How to Do a Football Pool for a Party
Football parties are an American tradition and have helped make the Super Bowl the most-watched annual event in the world. The grid-based scoring pool is a popular fixture at Super Bowl parties and in offices, where often times a pool is filled out in the days leading up to the game with copies then made for all participants to track their results. This pool system awards prizes to the players who end up with the correct scores for the game.
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Things You'll Need
- Poster board or piece of paper
- Pen or marker
- Ruler
- 20 slips of paper, about 2 inches by 2 inches
- Hat or bowl
Instructions
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1
Label your poster or paper by drawing the name of one team along the top, then the second team vertically along the left-hand side.
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2
Draw a rectangle that is large enough to be broken into a 10-by-10 grid with each box being large enough to fit a name or initials, and leaving at least an inch of space between the rectangle and the team name labels.
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3
Draw nine horizontal lines and nine vertical lines in the grid, creating 10 rows and 10 columns--100 identical boxes.
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4
Divide the slips into two groups of 10, and label the slips so each group has one slip each of numerals 0 through 9. Fold each slip of paper in half.
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5
Invite guests to pick boxes on the grid and write their names the boxes. All boxes must be filled in. Often, boxes will be sold for a set fee, with players free to buy more than one. If you charge $1, for example, there will be a $100 prize pool.
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Put one set of slips in the hat or bowl, mix thoroughly, then pull them one at a time. Label your grid by writing the number drawn over a column in the grid, working from left to right, with each number pulled until all 10 columns have a number.
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Repeat Step 6 with the other set of slips to label the rows, working from top to bottom.
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Follow the scores as the game progresses. At the end of each quarter, note the score in the ones digit for each team, and find the corresponding box on your grid to find the winner for that quarter. For example, if Team A is your top row team and scores 27 points, and Team B is the team written along the side of the grid and scores 13, the winner would be the player who has the box located in both the column that drew the number 7 and the row that drew the number 3.
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Tips & Warnings
Always randomize your numbers, and do so after boxes are drawn. Some scores (7, for example) are far more common in football, meaning a random draw is required to prevent early registrants from having an unfair advantage.
Splitting the prize pool is a matter of taste. Some like to award all the pool money to the player with the final score, while others will offer small rewards for the correct score after the first and third quarters, slightly more for half time, and the most for the final score (a 10, 25, 15, 50 scoring system is popular.)
Running a gambling pool is illegal in some states. While pools like this are very common, it is important to note the pool could potentially be illegal in your state. Check your state's laws.
