Pool guides
Everything you need to run a great sports pool — formats, rules, scoring, and settling up. Written by people who run these every season.
How often favorites really win in pick'em pools: 2026 data
Original data from 2026 NFL and college football pick'em pools: how often favorites win at each spread size, how often they cover, how often the crowd's pick is right, and the upsets almost nobody called.
How to run an office pick'em pool (the easy way)
A step-by-step guide to setting up and running a football pick'em pool for your office or friend group — formats, rules, scoring, and handling the buy-in.
Confidence pool rules, explained
How confidence pick'em pools work: ranking your picks by confidence points, the strategy behind them, and a worked example of weekly scoring.
Survivor pool rules and strategy
How NFL survivor (eliminator) pools work, the no-repeat rule that trips people up, and the strategy of surviving to the last player standing.
How to run a golf major pool (tiered draft format)
Set up a golf pool for the Masters, U.S. Open, or The Open using a tiered draft: how tiers work, strokes vs. money scoring, cut rules, and tiebreakers.
Against the spread vs. straight up: which pick'em is right for your group?
The difference between straight-up and against-the-spread pick'em pools, the pros and cons of each, and how to choose the right one for your group.
The best pick'em pool sites in 2026 (and how to choose)
An honest look at the top pick'em pool platforms in 2026 — RunYourPool, OfficePools, ESPN, EasyOfficePools, and Pick'em Builder — and how to pick the right one.
NFL pick'em pool rules: scoring, locks, and tiebreakers that hold up
The complete NFL pick'em rulebook — how scoring works, when picks should lock, what to do about missed weeks, and the tiebreakers that end arguments before they start.
How to run a college football pick'em pool
College football pools have a problem the NFL doesn't: 130 teams and 60 games a week. Here's how to build a slate people actually finish — Top-25 picks, conference pools, and spreads that make 30-point favorites interesting.
Pick'em pool buy-ins and payouts: structures that keep everyone happy
How much to charge, how to split the pot, how to actually collect the money, and the one rule that keeps a friendly pool friendly — 100% of the pot goes back to the players.
Running a pick'em pool in a spreadsheet vs. a website (an honest comparison)
Excel ran your pool for a decade — here's exactly where the spreadsheet breaks, what a hosted pool actually gets you, and when the spreadsheet is still the right call.
How to pick against the spread: a practical guide
What a point spread actually means, how ATS picks are graded, and the habits that separate coin-flippers from consistent spread pickers in a pick'em pool.
Confidence pool strategy: how to rank your picks
Ranking games from most to least confident is where confidence pools are won. The math of the top spots, when to be contrarian, and the mistakes that sink casual players.
How to keep a pick'em pool fun all season
Most pools are electric in September and dead by November. Season structures, side pots, and commissioner habits that keep everyone picking through the final week.
The football pool glossary: every term your pool will use
Spreads, pushes, chalk, locks, survivor buybacks, confidence points — a plain-English reference for every term that comes up in a football pick'em pool.
How to host an NFL survivor pool online
Everything a first-time survivor commissioner needs: setting up the pool online, the rules that prevent arguments, handling eliminations and buy-backs, and keeping it fun to the last player standing.
How to run a confidence pool online
The commissioner's guide to hosting a confidence (pigskin) pool: how ranking picks works, the scoring rules to set, why spreadsheets crack under confidence math, and how to run it online in minutes.
How to run an against-the-spread pool
Hosting an ATS pick'em: how spread pools work, the one rule (freeze the line) that prevents every argument, grading pushes, and running the whole thing online with live scoring.
How to run an NBA pick'em pool
Setting up an NBA pick'em pool that lasts all season: why a weekend slate beats picking every game, choosing a format, lock rules, the long-season problem, and handling the buy-in.
NHL survivor pool rules (and how to last the season)
How an NHL survivor pool works: one team per weekend, no repeats, overtime and shootouts, the house rules to settle up front, and strategy for hockey's upset-heavy schedule.
NBA confidence pool strategy
How to rank an NBA confidence pool: using the spread as your guide, timing picks around injury news, back-to-backs, slate size, and a worked example of a weekend card.
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