Kaukau Cup: The Village Pig Race

Kaukau Cup is 918Laki's own pig race game, found under the Aus Club tab. Six pigs run, you put chips on any of them, and only the winner pays: your chips on it times its price. The prices run from about ×3 for the favourite to about ×20 for the outsider and are shown before you bet.

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The race and the board

The screen has two halves. The top half is the track: a muddy village course with a crowd along the rail and six pigs in bandanas at the gate. The bottom half is the betting board: six pig buttons, a row of chips and a start button.

Each pig button shows three things: the pig's number in its bandana colour, its name and its price for this race. The names are a bit of fun, such as Kaukau King, Buai Boy, Mumu Mama, Hagen Hammer and Mosbi Rocket. The price is the part that matters.

Kaukau Cup belongs to the Australian Club range, the games made by 918Laki's own team. It is not a sports bet on a real event. The race is a game round, drawn by the game server, and a new one starts whenever you are ready.

How to back a pig and run a race

  1. Tap a chip in the chip row to choose its value. The chips shown depend on the bet limits for the game; the smallest are in toea.
  2. Tap a pig. One chip of that value goes on it and your stake appears on its button. Tap again to add another chip.
  3. Back more pigs if you wish. You can put chips on one pig or on several.
  4. Use Clear to take all chips off. Use Repeat to place the same bets as in your last race.
  5. Check the start button. It shows the total you are about to stake. If the total is under the lowest bet or over the highest, the button tells you.
  6. Press Start the race. A countdown runs, the gate opens and the pigs go.
  7. A result card shows the first three on a podium, the rest of the order, your stakes and what you won. Tap NEXT RACE.

The game server draws the winner and the whole finishing order at the moment you press start. The run you watch, including any close finish, is drawn to match that result. Nothing can be changed once the race is off.

What the prices mean

A price is a multiplier on your stake. If your pig wins at ×5, you are paid five times the chips you put on it. That payment includes your stake. Chips on the other five pigs are lost.

Six ranks, six prices

The game has six ranks with fixed chances: the favourite, the second fancy, the third fancy, the fourth fancy, the long shot and the outsider. The favourite wins most often and has the lowest price, about ×3. The outsider wins least often and has the highest, about ×20. The others sit in between.

Tap the question-mark button at the top of the track to open the prices panel. It lists each rank with how often it wins and what it pays.

The shuffle before each race

Before every race the six prices are shuffled onto the six pigs. A pig that was the favourite last race may be the outsider in this one. You always see the new prices before you place a chip.

The price follows the chance, not the pig. Names, numbers and bandana colours carry no meaning. A pig that has lost five races is not due, and a pig that just won is not hot. Each race is a fresh draw.

Backing more than one pig

Spreading chips makes a win more likely, but it also means you are paying for pigs that must lose, since only one can win. Here is an example with made-up chips: you put one chip on each of the six pigs, so six chips are staked. One of your pigs is sure to win. If it is the favourite at about ×3, you get about three chips back and are down three. Only the longer prices would return more than the six you staked.

So covering the field is not a safe bet. It trades a smaller swing for a steady cost.

Photo finishes and free races

Some races end in a photo finish, where the first two cross almost together and the result card says the winner got there by a nose. It adds to the show only. The winner was already drawn, and a close second pays the same as a distant second: nothing.

If you have been given free races, the board changes. The chips are gone and you tap one pig to back. The start button shows FREE RACE with the pig's name. A free race costs you nothing, uses a set stake, and its win is added to your free race total. A banner above the track shows how many are left.

Keeping a small balance in the race

  1. Pick the smallest chip first. One small chip on one pig is a full race.
  2. Decide the total for a race before you tap, and read it on the start button before you press.
  3. Know what you are choosing. A favourite wins often and pays little. An outsider can go many races without a win. Neither is the wiser bet.
  4. Be careful with Repeat. It is handy, but it makes it easy to run race after race without thinking.
  5. Do not double your chips after a loss to catch up. The next race does not know about the last one.
  6. Set a number of races or an amount in Kina, and stop when you reach it.

The responsible gaming page has more on limits and on taking a break. Kaukau Cup is for adults aged 18 and over. Use only money that is left after the household is looked after.

Other house games work on the same pick-your-risk idea. In Highlands Hunt you pick an animal the way you pick a pig here. If you would like reels, State of Origin is the rugby league pokie.

Kaukau Cup: what players ask

Do second and third place pay anything?

No. Only the winner pays. The podium on the result card is there to show the finishing order.

Is one pig faster than the others?

No pig has an edge of its own. The chance of winning belongs to the price, and the prices are shuffled onto the pigs before each race.

Can I bet on every pig?

Yes, but only one can win, so you lose the chips on the other five. Unless the winner's price is long enough, you get back less than you staked.

How much can I put on a race?

The prices panel shows the bet limit for the game, lowest to highest. The limit applies to your total across all pigs, and the start button warns you if you are under or over.

What if I leave during a race?

The race was settled by the game server when you pressed start. Any win is added to your balance, and you can see the round in your betting history.

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