How pick'em works

In a pick'em league, every member makes the same number of picks each week and is ranked on win percentage. Here is how each pick type works, how picks are graded and how the standings are scored.

Pick types

Spread

The spread evens out a mismatch. The favorite has to win by more than the number; the underdog wins the pick if it wins outright or loses by less than the number. Say the Bears are 3.5-point favorites over the Lions. A Bears pick wins only if the Bears win by 4 or more. A Lions pick wins if the Lions win, or lose by 3 or fewer.

When the spread is a whole number, the result can land exactly on it. A 3-point favorite that wins by exactly 3 is a push: neither a win nor a loss.

Straight Up

Pick the winner. No spread, no margin. Straight Up picks on heavy favorites are easy to get right, which is why leagues set a limit on how heavy a favorite anyone can take.

Total Points

Pick whether the two teams' combined score will go over or under a set number. If the total is 44.5 and the final is 24–21, the game scored 45 points, so the over wins. You don't need to know who wins, only how much scoring there will be.

Player Stats

Pick whether a player will go over or under a set number for one stat, such as a quarterback's passing yards, a guard's points or a pitcher's strikeouts. Player Stats picks are available for the NFL, NBA and MLB.

Same line for everyone

Every member of a league sees the same lines, and the line is locked in at the moment you make your pick. If the spread moves later in the week, your pick is still graded on the number you took.

Grading and scoring

Picks are graded automatically once games end. If a data source ever gets a result wrong, the commissioner can correct the grade by hand.

Standings sort by win percentage, where a push counts as half a win:

Win % = (wins + ½ × pushes) ÷ total picks

A member who goes 30–18 with 2 pushes has made 50 picks, so their win percentage is (30 + 1) ÷ 50 = 62%.

League settings that change the game

• Picks per week. Anywhere from 1 to 20. Every member has the same number.
• Pick type limits. The commissioner can require a mix, such as three spread picks and two of any type, or leave every pick open.
• Favorite limit. Caps how heavy a favorite anyone can take, so no one pads their record with near-certain picks.
• Missed picks. Count as a loss by default. The commissioner can make them a push, or remove the penalty so picks per week is only a maximum.
• Cancelling a pick. If allowed, you can cancel a pick any time before its game starts. You can't retake that same side that week, but the other side is open.
• Late joining. Joining normally closes when the league's first game starts. The commissioner can keep it open to a later date, with an optional penalty of a set number of losses for each week missed.

Tiebreakers

When members finish with the same win percentage, the commissioner's three tiebreakers decide the order, checked one at a time. The choices are total wins, total pushes, biggest underdog win, overall win percentage, and win percentage for each pick type.

When the week starts and ends

Leagues that only include the NFL, or only college football, run on a Wednesday-to-Tuesday football week, so Monday night games count toward the same week as Sunday. Every other league, including football mixed with another sport, runs Monday to Sunday.