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TABLE OF CONTENTS
License Agreement ............................................ 1
Warranty ..................................................... 1
Credits ...................................................... 1
Using PRO Football Picks ..................................... 2
Getting Started
A. Using PRO Football Picks ............................. 2
B. General Instructions ................................. 2
C. Installing PRO Football Picks ........................ 3
1. Team Names ...................................... 3
2. Using A Mouse ................................... 3
3. Rule Changes In 1993 ............................ 4
Beginning PRO Football Picks ................................. 4
A. Entering The Week Number ............................. 5
B. Vigorish ............................................. 5
C. Previous Years Statistics ............................ 5
PRO Football Picks Main Menu ................................. 6
A. Section Order To Run PRO Football Picks .............. 6
Data Section ................................................. 6
A. Data Entry ........................................... 7
B. Team Vs. The Spread .................................. 8
C. Team Schedules ....................................... 8
Game Selection Section ....................................... 8
A. The Spread ........................................... 9
B. Home Field Advantage ................................. 9
C. Using PFP For Office Betting Pools ................... 9
D. Understanding The Analysis Screen .................... 10
E. Under / Over ......................................... 11
F. Placing A Bet ........................................ 11
Run This Weeks Games ......................................... 12
The Week In Review ........................................... 13
Technical Support, Comments & Questions ...................... 14
Benefits Of Registering ...................................... 15
Appendix A: Error Messages / Trouble Shooting
Appendix B: Planned Future Enhancements
Appendix C: Registration Information
Registration Form
LICENSE AGREEMENT
PRO Football Picks v5.0 is Copyright (C) 1993 by ALC Software, ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED WORLDWIDE.
PRO Football Picks (tm) is NEITHER public domain software NOR free software.
Non-registered users are granted a limited license to use PRO Football Picks
(tm) on a trial basis to determine whether PRO Football Picks (tm) will meet
their needs. Any further use of PRO Football Picks (tm) requires
registration. Use of non-registered copies of PRO Football Picks (tm) by
any person, business, or corporation or other entity is strictly forbidden.
The following rules also apply:
No user may modify PRO Football Picks (tm) or its related data files in
any way.
PRO Football Picks (tm) must be copied in unmodified form, complete with
this license, VENDOR.DOC file and this documentation file.
PRO Football Picks (tm) may not be listed in advertisements, catalogs,
or in any other manner which describes it as "FREE SOFTWARE". Shareware
is "Try-Before-You-Buy" software, it is not free.
PRO Football Picks (tm) is not to be "rented" or leased.
No fee (greater than $9.00), charge or other compensation may be received
for the distribution.
PRO Football Picks (tm) may not be distributed with any other product
without the express written consent of ALC Software.
WARRANTY
The author specifically disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied,
including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability and
fitness for a particular purpose with respect to defects in the diskette and
documentation. In no event shall the author be liable for any loss of profit
or any other commercial damage, including but not limited to special,
incidental, consequential or other damages. The person using the software
bears all risk as to the quality and performance of the software.
CREDITS
Technical Guidance: Michael Callahan, Frank Genese, David Hamel
Documentation: Sandy La Chant, Matthew Lobman
This manual on disk was created using the BOXER Text Editor.
Trademarks: MS-DOS, DOS and Microsoft are registered trademarks of
Microsoft Corporation.
CompuServe is a registered trademark of CompuServe Incorporated.
- 1 -
USING PRO FOOTBALL PICKS (tm)
PRO Football Picks (PFP) - Version 5.0 was designed to be used purely for
entertainment purposes and not with the intent to aid in breaking of any
local, state or federal laws. The authors do love the game of football and
hope you enjoy using the program.
Files Included with PRO Football Picks (tm) - Version 5.0:
INSTALL.EXE Installation Program For PRO Football Picks v5.0.
* PFPICKS5.EXE The PRO Football Picks main program Version 5.0.
This is the non-registered version.
* FOOTBALL.DAT All current year data for teams is stored in this
file.
* SCHEDULE.93 Includes the schedule for the 1993 football season.
* 1992STAT.DAT Includes the game scores, spreads and all pertinent
final statistics for the 1992 football season.
PFPICKS5.DOC PRO Football Picks documentation. (This file!)
VENDOR.DOC Vendor Distribution Rules in ASCII format.
ORDER.FRM Registration Form In ASCII format.
To run PFP, the above four files marked with an asterisk (*) are required.
These files, as well as the others, are copied either to the disk or
directory specified when the install program is run.
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS
PFP is a football handicapping program designed to pick winning teams, taking
into account the "Betting Line" (spread). The additional statistical data
needed to properly use the program is usually published in the local daily
newspapers. The required statistics are also printed, during the football
season, in USA Today, the American Conference statistics on Wednesday and
the National Conference statistics on Thursday. The weekly statistics can
also be downloaded directly from the ALC Software Bulletin Board System.
(See Appendix C, Item #8 for more information.)
PFP has been used since the 1986 season and has had a WINNING SEASON
EVERY YEAR except for the 1987 season.
PFP can be run from a floppy diskette or a hard drive. Since computers
access hard drives faster than floppy diskette drives, PFP will run faster
from a hard drive. Use the PRO Football Picks Installation Program to
install the program to either another disk or to your hard drive. Then put
the original copy in a safe place. DO NOT USE THE ORIGINAL DISK!
You can exit PFP at any time during the program by pressing the "F10" key and
any data entered to that point will be saved. DO NOT press CTRL-BREAK or
CTRL-ALT-DELETE to "get out" of the program. ALWAYS USE "F10". Throughout
this manual, [Enter] will be used to represent the Enter Key (─┘).
- 2 -
INSTALLING PRO FOOTBALL PICKS
To simplify correct installation of PFP, there is an installation program
which guides you step-by-step through the PFP installation process. You
must have at least 300k of disk space available to install PFP.
To install PFP From a Diskette:
1) Exit or quit all programs and go to the DOS prompt (for Example C:\).
2) Insert the diskette in the disk drive A (or B).
3) Make the disk drive the current drive by typing A:[Enter] or B:[Enter].
At the prompt (Usually A> or B:\>) type the command: INSTALL [Enter]
To install PFP From a Directory:
1) Exit or quit all programs and go to the DOS prompt (for Example C:\).
2) Make sure the directory containing the files is the current directory.
Then type the command: INSTALL [Enter]
Once the installation is complete and successful, you are ready to run PFP!
TEAM NAMES
The names of the 28 Professional Football teams are referred to in PFP by the
city where the team plays. In cities where there are two teams, the teams
will be referred to in abbreviations. For New York this will be NY Gnts and
NY Jts and for Los Angeles this will be LA Rms and LA Rdrs.
USING A MOUSE
PRO Football Picks has the ability to use a Microsoft (R) (or compatible)
mouse. To use a mouse, make sure the mouse driver software is loaded into
memory BEFORE you run PFP. If it is properly loaded, the square mouse cursor
will appear at the beginning of PFP. The manual will refer to pressing the
left button on the mouse as (click left) and pressing the right button on
the mouse as (click right). If pressing either the left button or the right
button will produce the same result, then it will be referred to as
(click either). Generally, at the menu choices, click left will be the
equivalent of pressing [Enter] (─┘) and click right will be the
equivalent of pressing the escape key (Esc). When there are exploding boxes
on the screen, in the upper left corner of the box will be a () symbol.
Click either on this close box symbol to close the box.
- 3 -
RULE CHANGES IN THE 1993 FOOTBALL SEASON AND PFP
PFP has been modified to be compatible with the changes made for the
1993 season. The changes are as follows:
The 16 game regular season will be played over 18 weeks with each team
having TWO open weeks when they do not play. The teams and their open
weekends are as follows:
Week #3 - Chicago, Indianapolis, NY Jts, Miami, Green Bay,
Tampa Bay, Minnesota, Buffalo
Week #4 - Denver, Philadelphia, NY Gnts, Dallas, LA Rdrs, Washington,
San Diego, Kansas City
Week #5 - Phoenix, Cincinnati, New England, Houston, Cleveland, Pittsburgh
Week #6 - San Francisco, Atlanta, LA Rms, Detroit, Seattle, New Orleans
Week #7 - Chicago, Indianapolis, NY Jts, Miami, Green Bay,
Tampa Bay, Minnesota, Buffalo
Week #8 - Denver, Philadelphia, NY Gnts, Dallas, LA Rdrs, Washington,
San Diego, Kansas City
Week #9 - Cincinnati, Houston, Cleveland, Pittsburgh
Week #10 - San Francisco, Atlanta, LA Rms, New Orleans
Week #11 - Detroit, New England
Week #12 - Phoenix, Seattle
This means that after the third week, it is possible that teams playing
one another, will have played a different number of games. This is
considered by PFP in its analysis.
There is 1 week off between the league championships and the Super Bowl.
(Last year there were 2 weeks off.)
BEGINNING PRO FOOTBALL PICKS
To run PFP, make the drive (or directory) the current drive (or directory)
on your computer and type PFPICKS5 [Enter]. At the very beginning of the
program, a musical "Charge!" tune will be played. If you prefer not to hear
the tune, start PFP as follows: PFPICKS5 /S [Enter]. The /S switch will
silence the tune.
- 4 -
ENTERING THE WEEK NUMBER
At the onset of PFP you will be asked to enter this Sunday's week number.
PFP reads the system date set on your computer and, based on that date,
displays in a box, the following Sunday's week number and its corresponding
date. If this is the correct date, press [Enter]. If not, use the up and
down arrows to select the correct week number and press [Enter]. Mouse
users, to change the week number, up and down arrows will appear on the
screen, (click) on the correct arrow then (click) the correct week number.
The Monday night game is considered part of the previous week's games. When
running PFP on Monday, it is important to use the week number from the
previous week. PFP will flash "Monday" next to the date box to remind the
user to enter the previous week.
In the bottom right area of the screen, PFP will display, in a box, the last
week the user has reviewed. PFP will not allow you to run a previous week's
games if they have already been reviewed. This is because once reviewed,
the year to date statistics are updated and therefore, the year to date
statistics maintained by PFP would become inaccurate. If you attempt to run
a week that has already been reviewed, PFP will flash this box as a
reminder.
THE CORRECT WEEK NUMBER IS VERY IMPORTANT TO THE PROPER RUNNING OF PFP.
VIGORISH
Since PRO Football Picks (tm) Version 5.0 will track and record bets made
by the user, it is necessary to know if a vigorish or "vig" will be charged
upon losing bets. For those unfamiliar with this term, professional
oddsmakers who take bets (where it is legal) usually charge a percentage if
the bet make with them is a losing one. This percentage is called vigorish
(also called "juice") and is almost always 10% on a straight team bet. To
place a $10 bet, you would have to put up $11 ($10 plus $1 vig) to win $10.
The sports book will also take another $11 from someone who feels the team
playing against your team will win, for a total of $22. If you win you get
your $11 back plus $10 winnings for a total of $21. If you lose you get...
Regardless of which team wins, the sports book makes $1 or 4.5%. ($1 divided
by $22 = .04545 or 4.5%) This is how they make their money. Should the
user be making bets with friends (who usually don't charge a percentage!)
then the vigorish would be set to 0%, or even money bets.
PREVIOUS YEARS STATISTICS
Next, PFP will ask if you want to include the previous years final statistics
to your calculations. The pertinent final statistics of the 1992 football
season are included as part of the PFP program files. It is recommended for
the first FIVE weeks of the 1993 football season that these statistics be
used in the program to help increase the accuracy of the prediction given
by PFP. If you do not include the previous year's statistics for the first
few weeks, PFP will have very little data to use for its prediction. This is
ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT for the accuracy of the under/over prediction. If you
respond "YES" then PFP will automatically add the 1992 season final numbers
into its calculations. Previous year's statistics are not allowed to be
added during the Post-Season.
- 5 -
PRO FOOTBALL PICKS MAIN MENU
The PFP main menu is divided into four major sections. Each will be
discussed in length. The sections and corresponding function keys are as
follows:
[F1] Data Section
[F2] Game Selection Section
[F3] Run This Weeks Games
[F4] The Week In Review
When you press the function key or (click left on the "F" key square) for
the section you want to run, a second menu briefly explaining that section
will appear. If you have pressed the wrong key in error, at that point,
press the escape key (Esc) or (click right) to return to the Main Menu.
The first time you run PFP the Run This Week's Games Section and The Week In
Review Section will be shaded. PFP will not let you into these sections.
The reason for this is the Run This Week's Section, as explained later,
allows you to run this week's games without re-entering most of the data.
Since you have not run the week's games yet, this section can not be used.
Likewise, the Week In Review Section reviews the weeks games that have been
entered. Since you have not done the required entering of the week's games,
this section can not be used yet either.
SECTION ORDER TO RUN PRO FOOTBALL PICKS
Generally the order that you will visit each section each week is in the
order in which they are listed.
1) Data Section - Enter the data for each team.
2) Game Selection Section - Run each game.
3) Run This Weeks Games - Run games after they have been run once.
4) The Week In Review - Enter the final scores and see how you did!
NOTE: Run The Week In Review and enter the final scores BEFORE
continuing on to the next week's games.
DATA SECTION
The Data Section menu offers three section choices. Each will be discussed
below. The sections and corresponding function keys are as follows:
[F1] Data Entry
[F2] Teams vs. The Spread
[F3] Team Schedules
When you press the function key or (click left) for the section you want to
run, a second menu briefly explaining that section will appear. If you have
pressed the wrong key in error, at that point, press the escape key (Esc) or
(click right) to return to the Data Section Menu.
- 6 -
DATA ENTRY
In the second menu prior to entering the Data Entry Section, you will be
asked if you would like to enter WEEKLY DATA or YEAR TO DATE DATA. The
default is Weekly Data. If you would like to enter Year To Date Data,
press the TAB key (or click either) to highlight Year To Date Data and press
the enter key. Since different newspapers and statistical services provide
the data in both these formats, PFP accommodates both types.
Once into the Data Entry Section, press the letter of the team and enter
the data asked for. Required statistics for each team are:
1) Yards Rushing Offense 4) Yards Passing Defense
2) Yards Passing Offense 5) Points Scored For
3) Yards Passing Defense 6) Points Scored Against
The number in parentheses at the end of each question, is the most recent
Year To Date Total for that team. If you are entering Weekly Data, PFP will
total and add the number entered to the number in parentheses to arrive at
the Year To Date Total. If you are entering Year To Date data, PFP will
subtract the number in parentheses from the number entered to give you the
weekly data.
Repeat this for all teams. If the number in parentheses is correct, it
has either BEEN UPDATED BY PFP (see The Week In Review) or hasn't changed
since last data entry. This will be the case for all the data for a team if
the team was off the prior week. Press enter to retain the number in
parentheses.
Note for mouse users: In the Data Entry Section (and any section where
numeric data must be entered, a numeric "key pad" will appear on the screen
for you to enter the data. This "keypad" is similar to the keypad on your
keyboard with a few additions. The bottom right square is the enter symbol
(─┘). With the mouse cursor on this symbol, (click either) to press enter.
To the left of the enter sign is the backspace key (─), (click either) for
the equivalent of pressing the backspace key. Also included is the decimal
point and the minus sign. These are used for the entering of the spread
where 1/2 points are necessary (Ex: .5) and negative numbers are used for
teams that are favorites (Ex: -3.5).
After entering the data for each team, PFP will ask if all the above data
is correct. If you have made an error, respond "No" and PFP will ask for
the specific line item to be corrected and allow you to do so.
A clock is provided in the lower right corner of the Data Entry Screen. If
you are like many users and wait until late Sunday morning to enter the data
required to run PFP, the clock is there to let the user know just how much
time is left until opening kickoff!
Note For The Post-Season: In weeks 19 through 22, (the playoffs weeks and
the super bowl) although PFP will allow you to enter post-season data, it is
not recommended. Different teams have played different number of games
(Ex: wild card teams will have played 1 more game than the other teams) yet
PFP does not take this into consideration when doing it's analysis. PFP has
been VERY successful in the playoffs by just using the data from the regular
season.
- 7 -
*******************************************************************************
If you find Data Entry tedious and you have a modem, Registered Users are
able to pay $50 fee per season to download the weekly statistics directly
from the ALC Software Bulletin Board System (BBS). See ordering information
in Appendix C, Item #8, for more information about this service.
*******************************************************************************
TEAMS VS. THE SPREAD
Team Vs. The Spread section is a database of all 28 teams' performance vs.
the spread, for the years 1990 through 1992. The teams are listed in two
charts, by conference. In the registered version, PFP will update this
database automatically throughout the 1993 season as the user runs The Week
In Review Section.
Streaks are a very important consideration when betting. It is recommended
that you manually keep track of each team's performance vs. the spread (or
get the registered version which will do it for you!) to utilize the
information to exploit any "hot" or "cold" streaks a team may have against
the spread and bet accordingly. This is why the dashes are listed in the
1993 column and YOU WILL BE ABLE TO PRINT the Team Vs. The Spread charts.
TEAM SCHEDULES
The 1993 Team Schedules section is a database of all 28 teams' schedules.
They may be displayed (or printed in the registered version) for any or all
teams. PFP gives you a choice of which team schedule you want displayed.
Certain games will have an "m" next to the date of the game being played,
indicating a Monday date and a Monday night game. In the registered version,
when you run The Week In Review, the schedule will be updated with the
scores.
GAME SELECTION SECTION
In this section, PFP will display the games of the week. The user chooses
the game to analyze. Games can be chosen in any order. The most convenient
way is to run the games in the order printed in the newspaper. PFP will
store the games in the order you specify, making running the program again
in the same week easier. PFP will verify that the game chosen is correct so
that if you have accidentally chosen the wrong letter, you can correct this
before continuing. Throughout PFP, the home team is displayed in all capital
letters and the visiting team in lower case letters.
Note On Post-Season Play: In weeks 19 through 22, (the playoffs weeks and
the Super Bowl) PFP will display the names of all the teams as it does not
know what teams will be in the playoffs. (imagine if it did!) The user will
have to choose the VISITING team first. PFP will know how many playoff games
there are for that week. The remaining procedures are exactly the same.
- 8 -
THE SPREAD
Next the user will be asked to enter the spread. For those new to football
betting, we would like to answer the questions: What is the spread? Why
does it exist? Why don't we just bet on which team we think will win the
game like we did in elementary school? Well, unless the teams are very equal
in ability, not too many people would bet on the underdog. So to bet the
favorite, points are added to the final score of the underdog team to make
things equal. These points are called the spread. It is the professional
oddsmakers job to determine what that "magic number" is. In theory, if the
spread were exactly right, the number of people who bet on both teams would
be even and the sports book would be guaranteed it's 4.5% of the action. If
the sports book is not receiving an even distribution of bets, the spread
will be adjusted in an effort to do so.
PFP will always ask the user to enter the spread for the Home team. PFP will
accept 1/2 point spreads which should be entered as .5. (Ex: 7 1/2 point
spread should be entered as 7.5) If the Home team were a 7 1/2 point
favorite, you would enter the spread as -7.5. If the Home team were a 7 1/2
point underdog, you would enter the spread as 7.5.
Note for Mouse users: A convenient "key pad" will appear to the right of
the screen for numeric entry, (click either) on this "key pad" to enter the
spread.
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE
The Home Field Advantage (HFA) is a totally arbitrary number of points
assigned by the user as an advantage for the home team. This number can be
as high as 10 points but is usually 3. Since the professional oddsmakers use
many variables when determining the point spread, this is the opportunity for
the user to use his/her own handicapping experience to influence the analysis
by PFP. The default is 3 points and it can be entered by just pressing
[Enter] or (click either) on the [Enter] symbol (─┘) in the "key pad". PFP
will verify the HFA before continuing.
USING PFP FOR OFFICE BETTING POOLS
Although there are many different types of office pools, 3 types are most
common:
1) Pick one team for every game to win even up. This means no spread is
considered. The most winners wins the pool.
2) Pick one team for every game to win with the spread considered. The
most winners wins the pool.
3) Pick one team for a few games (the number of games varies) with the
spread considered. Each participant lists the games in order of
preference. Correct picks are awarded points based on the order
listed. Ex.: First pick gets 10 points, Second pick gets 5 points,
etc. The highest point total wins the pool.
- 9 -
There are hundreds of variations on the above listed three. Most pools use
the total points scored for the Monday night game as the tie breaker. Use
the Under / Over prediction described below for this tie breaker total.
PFP can help in all of these types of pools. In pools where the spread is
not considered, run PFP and enter 0 for the spread. In pools where the
spread is considered, run PFP and enter the spread as would normally be done.
In both cases, PFP will analyze the game and determine the potential winners.
For the third type of pool, use the games determined to be a play as your
choices. List them according to strength of each play.
To determine the strength of each play, as well as for those games not
determined a pick, you will be able to determine the strength of each team
by looking at the differential. See UNDERSTANDING THE ANALYSIS SCREEN for
more information on how to determine the strength of the pick. The
registered version will have best bet picks and strength ratings for its
picks to simplify this process.
UNDERSTANDING THE ANALYSIS SCREEN
After all information has been entered, PFP will give you its analysis of the
game. On top will be the names of the teams and the game spread entered.
Following will be all of the information entered for each team.
Abbreviations are as follows:
RYF - Total Rushing Yards For (Offense)
RYA - Total Rushing Yards Against (Defense)
PYF - Total Passing Yards For (Offense)
PYA - Total Passing Yards Against (Defense)
PTF - Total Points Scored For (Offense)
PTA - Total Points Scored Against (Defense)
TYF - Total Yards For (Calculated By PFP)
TYA - Total Yards Against (Calculated By PFP)
#WP - Number Of Weeks Played INCLUDING The Current Week (Entered By PFP)
HFA - Home Field Advantage (Entered By User)
The number of weeks played (#WP) is the number of weeks that team has played,
year to date, INCLUDING the current week. This number may be different
between teams, because different teams may have open weeks at different times
in the season. (see RULE CHANGES IN THE 1993 FOOTBALL SEASON AND PFP)
- 10 -
UNDER / OVER
Next is an under/over prediction. Under/over, for those who are not familiar
with it, is the sum of the points scored by both teams at the end of the
game. For example, if the final score is 21-14, the under / over for that
game is 35 points. If the under/over line is over the number predicted, bet
under. If the under/over line is under the number of points predicted,
bet over. If the numbers are the same, good luck! Note: When running PFP
in the first 5 weeks, it is STRONGLY suggested that you include the previous
years statistics to improve the accuracy of the under/over prediction.
The next line will give PFP's estimate of the final score base on a Points
per Yard calculation. Directly under that will be PFP's final score estimate
based on a Sum of the Averages calculation. In order for there to be a play,
one team must "cover" (that is when the spread is added to the score of the
underdog or subtracted from the score of the favorite, that team must beat
the predicted score in both calculations) for PFP to pick that team. If a
game does not meet this criteria, a "No Play" prediction will be rendered.
In this instance, the user can use these scores to determine which team to
pick. The greater the differential, the better the pick. Underneath the
final score estimates is the betting section explained below.
PFP's game prediction is in the box to the right of these final score
estimates. A "No Play" prediction, as mentioned above, is issued if PFP
feels that with the current spread entered it is "too close to call". A
different spread may yield a different recommendation. PFP usually picks
between 8 and 12 picks per week. Rarely will all 14 games be determined a
play.
At the bottom of the screen will be six choices. Press the corresponding
letter or (click either) for the following choices: "B" to place a bet.
"H" is for history. PFP will provide the 1992 history of the two teams
playing against one another. This will include which team was the home
team, which team was the visitor, the final score and the Home Team Spread
(H.T.S). The H.T.S. is the spread for the game expressed as the number of
points the home team gave or received. If the H.T.S was -7 then the home
team was a 7 point favorite. If the H.T.S. was +7 then the home team was
a 7 point underdog. "P" will print the game information as it appears on
the screen. "R" will run the same teams again (usually to change the point
spread or HFA). "N" will to go on to the next game and F10, as always, to
quit PFP.
NOTE: In this, the non-registered version of PRO Football Picks, most
printing (except where noted) has been disabled. When pressing
the key required to print, nothing will happen.
PLACING A BET
Should the user decide to place a bet, a box will appear with the names of
the teams for that game. If no bet is desired, press Esc or (click on the
close box symbol) and choose another letter. To choose a team, press "1"
or (click either) if you want to bet on the home team or press "2" or
(click either) to bet on the visiting team. The team name will appear in
the box along with the spread for that team. PFP will then ask how much
you want to bet on that team. You may bet as little as $1 up to $99,999.
This should be is a sufficient betting range for all users!
- 11 -
If the user does not want to bet, but just pick a team as his/her opinion,
you may bet $0 by hitting the enter key.
Once the betting box has disappeared, the current betting information will
be displayed underneath the area where the betting box was. This includes
the amount of your bet, the team you bet on and the amount you have bet this
week so far NOT including the current bet. The number in parenthesis
represents the amount you will have bet this week INCLUDING the current bet.
To change the team you bet on, the amount bet or cancel your bet, choose "B"
for bet and then "C" for cancel. PFP will remember the last bet entered.
At the end of running all the games for that week, PFP will save all the
games to disk which will allow you to use the Run This Weeks Games Section
(explained below). In the Game Selection Section only, should the user press
F10 before entering game data for all that weeks games, the data to that
point will not be saved. PFP will provide a summary of the games that were a
"play". The spread used in that display will be the last one entered before
continuing on to the next game. The user will be given the option to press
"P" to print this screen.
NOTE: In this, the non-registered version of PRO Football Picks, most
printing (except where noted) has been disabled. When pressing
the key required to print, nothing will happen.
RUN THIS WEEKS GAMES
It is not uncommon for the spread to change during the week prior to the
game. A 1/2 point change in the spread may affect your betting decision as
well as PFP's play decision. For this reason, the user may want to run PFP
again using a different spread or HFA without having to re-enter all of the
data. It was for this reason the Run This Weeks Games Section was created.
PFP will allow you into the Run This Weeks Games Section once you have
completed the Game Selection Section previously that week. The Run This
Week's Games Section will run ALL of the games of the week in the order
previously entered.
Upon entering the Run This Weeks Games Section, PFP will go right into the
first game. Games will be in the order previously entered. The procedure
will be exactly the same as in the Game Selection Section, however the
previous spread will appear in a white box to the right of PFP's request for
the spread. To use the same spread as in the box, you must ENTER the spread
again just as it appears to the right. If you just hit enter, PFP will
assume it is a pick 'em game and ask for confirmation as a pick 'em game.
For the HFA, by hitting enter, you will use the same HFA as previously
entered. That HFA appears in the [ ] parenthesis before the "?" to enter
the HFA.
In the Analysis Screen while running the Run This Weeks Games Section, bets
will be listed as they were placed when PFP was previously run. A change in
the bet amount will automatically adjust the $ Bet This Week total.
- 12 -
THE WEEK IN REVIEW
PFP assumes that the user will use PFP the program regularly. Upon selecting
the Week In Review Section, if you have not run the Week In Review Section
for more than one week, PFP will warn you that you are reviewing a week other
than the previous one. PFP will still allow you to review that week and
continue to function properly however, if you do receive the warning, you
will know that you have missed at least one week of updates listed in the
following paragraph.
The Week In Review Section will review the previous weeks games and UPDATE
the YTD information in the Points For and Points Against section of the Data
Entry Section. Another planned enhancement for the registered version is
to have PFP update the Team Schedules Database with the scores as well as the
1992 Win-Lose-Tie Column in the Teams Vs. The Spread Section. Note: Playoff
scores will not be updated in the Data Entry Section. This is because
playoff teams do not all play the same number of games (wild card teams play
an additional game). Therefore the YTD information will not be the same for
all teams. This would cause PFP to make inaccurate decisions.
Once you are in the Week In Review Section, PFP will show you the names of
the teams in the first game from the previous week. ONLY FINAL SCORES should
be entered in the Week In Review Section.
Underneath the names of the teams will be the users bet (if any) the spread
for the game, as well as PFP's play for the game (if any). If there is no
bet as well as no play for a game, PFP will display, in parenthesis, the home
team and the spread for the home team on this line. This is followed by the
Vig percentage and a shaded box in "result box" directly underneath the bet
and play line. The box will display the results after each score is entered.
Once a final score has been entered, PFP will present the user with a menu of
three choices. Press "Y" or (click either) if the final score is correct and
PFP will analyze the game, calculate the results and update YTD information.
Press "N" or (click either) and PFP will again ask you for the FINAL score of
each team in the game. You may skip the game by pressing enter twice (leaving
zeros in the scores) and then pressing "S" or (click either). This is
designed for the user to review the games before all have been completed.
Examples of this would be Sunday afternoon after the "early" games are over,
Sunday night or Monday afternoon.
Underneath the result box the information is divided into two sections:
1) The left side gives you information on the your betting. This includes:
The number of games bet last week, the total amount of money bet on
those games and the number of correct bets for the past week. The next
two lines give you the information on your profit/loss for the week as
well as the profit/loss year to date. The profit/loss for the week is
included in the profit/loss year to date figure.
2) The right side gives you information on PFP's picks. This includes:
How many picks PFP had last week, how many games have been reviewed so
far and the number of correct picks for PFP for the past week. The next
two lines give you the percentage correct for PFP last week and the
percentage correct for PFP year to date.
- 13 -
Each time a final score is entered and confirmed, PFP will present the user
with a menu of choices at the bottom of the screen.
The "N" key (or just pressing enter) will take you to the next game to
review. The "Tab" key will toggle between display the percentage of
correct bets made by the user and the dollar amount ahead (or behind) for
the user. These will be for both last week and year to date. Leave the
display you prefer on the screen and PFP will display it as the default.
After the last game has been reviewed, an additional choice of "P", for
print, will appear on the menu. Press this key to print all of the
statistical information on the screen. This includes all user dollar
amounts and percentages as well as PFP's percentages.
NOTE: In this, the non-registered version of PRO Football Picks, most
printing (except where noted) has been disabled. When pressing
the key required to print, nothing will happen.
Finally, at the end of the program, you will be given three choices: Press
"P" or (click either) at the final screen to print an OFFICIAL registration
form to send for an ENHANCED REGISTERED version of PFP. If you enjoyed using
PRO Football Picks, (or made money doing so), please register. If your
printer is not ready for printing when you go to print the registration form,
press Esc to return to the final menu screen. The form printed is the same
form that appears at the end of this documentation. Press "R" or (click
either) to see the notes on registering. The complete listing of notes on
registering appears in this manual in Appendix C. Press enter to end PFP.
TECHNICAL SUPPORT, COMMENTS & QUESTIONS
If you have questions or comments there are four ways to get technical
support from ALC Software:
1) Call our technical support line, 7 days a week, at (718) 423-7525 from
5:00 pm to 7:30 pm Eastern Time.
2) Send us a message on CompuServe. Our address is 71201,3071. We call
in daily.
3) Call our BBS at (718) 224-2404 modem settings should be 8N1. You can
call any time and leave a message with your question to the SysOp.
4) Write to us at: ALC Software, Technical Support Department, P.O. Box
#8481, New York, N.Y. 10116-4654.
We are very interested in your comments on how to improve PRO Football Picks.
We are constantly upgrading and improving PFP. See Appendix B for planned
future enhancements.
- 14 -
BENEFITS OF REGISTERING
If you enjoy using PFP, Please Register! PRO Football Picks (tm) is the
product of years of programming and fine tuning. Registered user get
special benefits. This includes:
Enhanced, Registered Version Of PRO Football Picks (tm)
Bonus Utilities
Professionally Printed Manual
Bulletin Board System Download Statistics Option
Version Update Notices
A Feeling Of Satisfaction For Doing The Right Thing
Individual PRO Football Picks (tm) registration, licenses you to use this
product on a single computer. SPECIFY 5 1/4" OR 3 1/2" DISKS.
SEE APPENDIX C FOR FURTHER REGISTRATION INFORMATION.
- 15 -
APPENDIX A
Error Messages / Trouble Shooting
Error Message: "Please Correct DOS System Date"
Solution: The system date for your computer is not current. To correct this,
from the DOS command line, type, DATE mm/dd/yy [Enter]
where mm/dd/yy is the current date.
Error Message: "File Not Found"
Solution: Make sure that the file specified is on the disk or in the current
directory you are running PRO Football Picks from.
Error Message: "Disk Is Write Protected"
Solution: The disk you are running PRO Football Picks from is write protected.
If this is a 5 1/4" disk, remove the tab from the upper right corner
of the disk. You will be able to see through the notch in the disk.
If this is a 3 1/2" disk, slide the tab in the upper right corner
down so you can not see through the hole.
Problem: Don't See Mouse Cursor or Mouse Works Inconsistently
Try: Make sure the mouse is installed correctly. Does it work with other
programs? Check the cable connections on your PC.
Load Mouse Driver Software (Did you run it before running PFPICKS5?)
"Driver" is a software program that came with your mouse.
Problem: PFP did not save the games entered in the Game Selection Section.
Solution: You have pressed the F10 key BEFORE entering all of the games. PFP
will not save the games until ALL the games have been run in the
Game Selection Section.
Still Having Problems? Get In Touch With ALC Software Technical Support!
(718) 423-7525 5:00 pm to 7:30 pm Eastern Time
(718) 224-2404 BBS 24 hrs./day (Starting 08/17/93)
Leave A Message For The SysOp
71201,3071 Leave A Message On CompuServe
APPENDIX B
Planned future Enhancements For Registered Version 5.1: (Ship Date 08/17/93)
Ability To Return To The Main Menu At Any Point In The Program
Best Bet Of The Week Prediction & Strength Ratings For All Picks
Betting Summary Screen & Report
Ability To Run Just One Game Instead Of Having To Run All Games To
Make A Change
Save and Report Current Season Game Scores In The Team Schedule
Database & PFP Updates Team vs. The Spread Chart Automatically
Ability To Run Data Entry In More Than One Session
Planned future Enhancements For Version 6.1: (Planned Ship Date 08/12/94)
Pull Down Menu Interface
Team Power Ratings For Offense & Defense
Shell To DOS
On-Line Help Screens
Betting On Under/Over
"Betting Sheet" Type Printout For Dot Matrix And Laser Printers
PFP Version 6.x for the 1994 Season
Anticipated Release Dates
-----------------------------------
Shareware Version (v6.0) 05/06/94
Registered Version (v6.1) 08/12/94
APPENDIX C
Notes On Registering:
1) To order by credit card, have your MasterCard or Visa handy and call
toll free, (800) 252-2770. This is for Credit Card orders only.
2) To order via CompuServe, use a text editor to fill in the ORDER.FRM
file and send it via CompuServe to ALC Software address 71201,3071.
Payment will be accepted via MasterCard or Visa.
3) During the 1993 football season, save time by using your credit card,
or sending either a money order, bank check, cash or certified check.
We will ship the same day we receive the order. Otherwise...
4) For Personal Checks - Please allow 2 weeks for processing.
5) We offer overnight delivery, please add $11.00 for postage.
6) Canadian orders must be either postal money orders in United
States funds, or checks drawn on a United States Bank.
7) After the 15th week of the season, (December 12, 1993) you have
the choice of which REGISTERED version of PRO Football Picks you
will receive. If you request Registered Version 5.1 for the 1993
Season it will be sent according to the terms above. Should you
request Registered Version 6.1 for the 1994 Season, the anticipated
ship date is August 12, 1994. If no version is specified, Version 5.1
for the 1993 Season will be shipped.
8) If you own a modem and would like to Download the weekly statistics
from the ALC Software Bulletin Board System (BBS), add $50 for the
entire season. Also included on the BBS will be special articles of
interest, ALC Software's picks, a gridiron guru's contest as well as
top handicapper, Frank "The Finger"'s picks. Full instructions on how
to use the BBS will be included in the registration manual. The an-
ticipated start date for the ALC Software BBS is August 17, 1993. The
BBS Number is (718) 224-2404. Settings are 8N1. Up to 9600 bps.
9) NEW! COLLEGE Football Picks v1.1 from ALC Software! This new program
tracks and handicaps 80 Conference I teams. Pull down menus for easy
use. Predicts winning teams as well as under/over predictions. Tracks
both straight and under/over bets! Introductory price is just $35.00.
To Register, Send Us The Completed Registration Form On The Following Page.
PRO Football Picks v5.0u Registration Form
------------------------------------------
Send To: ALC Software Orders: (800) ALC-2770
---- -- P.O. Box # 8481 Info: (718) 423-7525
New York, N.Y. 10116-4654 CIS: [71201,3071]
Registration Name _______________________________________
Address _______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
Day Phone # ( )_________________ Evening Phone # ( )_________________
Where Did You Get This Copy Of PFP ? _______________________________________
Do You Have A Modem? ______ Type Of Graphics (Mono, CGA, Etc.) __________
Disk Format (Please Check One) 5 1/4" ______ 3 1/2" ______
PRO Football Picks v5.1 @ $40.00 (Includes Standard S&H) ___________
COLLEGE Football Picks v1.1 @ $35.00 (Includes Standard S&H) ___________
Download Weekly PRO Stats From ALC Software BBS Add $50/Season ___________
Overnight Mail Add $11 or 2nd Day Mail Add $4 ___________
New York State Residents Must Add 8 1/4% Sales Tax ___________
Total Amount Enclosed $___________
Payment By: Check / Money Order ______ (U.S. Funds Drawn On U.S. Banks Only)
Cash ______ Visa ______ Master Card ______
Card # __________________________________ Exp. Date __________
Signature Of Card Holder _______________________________________
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