Frequently Asked Questions
- What’s WinTheTrophy?
- Is it free to play?
- Is this legal?
- Can I use multiple accounts?
- Can I delete my account?
- Why are the buttons different colors?
- What sports can I bet on?
- What types of bets can I make?
- How do moneyline bets work?
- How do over/under bets work?
- How do spread bets work?
- What’s a parlay?
- How do spread + over/under parlay bets work?
- How do moneyline parlay bets work?
- Can I cancel a wager once it’s placed?
- Where do the odds come from?
- How often are the odds updated?
- What does the Show/Hide Vegas Odds toggle do?
- What if a game that I wagered on gets rescheduled or postponed?
- Why can I only bet between 10 and 100 chips per bet?
- Can I bet on the same game more than once?
- How is placement on the Weekly Leaderboard determined?
- What do I win for finishing at the top of the Weekly Leaderboard?
- What is the difference between Chips and Chips Won on the Weekly Leaderboard?
- How is my win/loss/tie record determined in the Weekly Leaderboard?
- What happens if there’s a tie on the Weekly Leaderboard?
- Why can’t I see everyone on the Weekly Leaderboard?
- What’s the Genius Ladder?
- How does the Genius Ladder ranking system work? What’s a BetIQ?
- How is my win/loss/tie record determined in the Genius Ladder?
- I won multiple times on the same bet — why am I only credited with one win?
- Why can’t I see everyone on the Genius Ladder?
- What are Genius Categories?
- What do I have to do to achieve Genius Status?
- Can I obtain Genius Status in more than one Genius Category?
- What do I get for becoming a Genius?
- How do I get paid while I’m a Genius?
- What prizes and awards can I win?
- What are Points?
- How do I get more Points?
- How do I use my Points?
- What’s Juice?
- What are the different types of Juice?
- Why Juice?
- How do I get Juice?
- How much time do I have to use my Juice?
- How do I use Juice?
- How do I unlock the Rage Juice?
- Does Juice affect my BetIQ?
- Can I juice my BetDuel bets?
- What happens if the BetDuel ends before anyone places a bet?
- What if I don’t place a bet during my BetDuel?
- What happens if my opponent deletes his account during our BetDuel?
- What happens if my opponent deletes his account after our BetDuel?
- I am being spammed with BetDuel challenge emails — is there any way to stop them?
General
Yes. It’s 100% free to play. There’s no cost to sign up. No credit card is required. The only thing you risk losing is your pride.
Yes. Though you’re placing bets on real sportsbooks’ odds, you’re doing so with fake cash (called "chips"). Since you’re not betting any real money, it’s perfectly legal.
No. Any user who tries to use multiple or fake accounts is in violation of the terms of service and will be banned from the site.
Why are the buttons different colors?
The different colors represent the home and away colors of the various teams.
Betting
You can currently bet on the NFL, NCAAF, NCAAB, MLB, NBA and NHL. We’ll be adding more sports in the future.
What types of bets can I make?
Moneyline, spread, over/under, moneyline parlay and spread+over/under parlay. There are other bet types, but this is what we have for now.
A moneyline is the simplest type of bet. You’re simply picking the team that you think will win the game. Each team has odds of winning in the form of a bigger or smaller payout. If you pick the team that is favored to win, you’ll earn a smaller payout (less chips) on your bet than if you pick the underdog. If the game ends in a tie, the bet is considered to be pushed, which means you get all of your wagered chips back, but you earn no payout.
Remember, the moneyline doesn’t tell you which team is better and which team will likely win the game. The moneyline is simply designed to attract an equal amount of wagered money on both teams. Your job is to spot where the moneyline reflects the popular sentiment of everyone placing bets but doesn’t reflect how good the teams are and who is likely to win. That’s where you place your bets and where your genius comes through!
The ugly details: The moneyline price determines the bet’s payout. It’s a number that is 100 or greater or -100 or less. A positive moneyline tells you that you’re betting on the underdog and a negative moneyline tells you that you’re betting on the favorite. A positive moneyline price of +150 means that for every 100 chips wagered you stand to win 150 chips. A negative moneyline price of -150 tells you that you have to bet 150 chips to win 100 chips.
Don’t worry about these details if you don’t want to. WinTheTrophy will calculate all the payouts for you before you make the bet. You’ll catch on soon enough.
An over/under bet is fairly easy to understand. you’re betting on what the combined score of the two teams playing will be. If you think the game will be low scoring, you bet "the under". And if you think the game will be high scoring, you bet "the over". you’re betting that the final combined score will be over or under a point total that is set by the oddsmakers.
For example, let’s suppose the Buccaneers are playing the Panthers and the over/under is 35 points. If you bet the over and the final score is Buccaneers 28, Panthers 10, you win because together 28 and 10 total 38 points. If instead the final score was Buccaneers 28, Panthers 7, the bet would be a push (tie) since together 28 and 7 total exactly 35 points. You would get your full wager back but you would not win any payout. If the combined score was less than 35 points, you lose the bet.
The ugly details: An over/under bet also includes a price that determines the potential payout. The price is a positive or a negative number that is 100 or greater or -100 or less. A positive price of +125 tells you that for every 100 chips wagered you stand to win 125 chips. A negative price of -125 tells you that you have to bet 125 chips to win 100 chips.
Don’t worry about these details if you don’t want to. WinTheTrophy will calculate all the payouts for you before you make the bet. You’ll catch on soon enough.
The purpose of a "point spread" is to make sure there’s an even amount of money bet on both teams in a game, even when it appears obvious that one team is better than the other. The point spread acts as an equalizer giving points to the underdog and taking points away from the favored team. A spread is given as a positive or negative number (sometime with a fraction). A team with a negative spread is the favorite to win. If you bet on the favored team, the spread will be subtracted from their final score, and only if they would still win the game, do you win your bet. A team with a positive spread is the underdog. If you bet on the underdog then the spread will be added to their final score, and if they would then win the game, you win the bet.
For example, let’s suppose the Buccaneers are playing the Panthers and the spread is -7 points for the favored Buccaneers.
Buccaneers -7
Panthers +7
If you bet on the Buccaneers "to cover," you’re "giving the points" and the Buccaneers must win by more than 7 points for you to win the bet. If the final score is Buccaneers 21, Panthers 10, you win because the Buccaneers won by 11 points. If the final score is Buccaneers 21, Panthers 17, you lose the bet. Even though the Buccaneers won, they didn’t win by enough points to cover the spread. If the Buccaneers were to win by exactly 7 points, then the bet is a push (tie) and you would get your full wager back, but you would not win any payout. If you bet on the underdog Panthers instead you’re "taking the points", and even if the Panthers lose, as long as it’s by less than 7, you still win the bet.
Remember, the spread doesn’t tell you which team is likely to win and by how much. The spread is simply designed to attract an equal amount of wagered money on both teams. Your job is to spot where the spread reflects the popular sentiment of everyone placing bets but doesn’t reflect how good the teams are and what’s likely to happen. That’s where you place your bets and where your genius comes through!
The ugly details: A spread bet also includes a price that determines the potential payout. The price is a positive or a negative number that is 100 or greater or -100 or less. A positive price of +110 tells you that for every 100 chips wagered you stand to win 110 chips. A negative price of -110 tells you that you have to bet 110 chips to win 100 chips.
Don’t worry about these details if you don’t want to. WinTheTrophy will calculate all the payouts for you before you make the bet. You’ll catch on soon enough.
A parlay (or accumulator) is a type of bet that allows you to link multiple bets together to act as a single bet. All the bets in a parlay must win to earn the payout. The advantage of a parlay bet is that the potential payout is much greater than any one of the individual bets (the odds of winning are also much lower). You can create 3- to 8-way parlays by first placing single bets and then combining them in the Parlay Card located on the right-hand sidebar. There are two types of parlay bets that you can make: Moneyline Parlay and Spread + Over/Under Parlay.
How do spread + over/under parlay bets work?
Between 3 and 8 spread and/or over/under bets can be combined into a single parlay bet. All the bets in the parlay must win for the parlay to earn the payout. You first place the individual spread and/or over/under bets that you’d like to parlay and then you combine them in the Parlay Card located on the right-hand sidebar. Every 4-way or greater parlay that wins earns you a trophy for your virtual Trophy Case.
When bets are parlayed, their original payout price is no longer considered. Instead a parlay factor is used that’s a simple multiplier of the total amount wagered on all the bets in the parlay. The more bets you parlay together, the higher the multiplier.
- 3-way parlay: 6 times the wager
- 4-way parlay: 10 times the wager
- 5-way parlay: 25 times the wager
- 6-way parlay: 40 times the wager
- 7-way parlay: 75 times the wager
- 8-way parlay: 150 times the wager
If a bet in a parlay pushes (ties), then the parlay factor drops down to the next level as if the bet was never part of the parlay (bet you don’t get that wager back!). For example, a 5-way parlay with 4 winning bets and 1 pushed bet pays out like a 4-way parlay. If pushing a bet drops a parlay down to only 2 bets, the payout is 2.6 times the wager, and if pushing bets drop a parlay down to 1 bet, it pays out at .909 times the wager.
How do moneyline parlay bets work?
Between 3 and 8 moneyline bets can be combined into a single parlay bet. All the bets in the parlay must win for the parlay to earn the payout. You first place the individual moneyline bets that you’d like to parlay and then you combine them in the Parlay Card located on the right-hand sidebar. Every 4-way or greater parlay that wins earns you a trophy for your virtual Trophy Case.
When bets are parlayed, their original bets’ payout prices are no longer considered. Instead a somewhat complicated formula is used. The more bets you parlay together, the higher the payout. You don’t need to worry about the moneyline parlay payout formula. WinTheTrophy will calculate it for you before you place the parlay. If you’re curious about the formula you can find out more about it here.
If a bet in a moneyline parlay pushes (ties), you don’t lose the parlay, but the parlay factor is reduced as if the bet was never part of the parlay (but you don’t get that wager back!).
Can I cancel a wager once it’s placed?
No. Just make sure that before you place a bet that that’s the wager you want to make.
We receive odds from professional sportsbooks via a data feed. The odds for WinTheTrophy represent the best consensus available across numerous different sportsbooks.
What does the Show/Hide Vegas Odds toggle do?
You can chose to see odds for games in their raw numerical formats as you’d see them in a sportsbook (Vegas Odds On) or you can see them translated into English (Vegas Odds Off). We happen to prefer English, but if you’re an experienced better, you may prefer to see the odds as you’re used to seeing them.
One handy approach if you’re trying to learn how odds work is to flip back and forth between the Vegas odds and English translation until you get comfortable enough with the raw numerical format.
What if a game that I wagered on gets rescheduled or postponed?
Your bet will be treated as a "push" (that is, a tie). If your bet was a straight bet, your wager amount will be credited back to your account 12 hours after the scheduled start of the game. If your bet was part of a parlay, then the rules for pushes in parlays (see here and here) apply.
Why can I only bet between 10 and 100 chips per bet?
We like you; we enjoy your company; we want you hanging around, making bets, talking sports. If we let you bet all 1,000 of your chips at once you might lose (unlikely, I know) and then you wouldn’t come back for a week until you got more chips. We’d miss you.
If we let you bet less that 10 chips you might make all little teeny tiny bets and your BetIQ would be really small even if you were really good. That wouldn’t be good for you. We got your back!
Can I bet on the same game more than once?
If you’re confident on the outcome of a particular game, you can bet on it as many times as you want. For example, if you believe that the Orlando Magic will beat the Washington Wizards, you can stake all 1,000 of your chips on the Magic. All you need to do is wager 100 chips ten times. Or, if you’re really bored, 10 chips one hundred times.
Weekly Leaderboard
How is placement on the Weekly Leaderboard determined?
Every week you’re given 1,000 chips to wager. The week starts every Monday (U.S. ET) and ends every Sunday (U.S. ET). The more chips you accumulate by winning straight and parlay bets, the higher your leaderboard ranking. The top 10 players who accumulate the most chips over the course of the one-week period are displayed on the leaderboard.
What do I win for placing in the top ten on the Weekly Leaderboard?
You win community bragging rights. If you come in 1st place in one or more of the 28 Leaderboard Categories, you win a shiny, golden trophy that’s displayed in your virtual Trophy Case for friends and fellow community members to covet. In addition to a trophy, 1st-place finishers also win Points that can be redeemed at the Store for goods. Check out the Trophies page for more information on what it takes to win the Weekly Leaderboard trophies.
What is the difference between Chips and Chips Won on the Weekly Leaderboard?
For the Overall category, Chips is the accumulation of your total payouts. For all other categories, we only calculate Chips Won, which is how much you net from each bet. One way to think of this is:
Chips = Chips Won + Wager Amount
Chips Won = Chips - Wager Amount
How is my win/loss/tie record determined in the Weekly Leaderboard?
Each distinct bet counts toward your win/loss/push record. Duplicate bets (a bet on the same outcome of the same event) don’t count multiple times in your record. We consider a duplicate bet to be on the same event, on the same line and the same bet type. For example, two bets on the Panthers to beat the Bucs on Sunday, December 14 at 4 pm EST are considered duplicate bets. If you picked the Panthers, and you were right, your record would be 1-0-0. Let's pretend that you placed two over/under bets on this event. If you picked the over on the first line of 35 total points and then picked the over on the second line of 36 total points, and were right both times, your record would be 2-0-0.
Parlays are handled slightly differently. For the Overall category, a parlay counts as one bet. If you lose any of the individual bets in the parlay, you lose the bet. For all other categories, the individual bets that comprise the parlay are treated as straight bets.
What happens if there’s a tie on the Weekly Leaderboard?
Currently, the tiebreaker goes to the user who has been a registered member of the site the longest.
Why can’t I see everyone on the Weekly Leaderboard?
Our overall philosophy in designing the site has been to keep everything as simple and efficient as possible. Do you really care who is ranked 297th? No, you don’t, not unless it’s you!
Genius Status
The Genius Ladder is a ranking system for determining the best sports bettors within the WinTheTrophy community.
How does the Genius Ladder ranking system work? What’s a BetIQ?
Your Genius Ladder ranking is based on your BetIQ. BetIQ is the weighted average of your chips won (or lost) over a period of time. We think BetIQ is a more pure measure of someone’s skill than mere winning percentage because it takes into account payout factors.
Let’s assume, for example, that we have two NBA games. In the first, the Cavs (the best team in the league) are playing the Wizards (the second worst team) and, in the second, the Lakers (the second best team) are playing the Kings (the worst team). The odds of the Cavs beating the Wizards are very high; likewise with the Lakers beating the Kings. Given this, the payout that Vegas offers for picking either the Cavs or the Lakers is very low. You might have to bet 100 chips, for example, just to win 10 chips (a total payout of 110 chips). But, given the low odds, if you place 100 chips on either the Wizards or the Kings, you might win 300 chips for a total payout of 400 chips. So who is a better picker? Tom who bets 100 chips on the Cavs and wins back 110 chips or Richard who bets 100 chips on the Kings and wins back 400 chips? Both have a winning percentage of 100%. However, Richard was smarter and knew to bet that the Kings would beat the Lakers, despite the low odds. Richard is 290 chips richer than Tom. The scorecard is money (or chips in this case) — not winning percentage. This is why we use BetIQ to determine who the smartest pickers are.
In tracking your BetIQ, we treat bets in a parlay as straight bets. We do this because the large payout factor involved in parlays has the potential to skew the BetIQ. For example, you could be 0-30-0 in picking NFL East teams with a BetIQ of -50.0. And then you could hit an 8-way parlay, with one NFC East pick in it that paid out 20,000 chips — now all of the sudden you might be an NFL NFC East Genius. We don’t want that. Geniuses don’t pick 1-30-0.
How is my win/loss/tie record determined in the Genius Ladder?
Only the results of straight bets count toward your record. Individual bets as part of a parlay are treated as straight bets for the purposes of determining your win/loss/tie record. Duplicate bets (a bet on the same outcome of the same event) don’t count multiple times in your record.
I won multiple times on the same bet — why am I only credited with one win?
You can only be credited with a win, loss or tie on unique bets. In other words, multiple bets on the same sporting event and pick are not considered unique bets from win/loss/tie perspective.
Why can’t I see everyone on the Genius Ladder?
Our overall philosophy in designing the site has been to keep everything as simple and efficient as possible. Do you really care who is ranked 312th? No, you don’t, not unless it’s you!
Genius Categories represent different ways in which we can measure your sports betting skill. Our philosophy is that everyone is good at something, as the saying goes; so while you might not be very accurate at picking NFL games in general, perhaps you’re a master at picking games involving just NFC East teams. So we created multiple categories in which you can obtain Genius Status. Currently, there are 106 Genius Categories, which include:
- Overall
- Moneyline
- Spread
- Over/Under
- NFL
- NFL Moneyline
- NFL Spread
- NFL Over/Under
- NFL American Football Conference
- NFL American Football Conference East Division
- NFL American Football Conference North Division
- NFL American Football Conference South Division
- NFL American Football Conference West Division
- NFL National Football Conference
- NFL National Football Conference East Division
- NFL National Football Conference North Division
- NFL National Football Conference South Division
- NFL National Football Conference West Division
- NCAAF
- NCAAF Moneyline
- NCAAF Spread
- NCAAF Over/Under
- NCAAF Atlantic Coast Conference
- NCAAF Atlantic Coast Conference Atlantic Division
- NCAAF Atlantic Coast Conference Coastal Division
- NCAAF Big 10 Conference
- NCAAF Big 12 Conference
- NCAAF Big 12 Conference North Division
- NCAAF Big 12 Conference South Division
- NCAAF Big East Conference
- NCAAF Conference USA
- NCAAF Conference USA East Division
- NCAAF Conference USA West Division
- NCAAF Independent
- NCAAF Mid-American Conference
- NCAAF Mid-American Conference East Division
- NCAAF Mid-American Conference West Division
- NCAAF Mountain Western Conference
- NCAAF Pacific-10 Conference
- NCAAF Southeastern Conference
- NCAAF Southeastern Conference Eastern Division
- NCAAF Southeastern Conference Western Division
- NCAAF Sun Belt Conference
- NCAAF Western Athletic Conference
- NCAAB
- NCAAB Moneyline
- NCAAB Spread
- NCAAB Over/Under
- NCAAB Atlantic 10 Conference
- NCAAB Atlantic Coast Conference
- NCAAB Big 12 Conference
- NCAAB Big East Conference
- NCAAB Big Sky Conference
- NCAAB Big Ten Conference
- NCAAB Big West Conference
- NCAAB Colonial Athletic Association
- NCAAB Conference USA
- NCAAB Horizon League
- NCAAB Ivy League
- NCAAB Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
- NCAAB Mid-American Conference
- NCAAB Missouri Valley Conference
- NCAAB Mountain West Conference
- NCAAB Ohio Valley Conference
- NCAAB Pacific-10 Conference
- NCAAB Southeastern Conference
- NCAAB The Southern Conference
- NCAAB Sun Belt Conference
- NCAAB West Coast Conference
- NCAAB Western Athletic Conference
- MLB
- MLB Moneyline
- MLB Spread
- MLB Over/Under
- MLB American League
- MLB National League
- MLB American League East Division
- MLB American League Central Division
- MLB American League West Division
- MLB National League East Division
- MLB National League Central Division
- MLB National League West Division
- NBA
- NBA Moneyline
- NBA Spread
- NBA Over/Under
- NBA Eastern Conference
- NBA Western Conference
- NBA Eastern Conference Atlantic Division
- NBA Eastern Conference Central Division
- NBA Eastern Conference Southeast Division
- NBA Western Conference Northwest Division
- NBA Western Conference Pacific Division
- NBA Western Conference Southwest Division
- NHL
- NHL Moneyline
- NHL Spread
- NHL Over/Under
- NHL Eastern Conference
- NHL Western Conference
- NHL Eastern Conference Atlantic Division
- NHL Eastern Conference Northeast Division
- NHL Eastern Conference Southeast Division
- NHL Western Conference Central Division
- NHL Western Conference Northwest Division
- NHL Western Conference Pacific Division
What do I have to do to achieve Genius Status?
Geniuses are the top 2% of bettors in a Genius Category as measured by their BetIQ. To qualify, you must place at least 7 bets every 30 days and earn a minimum BetIQ of 10.0. Genius Status is granted (and revoked) on a weekly basis, so if you become a Genius you’re guaranteed to remain a Genius for at least one week.
What do I get for becoming a Genius?
You will earn recognition from your peers as one of the top sports bettors in the world. You get a trophy for your virtual Trophy Case. Even more, you will earn a share of 40% of all revenue generated from sales of your Genius Picks.
How do I get paid while I’m a Genius?
Every week we split 40% of all Genius Picks sales proceeds among winning picks. The more winners you pick, the more you earn!
Rewards
What prizes and awards can I win?
Currently, there are a few opportunities:
- If you finish atop the Weekly Leaderboard, you win community bragging rights, virtual currency units called Points and a shiny trophy that’s displayed in your virtual Trophy Case for friends and fellow community members to covet.
- For being an active member of the site, you’re rewarded with Points. You can redeem Points for goods at the Store.
- For every friend that you refer, you earn Points. Refer enough friends and unlock special power-ups (Rage Juice) that you can use to boost bet winnings by 50%!
Points reward you for being an active community member by allowing you to redeem accumulated points for goods.
There are several ways to earn Points:
- Win trophies.
- 100 Points for registering for the site.
- 10 Points for every comment you make about a game and for every public comment you make about one of your bets.
- 5 Points for every bet you place.
- 500 Points for completing your To-Do List and 200 Points for completing the Bonus To-Do’s.
- Challenge other users to a BetDuel for Points.
You can redeem your accumulated Points for goods in the Store.
Juice
Juice is something that we call a functional trophy because it boosts the winnings that you receive on winning bets. For example, if you apply Wild Juice to a bet and win, it’ll boost your chips won by 20% (or a factor of 1.20). To illustrate how this works, let’s say you bet 100 chips on an event with a price of +170. The potential winnings is 170 chips, for a total payout of 270 chips (100 + 170). If instead you Juiced this bet with Wild Juice, your potential winnings is 204 chips (170 x 1.20) for a total payout of 304 chips. That’s 34 extra chips!
What are the different types of Juice?
There are nine different types of Juice:
- Wild Juice — boost all bet winnings by 20%.
- Money Juice — boost moneyline winnings by 35%.
- Spread Juice — boost spread winnings by 35%.
- O/U Juice — boost over/under winnings by 35%.
- Parlay Juice — boost parlay winnings by 35%.
- Money Rage Juice — boost moneyline winnings by 50%.
- Spread Rage Juice — boost spread winnings by 50%.
- O/U Rage Juice — boost over/under winnings by 50%.
- Parlay Rage Juice — boost parlay winnings by 50%.
Bigger payouts from Juice help you vanquish your foes in the Weekly Leaderboard contest.
Simply buy Juice at the Store using your accumulated Points.
How much time do I have to use my Juice?
Juice comes in a pack of 3. You run out of Juice after using on 3 bets. However, you have to use that pack before a period of 7 days or you’ll lose all unused Juice!
If you have Juice, you get the option to use it each time you place a bet. Simply select the Juice option that appears on the drop-down menu in the dialog box. Be careful in choosing a bet to boost with Juice; if you lose the bet then you wasted your Juice.
Referring Friends
How do I refer my friends to the site?
In your profile, you’re assigned a dedicated 3-digit referral code. Give this code to your friends and ask them to enter it upon signing up.
To make sharing easier, hover over your Jersey with the referral code in your profile. Copy the link and then share it with your friends!
Why should I refer my friends to WinTheTrophy?
For starters, we hope that you love the game so much that you want your friends to join in on the fun! Other, more tangible reasons include:
- For each friend that you refer, you earn Points.
- Friend referrals help you unlock cool items in the Store.
- When your friend referral activates his or her account, you earn a Recruiter Trophy that’s displayed in your Trophy Case. (Aren’t you popular?)
BetDuel
Yes, you can. It’s a perfectly legitimate way to boost your chances of vanquishing your foe.
What happens if the BetDuel ends before anyone places a bet?
The person who has been challenged wins by default.
What if I don’t place a bet during my BetDuel?
If your opponent places a bet — regardless of whether he wins or loses it — and you don’t, then you automatically lose the BetDuel.
What happens if my opponent deletes his account during our BetDuel?
First of all, this is a dishonorable action. However, it’s as if the duel never happened. (To be technical, we delete the record from our database entirely.)
What happens if my opponent deletes his account after our BetDuel?
In this case, we consider the duel completed and the result stays the same.
I am being spammed with BetDuel challenge emails — is there any way to stop them?
Sorry about that. Simply go to “Your Account” and tell us to stop sending you emails.
BetBot
No, not at this time. Perhaps at some point in the future we will implement an API mechanism for you to purchase Juice at the Store and then apply them to your bets.
Genius Picks
Genius Picks are picks made by users on the site who have achieved Genius Status.
