Gettin’ Skilli Wit It

You may have noticed that online trivia has become a popular pandemic pastime and one unique variation we’ve discovered also has a gambling component. It’s an app called Skilli World, which merges trivia with a poker-tournament format. The contests are reminiscent of playing quick sit-n-gos online. Many of the categories are general trivia, but it’s also recently shifted toward sports to take advantage of the void created by the dearth of sports betting options. So while it’s neither poker nor sports betting, it has a little of both going on and there’s potential for profit.

Once you download the app, you can play free contests that return small prizes or paid contests in which you can win more. The free contests are usually for a $10 prize that’s split among all players who answer three out of three questions correctly. There’s typically in the neighborhood of 250 players in a $10-prize freeroll, which means your expected win is only about 4￠ per play, but this is also no-cost entertainment. Every night there’s a sports-themed freebie with a $500 prize. These games attract closer to 600 players, so it’s worth about 85￠ to play and if you’re good at sports trivia, your EV will be higher. Note that these numbers describe your equity per game – when you win, you’ll bank bigger amounts, possibly winning up to $5 in the big contest. All questions are True/False.

If you play for real money, there are opportunities to find equity overlays, meaning that the guaranteed prize is larger than the amount of the entry fees collected. For example, if the entry fee is $5 and the prize is $100, the entry fees equal the prize at 20 players. If you see that this contest has fewer than 20 signed up, there’s an overlay, and assuming the players are equally skilled, there’s an edge for playing. If you monitor all the games, you can find multiple overlays daily, though not for big money, as the entry fees are mostly $3 and $5. Skilli is planning bigger events that mimic table-advance poker tournaments with entries up to $50.

Who Can Play

U.S., citizens in all states can play with the exception of the following: Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, Montana, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Tennessee. If you live outside of the U.S., you’ll be made aware of eligibility when you attempt to download.

How to Play for Free

You can’t play on your computer. You have to download the app to your phone. Click through this link and enter the code LVA2020 if prompted. LVA earns affiliate revenue if you deposit, but being tagged through our link will also make you eligible for a drawing for prizes we’re holding in July (you don’t have to deposit to be eligible for the drawing). Follow the instructions and you’re ready to play the free contests.

How to Deposit Funds

If you want to deposit to play the paid contests, you can do so with a credit card. The minimum deposit is $10. Click “$” on the app, and follow the directions. It’s an easy process. Actually, maybe too easy. Once you’ve funded, stay out of this section unless you want to add more money. If you hit one of the funding buttons by accident your card will be instantly charged. When you deposit on purpose, consider taking advantage of one of the deals that includes bonus “SkillUPs.” These can be used during the paid contests for free re-entry during a game when you’ve missed a question and have been eliminated.

How to Withdraw Funds

We haven’t done it yet, but it looks straightforward. Withdrawing is not instantaneous; we’re told that it takes 5-7 days to get funds, paid by check or Paypal (among other options), and there’s a $4 charge.

Comments

• Play the freerolls.

• Look for and play the overlays as described above. Wait till as close to the start of the game as possible to guard against a run of late entries.

• Use your SkillUPs. They’re most valuable in paid contests, since it’s like getting an entry without paying the fee.

• If you enter a paid contest you can withdraw up to the point when there’s 5 minutes until the game starts; after that, you can’t withdraw.

• Don’t get distracted, there’s only five seconds to answer a question to prevent players from Googling answers.

• Once you make a choice in the quiz, you can’t change it.

• For paid contests, $3 is usually the lowest entry fee, but we’ve seen them as low as 25￠.

This is new and evolving, so we’re watching it closely. If you play and find interesting aspects of the game, share them in the comments section.