Running a football pool

Now we’re not suggesting that you actually bet on the Superbowl game this Sunday, but football pools can make watching the game a lot more fun. There are a variety of ways to set up the pool and to pick winners but we’ll tell you how the simplest and most common game is played.

Square Football Pool – Create a 10 x 10 grid with a place for numbers along both the top and left sides of the page. The top row of numbers will represent one team and the side row will represent the other team. The numbers are not actually placed on the top and side, however, until the grid has been filled with the contestants’ names or initials.

You can sell the squares for any amount you wish. If the price is $1.00 per square this puts $100 in the pool. You can also wager pieces of candy, gum, or other novelty prizes.

Once all the squares have been selected, randomly pick numbers from 0-9 and assign them to one team’s rows. Now do the same for the other team. These numbers represent the last number in the score of each team. In other words, if the score at the end of the game (or quarter if you’re breaking it up) is Steelers 17 – Cardinals 14, then the winning square is the one with a Steelers number of 7 and a Cardinals number of 4. Since no one knows what numbers each square will represent, the odds are the same for everyone. You can divide the winnings and award funds at the end of each quarter, at the half or just at the end of the game. So good luck and enjoy.

There are plenty of websites that offer software or online versions of football pools but it’s just as easy to do it the old fashioned way and draw it on on a piece of paper. If you need a template, click here.

FYI: Most states in the U.S. regard this as a form of entertainment as long as 100 percent of the funds in the pool are paid back out to the contestants though (this is the fine print)so we strongly suggest you check your local laws before participating.