POOL FAQ’S – GENERAL/ALL POOLS

 

When is the submission deadline?

Picks are normally due by 12 PM Saturday. However, if teams play on Thursday, picks are due for that game only by 6 PM on Thursday.  All remaining picks can be submitted by the normal 12 PM Saturday deadline.

For Pick ‘Em+ participants, if you inadvertently forget to make a pick for a Thursday game, you will be given the Favorite by default.  Picks are locked once posted and you cannot change your pick even if a game has not yet started.

Can I change my picks?

Yes, as long as its changed by the proper deadline.

What if I forget to submit my picks or if I miss the deadline for submission?

As a courtesy, a quick text or email will be sent to remind you that you are late.  Ultimately, you are responsible for making your picks in time.  Participants who consistently miss the deadline will no longer receive this courtesy and can potentially be eliminated for the remainder of the pools.

As a courtesy in the Pick ‘Em+ pool, you will receive all the “Favorite” teams by default.  However, you will be ineligible for a weekly prize.  You get to take advantage of this “freebie” twice.  If it happens again, you automatically receive losses for all games.   If by accident, you submit your picks and overlook a game, you will receive the “Favorite” team by default. You don’t get penalized for this oversight as long as it doesn’t happen all the time.

Note, however, if you are still in the Best Bets pool of the Pick ‘Em+ Pool and you forget to submit your picks, you will be eliminated since you will not have made a Best Bet pick.

What if I go away on vacation or an emergency arises and I can’t make my picks?

If you know you will be going away, please email me and we will work out how to make your submissions. If an emergency come ups, please email (or have a friend email) me to explore your options.

How can I check if my picks were received?

In general, when you see the message “An email has been sent to you confirming your picks,” it means your picks were successfully received whether you get the confirmation email or not.  With viruses and spam rampant, your email provider may have blocked the email or designated it to your Junk mailbox.  Please make sure [email protected] is added to your address book and mark the confirmation as “Not Spam.”

 

KNOCKOUT POOL FAQ’S

 

What are the restrictions for making knockout pool picks?

There are two main restrictions. First, once you pick a team, you may not pick that team again for the remainder of the season. 

Secondly, on any given week, you CANNOT pick a team who is playing the same opponent of the team you chose last week. For example, let’s say in Week 1, the Saints are playing the Panthers, and your knockout pick was the Saints in Week 1.  In Week 2, you cannot pick the team playing the Panthers in Week 2.  This prevents ganging-up on bad teams two weeks in a row.

What happens if there is a tie score in a NFL game?

In the KO pool, if an NFL game ends in a tie, then it is equivalent to a loss.  The purpose of the Knockout Pool is to pick the winner.

When are the two-pick weeks for Knockout picks?

Two pick weeks will be scheduled throughout the season.  This may change as season plays out with advance notice of course.

Weeks 5 and 9 will be two-pick weeks for all participants. In addition, if more than 25 people remain after Week 13, then two picks must be made in Week 14.  If more than a “TBD” # of people remain at any point after Week 14, then two-pick weeks may continue straight through Week 17 with advance notice of course. Week 18 will be one pick.

 

What happens if a few people are left in the pool and all remaining participants lose with their Knockout picks?

This is known as the “tiebreaker rule”. Essentially, when the pool is down to a certain number of people and the NFL season is concluding its season, this “rule” kicks in to avoids multiple participants splitting the title.  In short, a two-pick week will be announced with advance notice (e.g. Week 16) heading into the “tiebreaker” weekend. For participants with one loss, your 1st KO pick is very important, because your 2nd pick only picks up if your first pick wins. Think of it as if the 2nd pick would be the equivalent of making a Week 17 pick. We do this to avoid multiple people splitting if they should all lose with one of their two picks (so everyone would be knocked out anyway).  Of course, if you have no losses heading into this “tiebreaker rule” weekend, you may eliminated as well should you lose both games.  Suspenseful!

In the case where it’s a normal one-week pick and everyone enters weekend with one loss, then those participants would split title equally if everyone loses with their KO pick

 

PICK ‘EM+ POOL FAQ’S

 

How does “Best Bets” work in the Pick ‘Em pool?

The Best Bets pool is a knockout pool embedded in the Pick ‘Em pool. Best Bet picks do not have any restrictions and you may pick the same team as often as you like. To advance in the Best Bets pool, the team you select must cover their spread.  Otherwise, you are eliminated from the pool until a new one begins.  Best Bet pools runs several times throughout the season.  On average, a Best Bets pool goes about six weeks before a winner is determined.

EXAMPLE:  The Jets play the Bears and the Jets are favored by 7. If you pick the Jets, and they cover, then you advance. Had the Jets not covered, you would be eliminated.  You can pick the Jets again the following week should you choose. Remember if you’re eliminated or “knocked out”, you will have to wait for the Best Bets pool to start over before you can participate again.

Once a winner is declared, then the Best Bets Pool starts over again the following week and all participants can make Best Bet picks once again.  If a Best Bets pool ends on Week 13 or later, no new Best Bets pool will begin. If a Best Bets pool is still running after Week 17, the remaining participants will go into the playoffs to determine a winner.

 

What if “Best Bets” results in everyone getting eliminated at once?

As for tiebreakers, if two or more participants are left in the Best Bets pool heading into the week, but all those participants lose and are eliminated or knocked out, then the person who had the best weekly record in the regular Pick ‘Em pool will win the Best Bets pool. As an additional note, if only 2 people left in the BB pool heading into a weekend, and both win, then the participant with the best weekly record that week will be awarded the title.

EXAMPLE: Suppose three people are left and everybody loses with their Best Bets pick that week.  If one participant went 13-3 that week in the Pick ‘Em pool, and the other two participants had a 10-6 record that week, then the participant who went 13-3 will win the Best Bets pool.  If by chance, two of the participants compiled a 13-3 record that week, then they tie and can each claim victory.

 

What if there is a push/tie with a spread?

If there is a push with the spread in the final score of the game, the Favorite team will get credited with the victory.

EXAMPLE: The Colts play the Bears and the spread is 6 with the Colts as the Favorite,  the win would go to the Colts if the final score is 13-7.

 

If I was eliminated from the Best Bets pool, should I still make a Best Bet picks?

Yes. Best Bet picks are also used as a tiebreaker if two (or more) people tie for the best weekly record on any given week.

EXAMPLE: 3 people finish the week with a weekly record of 10-6. If Participant #1’s Best Bet pick that week was the Jets and the Jets won that week, they can claim the weekly title.  If Participant #2’s Best Bet pick was the Giants and the Giants won that week, Participant #1 and #2 can each claim victory.  If Participant #3’s Best Bet pick was the Eagles and the Eagles lost that week, Participant #3 will not be considered a winner nor can claim the weekly title.

 

When I submit my Pick ‘Em picks are the spreads used at the time of my submission?

No.  As a courtesy, spreads are updated on the site (typically three times a week) to assist participants with making their picks.  However, the spreads posted on Friday are the lines that will be used as the final spreads for all participants.

EXAMPLE: The Giants are favored to win by 7 on Monday, but by Friday the line has changed to 6.5, so the spread of 6.5 that will be used for the game.

 

KO BONUS POOL FAQ’S

 

How does the Knockout Bonus Pool work exactly?

Prior to any NFL season, there are always expectations and predictions. Which teams will be good? Which teams will be bad? As we have seen over the years, many of these expectations and predictions never materialize.  There will always be the sleeper team, the overachieving team, or the team that suffers the loss of their star player thereby crushing their season’s expectations.  The Bonus Pool is a fun way to test your skills prior to the season’s start.  If you participate, you will pre-submit your knockout picks for all 17 weeks of the season.  So before the first Sunday game, you must submit your selections.

The only rule is that you cannot pick the same team more than twice.

EXAMPLE:  You pick Kansas City (KC) in Weeks 1 and 6, you cannot pick KC a third time.  As opposed to the regular knockout pool, you can pick a team playing the same opponent of the team you chose the prior week. Eliminations work just as it does in the regular knockout pool but it is single elimination.  So if the Kansas City loses in Week 1, you’re eliminated.  If they win, you advance to Week 2. If the team you chose in Week 2 wins, then you move onto Week 3, etc….  Last man standing wins.

How do tiebreakers work in the Knockout Bonus Pool?

If after 18 weeks there are still survivors, those participants will split the title. Or if there are 5 people left going into Week 10 and all 5 people lose thereby ending the pool, then those 5 participants will split the title.