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A quick word on making up the Calcutta

Posted By: Sam Pottle
Date: Tuesday, 8 September 2009, at 9:09 a.m.

In Response To: A quick word on voting for the Giants 32 (Rich Munitz)

What is the purpose of the design of the Calcutta fields? This director's rather reductive view is that the best Calcutta design is the one that generates the largest Calcutta pool. This is obviously good for the organizers, but it also correlates well with player (bidder) interest.

Correctly identifying the N best players to be the seeds doesn't matter. Making all the fields equal in strength doesn't matter. Controversy (especially about the relative values of fields) is usually good. Having certain perennial bidders in the room is good. Having an entertaining auctioneer is very good.

Figuring out who to group together, and what order to present them in (blind bids?) is a subtle art, one which I don't claim to understand well.

I recall the Auction of the final 8 at World Cup VI in Dallas in 1998. Kent Goulding auctioned the players simultaneously, keeping track of the current bids on a blackboard. As the bids mounted, he and Robertie reduced the Calcutta rake a couple of times, provoking fresh bidding. At the end, it was clear that they had extracted all the available money in the room.

Messages In This Thread

• A quick word on voting for the Giants 32
  Stick -- Monday, 7 September 2009, at 4:17 p.m.
  • A quick word on voting for the Giants 32
    Phil Simborg -- Monday, 7 September 2009, at 4:39 p.m.
    • A quick word on voting for the Giants 32
      Bob Koca -- Monday, 7 September 2009, at 4:47 p.m.
      • A quick word on voting for the Giants 32
        Bill Riles -- Monday, 7 September 2009, at 6:10 p.m.
        • A quick word on voting for the Giants 32
          Dan Pelton -- Tuesday, 8 September 2009, at 12:19 a.m.
          • A quick word on voting for the Giants 32
            Phil Simborg -- Tuesday, 8 September 2009, at 2:43 a.m.
            • A quick word on voting for the Giants 32
              Rich Munitz -- Tuesday, 8 September 2009, at 5:11 a.m.
              • A quick word on making up the Calcutta
                Sam Pottle -- Tuesday, 8 September 2009, at 9:09 a.m.
                • A quick word on making up the Calcutta
                  Phil Simborg -- Tuesday, 8 September 2009, at 12:36 p.m.
                  • A quick word on making up the Calcutta
                    adambulldog -- Tuesday, 8 September 2009, at 1:40 p.m.
      • The seed pairings
        Chuck Bower -- Tuesday, 8 September 2009, at 1:11 a.m.
        • The seed pairings
          Bob Koca -- Tuesday, 8 September 2009, at 2:36 a.m.
        • The seed pairings
          Keene -- Tuesday, 8 September 2009, at 2:28 p.m.
          • The seed pairings
            Chuck Bower -- Tuesday, 8 September 2009, at 4:20 p.m.
          • The seed pairings
            Phil Simborg -- Wednesday, 9 September 2009, at 3:33 a.m.
            • The seed pairings
              Keene -- Wednesday, 9 September 2009, at 2:55 p.m.
              • The seed pairings
                adambulldog -- Wednesday, 9 September 2009, at 3:04 p.m.
              • The seed pairings
                Phil Simborg -- Thursday, 10 September 2009, at 4:31 a.m.
            • The seed pairings
              Chuck Bower -- Wednesday, 9 September 2009, at 4:09 p.m.
              • The seed pairings
                Phil Simborg -- Thursday, 10 September 2009, at 3:20 a.m.
    • Correction
      Chuck Bower -- Tuesday, 8 September 2009, at 1:15 a.m.
  • A quick word on voting for the Giants 32
    David Rockwell -- Monday, 7 September 2009, at 9:00 p.m.
  • A quick word on voting for the Giants 32
    Chuck Bower -- Tuesday, 8 September 2009, at 1:04 a.m.