Every weekend I would like to review an office pool, website or tool from around the web. I will be giving an in-depth review of the quality, simplicity and creativity of the pool, tool or website so that we make informed decisions when starting out.

OFFICE POOL JUNKIE

Description: This a FREE site that will help you create and manage all your office pools. It offers office pools in all the major sports plus the World Cup and CFL football. The office junkie claims to have over 21 different formats to choose from including brackets, pickem’s, and survivor pools.

Features:

• Many different office pool formats to choose from.
• Pool configuration wizard
• Frequently Asked Questions page
• Allows for email invites, customizable scoring systems, message boards, customizable payout structure

PROs:

• Many different office pool formats (brackets, survivor, confidence, pickem, squares and playoffs). Most that I have found.
• One of the only sites to have a World Cup pool
• Easy to set up a pool (I completed a pool in just 10 minutes)
• Customizable scoring system allows some flexibility
• Can track who has paid and whose still owes
• Can run more than one pool from one screen
• A lot of control for the commish
• FREE

CONs:

• Only one World Cup format available
• Email invites go to spam folders often
• Very simplified website that does not give much information until you sign up.
• Some pressure to pay for the service

Overall: Excellent/Highly Recommend

Other than that here are my BOLD predictions for the Preakness Stakes:

1) SUPER SAVER will NOT win the Preakness Stakes

• Calvin Borel has made a living out at Churchill Downs winning 3 of the last 4 Derbies there…well guess what the Preakness is not held at Churchill. So Borel will have to adjust to the different track and won’t have the home track advantage.
• The Track will not be wet and muddy. Many horses struggle in the slop (that is why there are so many scratches on other days when it is wet). Therefore, many horses that didn’t perform up to par in the slop will do much better at the Preakness.
• Borel won’t be allowed to get the rail. The other jockeys and owners have to know by now that Borel MUST have the rail to win…so they will not let him have it in the Preakness.
• Super Saver did not run that fast in the Derby…he just didn’t run as slowly as the others in the mud. I am convinced there are many faster horses.

2) LOOKIN AT LUCKY will WIN the Preakness Stakes

• He is the best horse when the track is fast. If you throw out the races where he got in trouble and races in the mud, you will see that Lucky is the best horse. There is a reason he was the Morning Line favorite before the rains changed things.
• He won’t get in any trouble in the Preakness, especially from the 7 post. Some say he is trouble bound, I say he has used up all his bad luck.
• He has seen Super Saver’s best effort ever (his last race) and still finished with 94 Beyer.

3) AIKENITE will finish LAST

• He is in the one hole and is a closer so that will put him way back right from the start.
• His best race was his last race so expect a big drop off Saturday.
• Gomez is off as the jockey so expect a slow “get to know you” race.
• He hasn’t won since 2009 and that was a sprint.

Just like for the Kentucky Derby, the Daily Racing Form prints and gives out FREE past performances for the Preakness Stakes.

Note: Two of the 14 horses scratched for Saturday, so there will be only 12 entrants. Make sure to plan your office pool accordingly.

In this post I want to focus on an office pool that requires a little more skill and World Cup knowledge.

Here is how I would put together a:  WORLD CUP FANTASY PLAYER pool

Group Size: Any number up to about 10-12

Objective: To draft the best scoring players in the  2010 World Cup

1) Determine a draft order for the participants. (Use a snake draft…1-10 then reverse 10-1 and so on)

2) Each participant will draft 5-10  offensive players and 1 goalie depending on the number of participants you have.

• Players can draft any player at any position but you will get points for goals scored only
• For the goalie you may just use a “team goalie” (eg..USA goalie or France’s goalie etc.)

3) Scoring:

• Goal = 1 point
• Hat trick = 5 points
• Goals against goalie = minus 1 point
• Optional : Yellow card = minus 1 point, Red card = minus 2 points

4) The participant whose team scores the most points at the end of the World Cup wins

5) Optional Rules

• Have an “Auction Draft“
• Re-draft after the group round.
• Allow teams to pick up free players after the group round.
• Give an extra point if the player’s team wins.

PROs:

• Easy to put together
• More rooting interest in the game as now you can root for individual players
• Takes more knowledge than most pools
• Many optional scoring and draft ideas

CONs:

• Must have some knowledge of World Cup teams
• More difficult to track as you must track individual players
• Limited number of participants

Here is a  list of the TOP 50 WORLD CUP PLAYERS

1) If in doubt pick teams from Europe or South America

These teams are very consistent and have dominated past World Cups.

2) Brazil, Italy and Argentina…Oh my

Only 7 times has someone other than these three teams won the World Cup. You have to go all the way back to 1974 to find a championship match that didn’t have one of these teams. Stick with the big three and you will be okay.

3) Every host country has made it to the round of 16…not this year

Host countries do very well in the World Cup except for this year. South Africa has a tough draw and is not very good, so don’t expect them to move into the round of 16 even with the home town crowd roaring.

4) Look at good offensive teams for your upsets

A team that can score always has a chance to pull the upset. Look at teams with high “goal for average” and they may provide a needed upset for you. Teams like the USA, Cote d`Ivoire, Serbia or Slovakia might pull an upset or two.

5) Look for teams with an easy draw in the group round

Teams like England, Germany and Argentina should be given an extra look because they should not be tested in the early games. Soccer is a game of stamina and having to fight tooth and nail just to get to the round of 16 can be very tiring. Tired teams don’t do well in the World Cup. Look for fresh teams that are on a roll going into the round of 16.

PREDICTIONS

Office Guy World Cup Champion 2010:

Argentina

Sleepers:

Denmark, Chile and Portugal

Most likely to play to a draw:

France, Slovenia and Brazil

If you want more rankings and predictions, including a breakdown of every group check out these sites:

World Cup Preview

World Cup Predictions

World Cup Rankings

For more previews and predictions check out “Guide To The 2010 World Cup”

Sir Barton, 1919 Preakness winner

The Preakness Stakes is just around the corner and is another great opportunity for us to set up an office pool. If you didn’t get into a Triple Crown pool then this might be right up your alley.

After my poor performance in the Kentucky Derby, I began researching office pools that would help me take advantage of my bad luck. I will call this office pool “First and Last” and just as its name states, your goal is to draw the horse that finishes first and last.

Here is how to put together a Preakness Stakes Office Pool called: FIRST AND LAST

Group Size: 7 or less (there can be no more than 14 entries in the Preakness so 7 players works best)

Objective: Have the horse that finishes first and the horse that finishes last.

1) Pick an entry fee ($20 works best)

2) Place the name of each horse or the post positions 1-14

3) Each participant will draw TWO horses out of a hat.

4) Each participant must then assign one horse to win and one horse to finish last.

5) Scoring:

1. For the horse assigned to finish FIRST: 1 point for every place it finishes lower than 1st place

• 1st place = 0 points
• 2nd place = 1 point
• 3rd place = 2 points
• 4th place = 3 points
• 5th place = 4 points
• Etc…

1. For the horse assigned to finish LAST: 1 point for every place it finishes higher than last place

• 14th place = 0 points
• 13th place = 1 point
• 12th place = 2 points
• 11th place = 3 points
• 10th place = 4 points
• Etc…

6) Add each participants points for their 2 horses.

• LOWEST total wins

PROs:

• Blind draw gives everyone a chance – no prior knowledg
• Don’t need many participants
• Simple scoring system
• Provides interesting way to root for your horses.

CONs:

• Lots of luck involved
• Not much strategy

Every weekend I would like to review an office pool, website or tool from around the web. I will be giving an in-depth review of the quality, simplicity and creativity of the pool, tool or website so that we make informed decisions when starting out.

4th HWCI World Cup Tournament Pool

Description: There are not many World Cup pools out there but I did find this one based out of California. For only $10 you can enter this very interesting pool that allows you to pick all the World Cup games at the beginning of the tournament. The pool which has been going on for the last 3 World Cups, has a very simple scoring system in which you get points for each correct pick. It pays out 4 places and says that it is open to anyone with $10.

Features:

• Pick all the games before the World Cup starts
• Many entry fee options including PayPal
• Many resources for participants including rankings, a discussion forum, a World Cup pool tracker and a Facebook page

PROs:

• The website provides many great resources
• Rules are easy to understand
• Simple scoring system
• Only $10
• One of the only World Cup pools out there
• Solves the “no day off problem”

CONs:

• Must pick all the games BEFORE the tournament
• Don’t know any of the participants so less trash talkin’ and enjoyment
• Not a well-known office pool site
• No bonus points – lose your World Cup finalists and your done
• Allows multiple entries (I don’t care for this idea)

Overall: If you don’t have a World Cup pool at your office you may want to consider this one. The Office Pool Guy will be throwing his $10 into this pool just to see what happens. Let me know how it goes.

Every weekend I would like to review an office pool, website or tool from around the web. I will be giving an in-depth review of the quality, simplicity and creativity of the pool, tool or website so that we make informed decisions when starting out.

LeagueSafe.com

One of the most difficult things about running an office pool is the collection and payment process. Handling office pool money can be a very overwhelming process that can frustrate many commissioners. Should you collect the money up front? Where do house the money? How do you get people their share? Sometimes the process takes weeks to accomplish with many headaches along the way.

That is where League Safe comes in. League Safe automates the process by securing the office pool funds online in an FDIC-insured bank account. Participants can log in and pay their entry fees and get their winnings without the commissioner handling a thing. Pretty slick. Best of all most of the transactions are FREE.

Features:

• 2 Setup Options – Traditional (less commissioner control) and Express (more commissioner control)
• Free but with some pay options
• 7 seasons available (NFL, PGA, NASCAR, MLB, College football and basketball and NHL)
• Late payment option
• Commissioner reimbursement option (not recommended by the Office Pool Guy..see “7 Step to making your pool legal”)
• Auto-Nag feature and personalized invitations

PROs:

• FREE is always nice – 100% returned to participants
• Lots of options for the commissioner
• Ease of use
• Makes commissioner’s life easier
• Majority vote option for payouts (so you can have strangers in the league)
• Very nice website

CONs:

• Payments must be made by e-check only unless you use their paid option and no PayPal option
• No World Cup or other events offered (though you could probably use it under one of the others and change the deadline)

First off,  we should look at the success of the NFL. It has become full of office pools and fantasy leagues in part because games are once a week, not everyday like in baseball. Therefore lets create a pool that does not require everyday participation and shortens the season.

Here is my suggestion:

A WEEKEND BASEBALL SURVIVOR POOL.

Group Size: Any

1) Pick a date to start the pool…say June 1st or after the All-Star game.

2) Determine what days constitute the weekend (I would use Friday-Sunday)

3) Find a schedule of MLB games.

4) Each participant will then choose one American League and one National League team each weekend that he/she feels will win by the largest margin.

5) Participants may not use a team more than once unless they have used all the teams in each league. (so once a player uses Seattle they can’t use them again until they have used all the other teams)

6) Scoring:

• If the team WINS, the player will get the margin of victory
• Example…if Seattle beats Baltimore 5-2, they would get 3 points.
• If the team LOSES they get zero points.
• If the player wins both games in the weekend they will receive a 3 point bonus.

7) Total points are then added up as the season goes along or until a set date (since there are 30 total teams, the season should last at least 14 weeks with 2 National League teams not chosen).

Optional Rules:

• Have a lock of pick of the week which is worth double points and/or a lock of the season which is worth triple points.
• Set up a schedule and play head to head games with other participants and keep win-loss records instead of total points

I will have a few more ideas on how to put together a baseball office pool in the next few weeks. If you have any other ideas of creative baseball pools, please post a comment below.

How to put on a WORLD CUP STREAK SURVIVOR pool:

Group Size: Any

1) Each participant will need a calendar of the games that will be played during the World Cup.

2) Each participant must pick ONE team to win every day (If that is too much committment you may want to have them pick every other day).

3) Participants can email their picks to the Commish or you go to an online site to keep track of your streaks.

4) If the participant’s team loses or plays to a draw, the streak will start over (A draw could instead count as a push and the streak stays where it was).

5) Scoring:

• A participant will earn points only when their streak reaches 3 wins in a row.
• 3 wins in a row = 3 points
• 4 wins in a row = 4 points
• 5 wins in a row = 5 points
• 6 wins in a row = 6 points
• ETC….

6) Person who earns the most points at the end of World Cup wins

7) Payouts:

• Most total points
• Longest win streak

Optional Rules:

• Participants get one FREE pass a week in which they don’t have to pick a game (in other words they can pass on the day and keep their streak at the point where it is)
• Participants can’t pick the same team twice (difficult to do when you get to the elimination round)
• Give extra points for reaching a certain streak  (ie…such as 5 bonus points for reaching a streak of 5 games)
• Give an extra point for picking the underdog
• Each person gets a LOCK pick of the week or tournament and give extra points for getting it right and subtract points for getting it wrong.

I personally love this style of pool. It is easy to track, challenging and can be very nerve-racking. Let me know what you think by leaving a comment.

World Cup forum

For more basic World Cup pools check out these links:

Confidence Counts

Basic Pool

Bracket Pool

If you run a World Cup office pool then check out my blog on Wednesdays for World Cup Wednesday, where I will be discussing scoring systems, office pool sites, giving tips and more.