bookie. Enter all of the contestants as "racers" and then take bets on who will win the competition. Those with winning wagers will split the pot.

If there is a clear second place finisher, then Place bets and Exacta bets can be used as well. If you can determine a third place finisher, Show and Trifecta bets are a possibility.

For pro football, you can enter all of the teams prior to the season (or at any point during the season, really) and have people bet on who will win the Super Bowl. The runner-up in the Super Bowl can be designated as the second place finisher, so you can take Place and Exacta bets. With pro football, though, it is not real obvious who the third place finisher is, so Show and Trifecta bets are not usable unless you come up with a clear method that everyone agrees on for determining third place.

For college football, you could use the year-end AP or UPI poll to determine who comes in 1st, 2nd and 3rd, so Win, Place, Show, Exacta, and Trifecta bets are a possibility. You might also want to limit the number of teams to bet on by taking one of the top 25 polls, entering each of those teams as contestants, and then entering one more contestant called "All other teams".

 

I have a need to run Backyard Bookie on two different computers. Can I do this?
When you purchase Backyard Bookie, you get a personal license to use the software on any computer, as long as you are only using one copy at a time. (Technically, you are supposed to de-install the product as you move from one machine to another, but we'll let that slide as long as both machines are owned by you personally.) If, for instance, you have Backyard Bookie installed on your home PC and wish to use your laptop to run the software at a party, you can download the "trial" version from our web-site to your laptop, enter in the Registration ID that you received when you ordered the product, and the software will be fully functional.

Remember, your Registration ID is your personal license to the software. IT IS ILLEGAL TO ALLOW SOMEONE ELSE USE YOUR REGISTRATION ID. Should there be evidence that you are illegally sharing your registration ID, your license for the product will be revoked.

I have forgotten my registration id number
If you have the program installed on a PC which has your Registration ID stored internally within the Backyard Bookie system, you can use Help / About Backyard Bookie to view your Registration ID.

But, if you have lost your Registration ID and cannot view it within the software package, we can generally find your ID in our sales database.  Please contact us if you have forgotten your Registration ID.  Please supply your name, the e-mail address used for the purchase, the approximate date of your purchase.

Can Backyard Bookie handle "field" bets, where you bet on multiple racers with one bet?
Yes, when you set up the race card, you assign the "betting numbers" for each racer or contestant. If you want to assign multiple racers to the "field", just assign them all the same betting number.

Can I download starter files which already have the racers entered?
For major racing events, such as any of the Triple Crown races or the Breeder’s Cup, we will have a file available for you to download which contains the days race card. Files will be ready for download early the day of the race, after the day's race card is officially set.  Owners of the Thoroughbred Edition are required to use the downloaded starter file in order to use the software.

Why does a place or show bet pay off more than a winning bet for a racer?
The odds and payoffs for each type of bet are based solely on the money bet for that type of bet. So if there are a lot of bets on a racer to win, but not very many bets on it to place, it very well could pay off more for the place bet than the win bet. Generally, the more bets that you take in, the less often this occurs, simply due to the law of averages. If you are working with a small crowd, you want to set the minimum bet amount lower to encourage people to spread their money around more, thereby getting a more consistent spread of the odds across the different betting pools.

How many different races or competitions can I include in one file?
Backyard Bookie allows up to 20 races or competitions in one file, enough to handle a race card for an entire day at most racing venues.

Is there any limit to the number of racers in a race?
No, there is no practical limit to the number of racers that can be set up for a race. This allows you to use Backyard Bookie for nearly any type of competition, not just horse racing. Use it for golf tournaments, tennis tournaments or auto races.

Can I print out tickets for bets as they are placed?
Yes. You can optionally choose to automatically print tickets or print them only when you choose to.

Do I have to print out tickets to track betting?
No. Backyard Bookie allows you to enter the name of each person as they place bets. After the results are in, either after each race or after all of the races for the day, you can summarize what is owed out to each person and cash each out with a few clicks of the mouse.

Does Backyard Bookie display the odds for all types of bets?
Backyard Bookie displays odds for Win, Place, Show, Exacta, and Daily Double odds. Odds for other bet types would contain so many combinations that would need to be shown that it would not be very practical.

Why are the odds for place and show bets shown as "average" odds?
Place and show odds are "average" odds because the odds that will be paid out depends on what combination of racers that finish in the money. When calculating the payouts for place and show bets, the first thing that is done is that money is taken out of the total pool of bets for that bet type to cover giving each winning bettor his or her money back. The remainder is then divided up as winnings. If one of the favorites comes in along with the racer that you bet on, your payoff will be less than the "average" odds shown. That is because more money is used out of the pool to pay the bets back to each winning bettor and less is available to divide up as the winnings. Conversely, if a long-shot comes in along with the racer that you bet on, then your payoff will be better than the "average" odds because less will be used to pay back bet amounts and more will be available to distribute as winnings.

Why does Backyard Bookie pay off bets that aren't totally correct?
Because Backyard Bookie is geared toward office or home use, the number of bets placed will be relatively small compared to public betting parlors. This means that often there will be no one with a totally correct ticket. Backyard Bookie allows you, in this situation, to choose one of three options: (1) the house keeps all of the bets, (2) pay all bettors back their bets, or (3) pay winnings to those with the most correct picks. The last option applies only to multi-pick bets, which includes exactas, trifectas, daily doubles, and pick 3 through pick 6 bets.

Can I Use Backyard Bookie on a computer not connected to the Internet?  You can use Backyard Bookie on a computer that is not connected to the Internet, but if you do, you'll probably want to copy the "race card" file for the Derby to that computer.  (For Thoroughbred Edition owners, this is a necessity.)  To do this, click here, and follow the instructions to download a copy of the desired race card file.  Then copy it to your Backyard Bookie computer.

Does Backyard Bookie have a Windows 3.1 or Mac version?
No, at this time, Backyard Bookie runs only on Windows95/98 or NT. And MACs running virtual PC. 

Where can I get a book on pari-mutuel betting?
Please visit our Amazon.com links page where we have highlighted books available there on the topic of pari-mutuel betting.

 

 

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