How to Set Up a Super Bowl Pool

There's nothing like a friendly little you-pick-the-score game to liven up the office during Super Bowl week. This pool, built around a simple visual chart, calls for no skill or knowledge of the game (although the winner may deny that).

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Televisions
• Colored Pens
• Construction Paper
• Permanent Markers
• Poster Boards
• Colored pens
• Permanent markers

1. Get pens and a large piece of blank paper.

2. 

   Draw a 10-by-10 grid.

3. Write the numbers 0 through 9 across the top, above each square.

4. 

   Write the numbers 0 through 9 along the left side of the grid, next to each square.

5. 

   Write one Super Bowl team's name at the top (the St. Louis Rams, for example) and the other on the left side (say, the Tennessee Titans).

6. Sell each square for one unit, which will provide a 100-unit payoff. Players may want to acquire more than one square; it's best to use all squares.

7. 

   Write the initials of the buyer in the corresponding square.

8. Watch the game.

9. Enjoy the commercials more than the game.

10. 

    Match the last digit of each team's final score with the grid to decide the winner. For example, a score of Tennessee 13, St. Louis 26, would mean finding the square where 3 on the vertical scale meets 6 on the horizontal. If Bill chose the space where these two numbers meet, he's the winner.

Tips & Warnings

• For steady involvement, try parsing the payoff by quarter. For instance, 5 percent goes to the winner of the first quarter, 10 percent to the person with the correct halftime score, 10 percent for the third quarter and 75 percent for the final score.
• If not all squares are claimed, declare the winner to be the one who is closest to the winning square.
• Some scores are rare in football. Eight, for example, is less common than seven. Choose accordingly, and consider a fee system in which popular numbers are more expensive.
• Gambling is illegal in many states.

[buk001]

on 1/28/2009 In my humble opinion, this is a really dumb article. The whole point of a pool is randomness. As such, you have to have the bettors picking squares while the sheet is blank, i.e., with no numbers on it yet. After the squares have been selected, THEN you draw numbers, randomly (we use a deck of cards), 0-9, for each side of the grid. if its done in the manner this article suggests, the first person to choose will be able to pick the most common football scores and the pool will thus be subject to an analysis of odds, rather than the dumb, blind luck that makes pools fun. That is, Cindy, the office blonde, who has never even watched a football game, can bring home the bacon just by being lucky and writing her name in the right square. Even if you, as the article suggests, make the squares containing the more common football scores more expensive, a minimally football knowledgeable pe

[doggsmd]

on 1/13/2009 The correct way to run this pool is listed on http://printyourbrackets.com/superbowl100squares.html they also have a grid alreay made that can be printed.

[Munyhuny]

on 8/2/2008 I sooo agree with SmackeyTheFrog, I read his comment and went directly to the site because I run Super Bowl pools every year for my HUGE Super Bowl Party. I already set it up and sent out the invites, how cool is that??!! Thank you Smackey, if I knew you I'd give you a big smack right on the tulips!

[genamb]

on 2/1/2008 what happens if you don't sell all the squares and some are blank?? this happened at my work.

[SmackeyTheFrog]

on 1/22/2008 You can also use an online tool and automate it for free. FreeBlockPool.com is a good example.