How Much Does It Cost?
As you invite people to participate in your pool, one of the first questions you'll be asked is, "how much?" This is a tricky question, but here are some general guidelines:- Be Reasonable. You don't want to ask people to bet their rent money...
- Don't be too cheap. You want there to be a nice payoff for the winner. Most importantly -- set a price that's appropriate for your group. If your pool is made up of struggling college students, that's one thing. If it's a bunch of stockbrokers, that's another. (This year, you'll get more money from the college students.)
The Payout
You'll also need to decide on a payout... how will the pool be divided? Is it winner-takes-all? A 75-25 split between first and second place? The number of permutations is endless.Make sure the payout is set -- and clear to everyone -- before you start collecting money.
Ties
Every online NCAA Tournament game will have some sort of tie-breaker system -- usually something like "final score of the championship game" -- so ties are very rare. But just to be on the safe side, decide in advance what you'll do in the event of a tie. For example: if your pool has a 75-25 split of the winnings between first and second, and two players tie for first, split the winnings 50-50 with no payout for second. If two players tie for second, the winner still gets 75%, and the two second-place teams split what's left.Be clear, be logical, and make sure everyone is informed ahead of time, so there are no misunderstandings.
