Pool rules
Times
Times are shown in your time zone (PT). Change it in Profile. Every game locks at the same moment for everyone.
Pick every game
Each week you pick a winner for every NFL game, against the spread. You get 1 point for each correct pick. A wrong pick or a missed pick is 0 points.
What "against the spread" means
The spread evens out the game. Example: Ravens -11.5 vs. Titans +11.5. If you pick the Ravens, they must win by 12 or more. If you pick the Titans, they can lose by 11 or fewer (or win) and you still get the point. Your pick wins when your team's score plus its spread is more than the other team's score.
Every spread ends in .5
We average the lines from FanDuel, DraftKings and BetMGM, then "hook" it to end in .5 so there are never ties. If the average is a whole number, we move it half a point toward zero (for example -3 becomes -2.5).
Lines post Tuesday
Lines are pulled Tuesday at 12:00 PM PT. Once the commissioner approves them, they post and you can start picking.
Each game locks 15 minutes before kickoff
You can change a pick until 15 minutes before that game starts. After that it's locked. Nobody can see anyone else's pick on a game until it locks — not even the commissioners.
Weekly tiebreaker
Guess the total points scored in the last game of the week (usually Monday night). The closest guess wins a tie, whether over or under. No guess counts as 0. It locks with that game.
Auto-picks
If you miss a game, a random team is picked for you when it locks. You get up to 20 auto-picks per season. After 20, missed games count as losses.
3 or more auto-picks in a week
If you get 3 or more auto-picks in one week, you can't win that week's payout. You still appear in the standings and your points still count for the season.
Weekly payouts
Every regular-season week pays the top places (for example 5 places: $100, $60, $40, $25, $15). Ranking is by points, then the tiebreaker.
Ties split like golf
Tied players add up the payouts for the places they fill and split them evenly. Example: two players tie for 2nd. They share 2nd and 3rd ($60 + $40), so each gets $50. The next player is 4th and gets $25. Three players tied for 5th split the $15, so each gets $5.
Playoffs are separate
The playoffs are their own contest. Everyone starts at 0. Wild Card and Divisional weeks pay weekly. After the Super Bowl, the best total across all 4 playoff rounds is paid (tiebreaker: Super Bowl total points).
Playoff auto-pick limit
In the playoffs, auto-picks are stricter. If you get more than 1 auto-pick across the whole postseason (the commissioner sets this number), you can't win any playoff payout — not Wild Card, not Divisional, and not the overall prize. You still show in the playoff standings with a "DQ: auto-picks" tag, and the next player moves up.
Season standings
Season standings rank by points, then total tiebreaker difference, then record on tiebreaker games, then fewer auto-picks. They become Final after the last Week 18 game. The season total is not paid.
Entry fee
One entry per person per contest. Money is handled outside this site; the commissioners just mark who has paid.