Originally posted on 12/01/2009:

After one of the most ridiculously insane, action-packed long weekends of the year, a couple of slow days are just what the doctor ordered. It’s a time to exhale; a time to touch base with your fellow humans. For me, it’s a great opportunity to write about the latest craze at SBR – betpoints. If you hadn’t hear of them, or had and not joining in on the fun, pay close attention.

Admittedly, I was a skeptic in the beginning. All of a sudden members were being awarded these points for posting. Nobody quite knew their purpose yet, but the kids were eating it up like crack candy. The system initially came off as a misguided popularity contest or a 100-yard dash for the most useless posts. Since my popularity cup already runneth over, and I am the proud owner of probably more useless posts than anyone in the history of the internets, I shunned this novel concept as merely poppycock for the masses. Pixie sticks and lemonade! Harumph!

While others ran around scooping up points as if they were gold-plated power pellets, I exemplified my superior coolness by donating all of mine to posters of questionable character like Gambling Granny. Like she’s even still alive!

Gambling Granny give me back my points!


As usual, the joke was on me. After some quick tweaking to the system by management, the points system began to evolve into its own unique entity. Every week there seems to be something new introduced to add value and entertainment to your betpoints. Gambling Granny, if you are alive, I would like my points back. I’m sure she’s forgotten her password, if not her own name by now.

So here is the deal. Some of the ways that you can accumulate these points are by logging in, posting, contributing to the forum with blogs, by doing well in certain SBR contests or just a gift from a fellow poster for being a swell guy.

I’m a sucker for witty/random posting. When I see something that makes me laugh, I usually reward it by transferring some points. For example, there is some wacko posting named Cougar Bait who thinks that he is Joaquin Phoenix, and smatters the board with ridiculous nonsensical posts that evoke images in my head of America’s favorite braindead wannabe rapper pounding away at his keyboard. I like to give this guy points. It’s the little things.

SBR puts together several contests on their sbrpicks.com page with point prizes. If you have what it takes to outcap the rest of us, your point balance will increase rapidly. You can also put together your very own contests and invite others to join for a predetermined point entry fee. I usually try to get one of these going for any UFC events.

Before I get into some of the other developments, I should probably let you know what these points can ultimately do for you. Yes, they do have value. SBR has put together a store with a wide assortment of prizes that you can purchase for varying denominations of points. It’s kind of like trading in your skeeball tickets that you spent all day winning for a stuffed frog. Except that in this case, the stuffed frog can be anything from a pizza to a plasma TV to a sportsbook freeplay. Neat! Just a word of advice – if you must order the SBR panties, please don’t pose in them for pictures and post them on the board. It’s just wrong. Funny. But wrong.

SBR Store


Now that you know that the points are worth more than just bragging rights, let’s get into the real good stuff.

There are a few forum books on the board. My favorite guy is Mexican Stallion. Guy runs a stand-up operation and very pleasant to deal with. He even throws out some odds on me and Robyn’s Filthy Penny contest. I’ve been taking a bit of his change on that recently. Yes, I feel like a real man beating my wife and a coin flip at football picks. I’m not above it!

As for the most exciting developments for many, which is still in a quasi-testing phase, are the SBR point sportsbook and casino. Yes, you can earn, enjoy, and subsequently, lose your points with the best of them. Some posters have already hit it big toying around there, many have given away their pizzas several times over. The good news is, you can’t be upset for too long because at the end of the day, your wallet is just as full (or empty) as it was when you first sat down to log in. That’s always a good thing.

So there is a quick testimonial/tutorial on the betpoints. The bottom line is that SBR has gone above and beyond once again in rewarding their loyal posters and contributors, while simultaneously beating the little pants off of the complacent competition. If you haven’t taken advantage of the points system at all, I highly recommend it. Whether you’re someone who needs a pizza to survive, or just enjoys some friendly competition with fellow posters without the worry of financial risk, SBR is the place to be.