Originally posted on 02/17/2010:

The new SBR "sports book" can be a very useful tool to test your modeling result with little risk.

I'm a fond proponent of in season active testing of model results using a small bankroll; large enough to pinch when you lose and yet small enough to not keep the kids from going to Harvard.

So it's easy: Use the SBR book like it was your personal BR in testing your new model in season where you'll learn those real-time lessons you simply will not get by testing with historical data (or backcasting as some of us call it). The beauty of it is betpoints are pretty valuable to most SBR's denizens, so you'll get that pinch when you mess up, but since they're free, kids still can screw off playing Halo and need not work on that scholarship.

Before you start, built up an account balance of around 500 points or more and then only play with that amount so that you track how well your selections and money-management is working before you use the kid's inheritance. Don't touch the later build-up of points as your BR will gradually lose and you can utilize the later points build-up to reload midseason. It's just like losing real money! And, boys and girls, as another fine "real life" service brought to you by SBR, you can even find an SBR loan shark in SBR's Players Talk!