Query problem

[Brad]

Hey guys,
Can someone give me a hand with this? Im trying to select the average out of a table and save the returned value as a variable to use later but I can't figure out what's wrong with it. Probably something really simple that I'm not seeing, but any help would be appreciated.

Select AVG(total) as $round_average from rounds where username=$valid_user"

[Shrike]

You've written $round_average, do you need the '$'?

[Houdini]

At least quote the variables

Select AVG(total) as '$round_average' from rounds where username='$valid_user'";

but I could be wrong.