Football Pool -- How to Organize--free Football Pool Grid

What is a football pool?  MSN Encarta defines one as "a form of gambling in which the participants, usually work colleagues, bet on the results of college, university, or professional football games. The collected wagers are pooled and divided among the winners.

There are many ways to set up a football pool.  Here is one that is very easy to implement:

Decide how much you will charge per square. Usually $1.00 per square for a total pot of $100.00.

Decide how you are going to pay out the pot.  Most common is to pay something at the end of each quarter.  You can decide what percent of the pot will be paid out each time. For example, 25% after the 1st quarter, 25% after the 2nd quarter and so on until 100% of the pot is paid out.

Decide how winners will be determined.  A very common way is to use the "last digit" method. Basically you use the last digits of each team's score and find where those numbers intersect on the grid. If you are not familiar with this method, it is described more thoroughly in a free ebook offered below in the Author's box. It will be easier to understand if you can see the example grid that comes with the ebook.

Now that the decisions have been made, print off a football pool grid  (usually an 8-1/2 x 11 sheet with 100 squares that can be filled in with names). In case you need one, the free ebook offered in the Author's box below includes a blank football pool sheet (plus full instructions).

"Sell" squares on the grid until all 100 squares are filled in with the buyer's name. Buyers can purchase multiple squares.

After all squares are filled in with names, draw the numbers that will be filled in along the top and down the left side of the grid. Create 10 small squares of paper and then write one number (zero thru 9) on each. Fold the 10 squares and put them into something to draw from like a hat. Choose somebody to draw one number at a time and fill them in across the top starting from left to right. Fold them back up and do the same for the left side, top to bottom.  When finished, the numbers will be in random order.

Enjoy the game and pay out the pot as decided.

Football pools are easy to set up and fun for the participants.  Why not organize one for your next football party?  Or spice things up at work and do an office football pool with your co-workers?