Pool Rules

1 How it works

• Every week you pick exactly 5 games against the spread.
• One of those 5 must be flagged as your Best Bet. If it wins it counts double; if it pushes it is worth the same 0.5 as any other push.
• Only Saturday, Sunday and Monday games are on the board. Thursday and Friday games are never part of this pool.
• Spreads are pulled from the market consensus at 10:00 AM Friday and frozen. The number you see is the number you are graded on, no matter where it moves after.
• The consensus line is the median spread across roughly 30 sportsbooks — not an average. A median ignores a single book quoting a stale number, so the pool always plays the line the market is actually using.
• You never see next week's board. Games appear only when that week's lines post.
• You can change your picks as many times as you like until the deadline. Only your last submission counts.

2 The weekly clock all times ET

Miss the 10:00 PM deadline and you are not left on zero — ten minutes later the system draws you a random card: five random sides and a random Best Bet. It counts exactly like a card you picked yourself, and you cannot change it. There are no late entries and no exceptions; the board locks itself.

The draw runs at 10:10 PM Friday, hours before any game kicks off, so it is always made blind — nobody, the commissioner included, can influence it or see a result first. Assigned cards are marked AUTO on the results page so everyone can see which were drawn rather than chosen.

3 Scoring

A push is when the final margin lands exactly on the spread. The Best Bet doubles wins only — a push is 0.5 whether or not you starred it, so there is no extra credit for backing a push. A perfect week is 6 points.

4 Entry fee & how to pay

Entry:

Your team is not activated until payment is received. Register first, then pay — you will get an email the moment your team goes live.

5 Payouts

Season: 1st place 60%, 2nd 30%, 3rd 10% of the season pot.

6 House rules

• Team names are 1–16 letters and numbers, no spaces or symbols, and they are case sensitive when you log in.
• One entry per person. Sharing a login is grounds for removal with no refund.
• Picks stay hidden from everyone until the Friday 10:00 PM deadline passes — including from the commissioner. Running the pool comes with no early look at the field.
• Forget to submit and you get a random card, not a zero. It is drawn at 10:10 PM Friday before any kickoff, marked AUTO, and cannot be changed.
• If a game is postponed or cancelled, every pick on it is graded as a push.
• A line typo caught before kickoff is corrected by the commissioner and everyone affected is notified. After kickoff the posted line stands.
• The commissioner's ruling on a scoring dispute is final.

Questions, a bad line, or a scoring dispute? Call or text the commissioner - do not wait until Sunday morning. Email: NMRPicksPool@gmail.com