Confidence Pool: This is a variation of the pick winners pool that is becoming very popular. It adds an extra degree of dufficulty to the pool because not only must each player pick the teams in the required number of games that he/she thinks is going to win, but must assign to each pick a different confidence number, beginning with the number of games he/she must pick for the highest confidence game down to number 1 for the lowest confidence game.
For example: In a pool with 10 games to be picked, the player assigns the number 10 to the team that he/she thinks is most likely to win. Then 9 to the next team, 8 to the next, etc., all the way to number 1, the team he/she has the least confidence in.
Note: If you wish the highest confidence points to begin with a set number rather than the number of games, see Highest Points No Lower Than below.
For each winning pick, the player gets the confidence points he/she assigned to that team. The player with the most winning confidence points wins.
Games Each Player Must Pick:
You may set this to any number. If the players are to pick a winner for all the games on the entry form, set the number to 20 or enter ALL, even if you know you will have fewer than 20 games in your pool.
If the number of games for a particular week is less than the number you set, Mac QB automatically sets the Must Pick number for that week to the actual number of games. If you have 15 games for your pool, then 15 becomes the must pick number. If only 12 games are to be played than 12 becomes the must pick number.
Although you now plan to have only the maximum of 15 NFL games in your pool, if you enter 20, you'll be covered just in case you want to add a college game or two later in the season.
Winning Picks Needed to Win:
You may set this to any number but for most confidence pools you should set it to 1. In the rare event that no one has picked any winners, the pool will carry over to the next week.
Highest Points No Lower Than:
If you set this to a number greater than the number of games the players must pick, the players must begin their highest confidence points with this number. For example, if the games in your pool are NFL games and you set this to 15, players will begin their confidence picks each week with 15, regardless of the number of games for that week. If there are 14 games, they will have confidence points ranging from 15 through 2 and for 12 games the range will be 15 through 4.
If the number of games in your pool vary from week to week, setting the highest points to a specific number makes the season winners contest fairer. It lessens the difference in maximum points possible between a 15 game week and a 12 game week. If the highest points is the number of games, there's a difference of 42 points. If the highest points begins with 15, the difference is 6.
If the number of games the players must pick in your pool is greater than the highest points setting, Mac QB automatically sets the highest points for that week to the actual number of games. Therefore, if you wish the highest confidence points always to be the number of games, set this to a low number or 0 as in the example above.
Must Win Against the Spread
Most confidence pools do not add this option because confidence points plus against the spread would make the pool too difficult for most players.
If this box is checked, then Mac QB adds the spread for each game to the underdog before determing the winner of the game. For example, Cincinnati at Dallas -17. Dallas is the favorite by 17 points. The final score is Dallas 30, Cincinnati 14. Mac QB adds the 17 point spread to Cincinnati's score, making it 31. The adjusted score is Cincinnati 31, Dallas 30. Players who picked Cincinnati win the pick. Those who picked Dallas lose.
If the adjusted score ends in a tie, neither pick wins. In the above example, if Dallas were favored by 16, the adjusted score would be Dallas 30, Cincinnati 30. Any player who had picked either Dallas or Cininnati would lose that pick.
Include Tie-Breaker
(Option: Cannot Exceed Total Score)
If this box is checked, then each player must include with his/her picks what he believes will be the total score of the tie-breaker game. The tie-breaker game is always the last game on the Entry Form and is outlined in a bold box on the Master Sheets. In the event two or more players have the necessary winning picks to win the pot, the winning player is the one whose tie-breaker score comes closest to the total score.
With the Cannot Exceed Total Score option checked, if the tie-breaker has to be invoked, any player whose tie-breaker score is greater than the total score of the tie-breaker game is automatically eliminated. For example, if the total score is 42 and player A has a tie-breaker score of 40 and player B has a tie-breaker score of 43, player A wins because player B's score is greater than the total score.
Includes Monday Night Game
In essence, this option is a formatting option. If this box is checked, Mac QB assumes the last game in the schedule is the Monday night game. On the Master Sheets, the Monday night game will be set off from the others with a Monday Night Game heading. If the tie-breaker option is on, the Monday night game becomes the tie-breaker game.
Uncheck this option if your schedule of games may not include the Monday night game or if you wish to have a game other than the Monday night game as the tie-breaker.
