Fred's Football Follies 2017 NFL Pool

Fred's Football Follies is now in it's 22nd season. The High 5 Pool that was part of the pool lineup last year did not go over well and so this year we have added the Margin Pool to go along with the Regular Pool, the Playoff Pool, the Weekly SportsBox Pool, the Super Bowl SportsBox Pool, the Confidence Point Pool, the Born To Lose Pool, and the Survivor Pools. As in the past, this year's Regular Pool will be based on point spreads. The Playoff Pool will be handled in the same manner as last year. The Survivor Pool has it's own unique method of scoring, complete with the possibility of exclusion by season's end. There will be a second Survivor Pool that will start with Week 5 and continue until we have a winner. The Born To Lose Pool is a Survivor Pool that requires you to pick the losing team each week. Get more information about the pools below. The Margin pool (the newest addition)...you pick one team each week. Once a pool member picks a team, he cannot pick that team again. If his team wins, the winning margin, or margin of victory is added to his season point total. If his team loses, then the winning margin is subtracted from his season point total. The pool member that has the most points at the end of the season is the winner. Usually total wins are used as a tiebreaker. Scroll down to see the payouts for this newest pool based on total points.You must play in the Regular Pool or Confidence Point Pool to play in any of the other pools. The Regular and Confidence Point Pools pay out to the Weekly, Quarterly, and overall Season winners. The Margin pool will only have Season winners.

Let's Get Ready To Rumble

SURVIVOR POOL I, II AND BORN TO LOSE POOL

Survivor Pool I will run during the regular season. Unlike the other pools, point spreads will not be used to determine winners or losers. The goal is to stay alive as the season progresses. The Tiebreaker Method will be used in case of ties in the standings. The rules for the Survivor Pools are simple:

• Each week, you pick a team that you think will win. If your team wins, you keep playing, if they don't, that's one loss, 2 losses and you are out for the ENTIRE Season.
• If you miss a week...its a loss. If a game ends in a tie...it's a loss.
• Sounds easy enough right? The only catch is that once you pick a team, you CANNOT pick that team again for the rest of the season.
• You are responsible for making sure you don't pick the same team twice... if you do it is counted as a loss. If you have a loss and you pick a duplicate team, you are eliminated.
• You can make your Survivor Pool picks (for Survivor I and Survivor II) on the regular weekly pick sheet. (Unless you are only playing in the Confidence Point Pool)
• If you are playing in just the Confidence Point Pool, use the regular picksheet for your survivor picks. Instructions will be provided.
• Top prize goes to the last one standing, period.
• If the regular season ends, and there are more than one player still playing, the player with the least number of losses, will win the pool. If everyone has the same amount of losses, the pot will be split among the remaining players.

The rules for Survivor Pool II will be the same as above, except that it will start with Week 5 and will only allow one (1) loss before you are eliminated. Starting with Week 3, the Born To Lose Pool will start, and the rules for this pool are the same as the Survivor II pool, except that you have to pick the losing team each week. If the team you pick wins or ties, you are eliminated. You must sign up for these pools at the beginning of the season, as I will have to "tweak" the program to track you if you are going to play in them.

Online Picksheets will be available on Tuesday for each week.

REGULAR POOL

This pool is run each week. The goal is to try and get as many wins as possible based on the point spread. The player with the most wins takes that week's pot. No games will end in a tie as all point spreads will have a half point added to any spread with a whole number. This set up will also apply to the quarterly pool and the overall season pool. The quarterly pool will start with week 1, week 17 will not be part of the quarterly pool, but the wins accumulated for that week will count toward the season pool. The Tiebreaker Method will be used in case two or more players tie for the most wins. Point Spreads will be obtained each week from USA Today, or other sources.

Online Picksheets will be available on Tuesday for each week, and picks for all games will be due Thursday at 3 PM (Pacific).

CONFIDENCE POINT POOL

This pool is run each week. Pool members pick the games straight up and must assign a number to each game based on "how sure" you are that your team will win. If you feel very confident about a team, assign the game a higher number. If you are unsure, give the game a lower number. If your team wins, you win the amount of points you assigned to the game. If you lose, you obviously do not collect any points. If the game turns out to be a tie, you collect half of the points you wagered. This set up will also apply to the quarterly pool, and the overall season pool. The quarterly pool will start with week 1, week 17 will not be part of the quarterly pool, but the points accumulated for that week will count toward the season pool. The Tiebreaker Method will be used in case two or more players tie for the most points. Point Spreads are not used in the Confidence Point Pool

Online Picksheets will be available on Tuesday for each week, and picks for all games will be due Thursday at 3 PM (Pacific).

MARGIN POOL

This pool is run as a season pool only. You pick one team each week. Once a pool member picks a team, he cannot pick that team again. If his team wins, the winning margin, or margin of victory is added to his season point total. If his team loses, then the winning margin is subtracted from his season point total. The pool member that has the most points at the end of the season is the winner. Usually total wins are used as a tiebreaker. Payout for 1st(50%), 2nd(30%) and 3rd(20%).

Online Picksheets will be available on Tuesday for each week and picks for all games are due on Thursday at 3 PM (Pacific)

PLAYOFFS POOL

This year we will use the same scoring method as last year. The method described below will enable me to include the Wildcard Games once again too. As during the regular season, players will need to enter their picks for each round of the Playoffs. Here is a rundown on how the Playoffs will be played (be sure to drop me a line, if you have any questions on this method):

    For each week, including the Wildcard Games:

• Pick the winner of every game + the number of points the winning team will win by
• Automatic 3 Penalty Points for picking the wrong team
• Scoring:
• Winner Picked:
• Game Difference points - Your Predicted Points (positive value)
• Loser Picked:
• 3 Penalty Points + Game Difference points + Your Predicted Points
• The object is to have the LOWEST point total overall

    Example:

• Say San Francisco is playing Dallas in the first Wildcard game and you pick San Francisco by 3
• If San Francisco wins by 3, you get "0" points...the best possible for a game
• If San Francisco wins by 10, you would get 7 points
• Now if Dallas wins by 3, you would get 9 points, 3 for picking the wrong team + you were off by 6 points (game difference of 3 + your predicted for San Francisco of 3)

Along with your entry for the Superbowl you will also enter your estimated total points to be scored. This value will be used as a Tiebreaker, if necessary.

This method seems to make for a much more enjoyable Playoffs. I like the fact that no one is "out of the running" after the first round is finished. Strategy can definitely be used here. Of course, a lot of ground can be made up if you're daring enough to go out on a limb and pick a team to win by a whopping big amount, and have that team come through for you. We saw some pretty big spreads during some of the playoff games last year. Who knows, it could happen again.

A special thanks to Java Junkie (rigby@silcom.com) for passing along his different take on a Playoff Pool.

Picksheets for the playoffs will be ready the Monday following Week 17, just in time for the Wildcard games.

SPORTSBOX POOLS

This pool is run each week for the Monday Night Game. I'm sure you have all seen or played in a similar pool. You pick a square and if the final score of the Monday Night Game matches the square you have, you are the winner. The weekly SportsBox Pool will be limited to the first 25 players that sign up. That way, it is possible that the pot will build up if there is no winner for that week. The SuperBowl Sportsbox pool will only apply to the SuperBowl, and all squares will be sold for that one. There will be quarterly winners, as well as the final score winner (including overtime if necessary) for the SuperBowl SportsBox.

TIEBREAKER METHODS:

Please send comments or suggestions to Fred's Follies. Formatting for this page credited to Java Junkie.

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