1. An entry fee of $63.00 is required
to participate in the pool, payable one week before the start
of the season.
2. Each week
of the NFL season, you will be credited $100 in "play money"
to wager on the point spread of any NFL game or combination
of games for that week. You must bet a minimum of $100 "play
money" each week, but there is no limit on the amount you
can wager above $100, as long as it is not higher than what
you have accrued at that point in the season. If you inadvertently
bet below the minimum requirement, you will automatically lose
the portion below the minimum that was not bet.
3. Each week you can select one
game as your tie-breaker game by guessing the total points scored
in the game. Your tie-breaker differential is the absolute amount
your guess is off by. This value is used both to break ties
for weekly prizes and to add to a running total called the aggregate
tie-breaker differential. A prize is awarded at the end
of the year to the player with the lowest aggregate tie-breaker
differential, as outlined in the prize money
section.
4. You must
have your picks in by midnight Friday. If there is a Thursday
game, you can either 1) submit your picks anytime before the
Thursday game, or 2) submit your picks by the usual time of
midnight Friday. You can only submit picks once; that is, you
can't submit picks on Thursday then later submit picks on Friday.
If there is a Thursday game, the Wednesday spread will be used,
regardless of when you submit your picks. If you fail to get
your picks in on time, a default bet of $100 with a tie-breaker
of 40 points will be automatically placed for you on the visiting
team on the last game listed in the spread (typically the Monday
night game). Any subsequent weeks where you again fail to get
your picks in will result in an additional "penalty"
of +6 on the bet and a tie-breaker of 30 points (if you cover
the bet, the plus 6 will be removed from the bet and you will
not get the double advantage of a plus 6 via Rule
12, you will just get the straight up win; A win also will
not count toward the plus 6 winning percentage, but will count
toward your regular winning percentage; If you lose the bet,
it is treated as a plus 6 bet, and therefore will affect your
plus-6 winning percentage, in addition to your regular percentage).
For the post-season, the default will be the visiting team of
the first game listed in the spread. If this game is OFF, the
next game in the spread will be used. If you get your picks
in, but forget a tie-breaker, you will be given a tie-breaker
of 40 points for the pertinent game.
5. The line provided by Las Vegas
Stardust will be used as the official Bookie Pool line. This
line will be posted to the Bookie Pool home page no later than
the night before picks are due. All wagers must be made using
this line (since point spreads fluctuate, a single "frozen"
line is used to simplify Bookie Pool management). If a
line for a game is OFF (not available), the USA TODAY web site
will be used as a backup source. The first available spread
searching from left to right will be used. If USA TODAY does
not have a spread for the game, the game will remain OFF.
6. Standard Vegas rules apply
- if a team you pick beats the spread, you double your "play
money" for that wager; otherwise you lose the amount wagered.
If you "push", or tie the spread, you retain your
wager.
7.
Dick Cooley & Mike Tatum Rule: You cannot bet on the same
game twice in a given week. If a player does this inadvertently
or otherwise, only the first pick will be accepted. If as a
result your wager falls below $100, you will lose the difference
per the minimum bet rule (see Rule 2).
8. All wagers should be made in
dollar increments. Any wagers in cents will be summarily dismissed.
9. Unless
otherwise stated, ties for the various prize money pools are
decided as follows: Ties for the weekly prizes are settled first
by the player with the best tie-breaker, then by best win-loss
record, then by the best (lowest) aggregate tie-breaker differential.
Ties for all other pools except the low-ball pool are as follows:
best win-loss record, then best aggregate tie-breaker differential.
If there is still a tie for any pool after the tie-breakers
have been exhausted, the pool is divvied up equally between
the tied players.
10. All prize winnings are paid
out at the end of the season. Refer to the prize
money section for weekly and final season prizes.
11. Any significant rule changes
after the season has started must be approved unanimously by
all players; however, any un-foreseen problems or discrepancies
in the rules will be decided by a simple majority of the participants.
12. PLUS
6 RULE: You can win double the amount of your wager by adjusting
the point spread by 6 points in the direction that decreases
your odds of winning the bet. For example, if Denver is a 5
point favorite over Seattle, and Goober bets $100 on Seattle
-1 (+6 adjusted), and Seattle wins by 2 or more, Goober would
win $200. If Goober takes Denver -11, and Denver covers, he
would win $200. In either case, if Goober's team doesn't cover
the adjusted spread, he loses only his original bet of $100.
Any loss due to a +6 does not count toward a losing streak.
