Coral raffle help needed for idiot (me)

[nanoreeFan]

I've noticed some local reefer club coral raffles on Facebook. Anyone have the patience to explain how they work? I'm too dumb to figure it out, never gambled before. One guy puts a frag up and calls it a ten spot main. They you buy your number/place picking one through ten for say 2 bucks. Then here is where I get lost. Once one through ten slots are full.....a drawing takes place. The winner gets to choose one of ten spots. Once that is full, then we do another drawing for someone to win the frag. Thanks in advance

 

[Joevember]

That's a weird way to do a raffle... a chance to get a chance to win. Just message the seller questions you have, they're always happy to help. 

 

[Beer]

That’s not quite a raffle. It’s basically gambling for corals as you mentioned.

 

I’ve heard of these before, but it is usually a bigger pool for more expensive corals. If they are run fair, it isn’t set up so that the pool total is multiples of what the corals actually cost or with fake random generators that benefit a select predetermined few. There are ways to set up serious scams with these, but with the small pool and low cost, I wouldn’t imagine that this would be the case.

 

Some people claim to do pretty well with these to breaking even, or only a slight loss over retail. For these to be worth while, you really need to be in a lot of them and consistently. It is playing averages, with a lot of chance thrown in. If you only play sporadically, you are unlikely to win. If you play a lot, you will hit more and approach a level where it breaks even. Most people hope to at least break even and consider the losses as entertainment fees (of course with the hopes that they will win a high dollar or desirable piece). If you hit a bad run, you could end up with nothing, or with ugly pieces you have no interest in.

 

It is pure chance. Playing is clearly up to you, but if you set limits on spending and losses and are okay with those losses and can view it as entertainment with a potential reward, it can be fun. Just don’t go into it thinking you are going to come out on top. You *are* gambling, only one of those ten people is going to win.