How to Play

A commissioner creates a pool and invites members. Most pools run between four and twenty members, but there's no hard limit. Each week, members put a set number of points into the pool (the amount is up to your commissioner, usually somewhere around 5). Whoever goes 3-0 that week wins the pot.

Every week, you pick three games from the available slate. For each pick, you choose either:

• The spread (one team to cover the line), or
• The total (over or under the total points scored)

You can mix spread picks and total picks, but no picking a spread and total from the same game.

You're welcome to pick a game that kicks off before the main slate (e.g. 9 AM PST on Saturdays for NCAAF, 10 AM PST on Sundays for NFL). If you lose that early pick, you may be able to tap into a mulligan if your pool allows them. If you win the early pick, or you didn't pick one, you still need to have all three picks in before the main slate locks. No different than a fantasy football roster locking.

Simple. You need to go 3-0 to win the pot for that week. If you took a mulligan and finished 3-1, that also wins.

If multiple members go 3-0 in the same week, they split the pot evenly. If nobody goes 3-0, the pot rolls to the next week. Rollover pots are where things get interesting by mid-season.

Some commissioners run a one-tie-all-tie rule, where a tied week rolls the pot forward instead of splitting it. Ask your commissioner if that's on for your pool.

If your commissioner has penalties turned on, going 0-3 in a week costs you extra points added to next week's pot. Nobody likes being the one who went 0-3 twice in a row.

Commissioners can turn mulligans on for their pool. When mulligans are on, if you lose an early-week pick, you can burn a mulligan (usually costing extra points, set by your commissioner) to swap that pick out and try again with the remaining slate. Going 3-1 with a mulligan still wins the pot.

The Call Stands has side bets built in. Send a bet to another member, agree on terms, and once it's settled, the points move between your season totals. You can bet on basically anything. Your commissioner settles disputes.

If you don't submit picks before the first kickoff of the week, the system auto-picks three random games for you. Auto-picked weeks count for scoring like any other week, but you don't get to choose. Don't be the person who needs auto-pick. Set a Saturday reminder.

We use ESPN's final scores. If a game's result is later changed by an official ruling, picks are re-scored automatically. The commissioner doesn't decide who covered. The scoreboard does, and the call stands.

If a game gets postponed and rescheduled inside the same NFL or NCAAF week, picks ride to the new date. If it's moved to a later week or cancelled outright, affected picks are voided and you get the chance to repick.