Pick'em rules, explained
In a pick'em, everyone picks the winner of each game and the player with the most points wins the week. Classic scoring gives one point for each correct pick. Confidence scoring has you rank your picks, so your surest call is worth the most.
These are the rules Breakroom Pick'em plays by. They're the common ones, so they work for a paper pool too.
Classic scoring
One point for each correct pick. Twelve games on the sheet means twelve points to play for. It's the easiest format to explain and the best one for a first season.
Confidence scoring
You put a number on every pick, using each number once. With ten games you write 10 on the pick you trust most, then 9, down to 1 on the coin flip. A correct pick scores its number. A wrong pick scores nothing.
| Game | Your pick | Result | Classic | Confidence number | Confidence points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game 1 | Home team | Right | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| Game 2 | Road team | Wrong | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Game 3 | Home team | Right | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Game 4 | Road team | Right | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 3 of 4 | 3 | 7 |
When picks lock
Each game locks at its own kickoff. A Thursday game locks on Thursday, and the Sunday games stay open until Sunday. Picks are private until the game they belong to kicks off, so nobody can copy the smart one in accounting.
Ties, draws and games that don't finish
- A tie in a two-team game is a push. It scores nothing for anyone. Nobody is marked wrong.
- Soccer has three choices. Home, draw or away. A draw is a result you can pick.
- A game that's called off is void. It comes off the sheet for everyone.
The Star Pick
Each week you may put a Star on one game. If that pick is right it scores double. If it's wrong it costs you 1 point. In a confidence league the Star doubles the number you put on the pick, so a Star on your 10 is worth 20.
The Lone Wolf
If you're right and 25% of the league or fewer made the same pick, you get 2 bonus points. It needs at least 4 cards on that game. It's the reason not to pick the favorite every time.
House questions
The Captain can add questions that aren't games, such as "Will any game go to overtime?" or "Will the Monday meeting start on time?" Each one is worth 1 to 5 points, and the Captain marks the answer. Here are 40 to borrow.
Golf, races and fight cards
Not every week is a list of games. A golf tournament or a race has one winner out of a big field, so the sheet asks it as a question: "Who wins the tournament?" The answers are five named players and "Anyone else," and it's worth 3 points.
Then come the head-to-heads. Each one is two golfers, two drivers or two fighters, and you pick the one who wins or finishes ahead of the other. A head-to-head scores like a game, so it can carry your Star and it counts for the Lone Wolf. If the two finish level, it's a push. Everything locks when the event starts, and it's graded when the event is over.
Weeks that count extra
The Captain can make a week count double or triple. Every point scored that week is multiplied. It suits rivalry week and the playoffs.
The tiebreaker
Each player guesses the total points in one game, usually the last game on the sheet. If two players finish the week level, the closest guess wins the week. A week with no score to guess, such as a golf week, has no tiebreaker, and players who tie share it.
Dropping your worst weeks
A league can drop each player's worst one or two weeks from the season total. Someone who misses a week for a vacation is still in the race.
The weekly awards
| Award | Goes to |
|---|---|
| Top of the Sheet | The most points for the week |
| Perfect Card | Every decided game right, with at least three games decided |
| Lone Wolf | Being right against the room |
| Biggest Climb | The largest jump in the standings, two spots or more |
| Wooden Spoon | Last place for the week, in a league of four or more |
None of these pays anything. They're a line in the Monday memo, which turns out to be enough.
Questions
What's the difference between classic and confidence?
Classic is one point for each right pick. In confidence, each player ranks their picks, and a right pick is worth the number they put on it. So the pick you're surest about is worth the most. The Captain chooses one for the league.
What are the Star Pick and the Lone Wolf?
The Star Pick is one game a week that a player marks for double points. If it misses, it costs a point. The Lone Wolf is a 2-point bonus for being right when a quarter of the league or fewer made the same pick. It needs at least 4 cards on that game.
When do picks lock?
Each game locks at its own kickoff, so a Thursday game doesn't lock the Sunday games. A golf tournament or a race locks when it starts. Your picks are hidden until that game kicks off. After that, everyone in the league can see them.
Which sports can we pick?
Anything with a winner. The Commish can look up schedules for the NFL, college football, the NBA, college basketball, the NHL and Major League Baseball, soccer in England, Spain, Italy and Germany (the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and the Bundesliga), and the week's golf tournament, tennis tournament, car race or fight card. A golf week is a question on who wins the tournament, plus head-to-heads between players. Anything else you can type or paste in: another league, an awards night, the office chili cook-off.
Written by the person who builds Breakroom Pick'em at Lind-Sac AI Solutions LLC, Omaha, Nebraska. Last reviewed .