Options and Settings
All of these options are established during the setup process by the General Manager (GM) as he or she is creating the pool. Once the pool is opened up for signups, most of the pool’s options are locked in. Some options and settings can be adjusted during the course of the season, and will be noted as such in the description for each option.
Signup Password [Password Field]
If you enter a password here then anyone who attempts to join the pool will be required to enter this same password on the signup page in order to be able to submit their request to join the pool.
If you leave this field blank then anyone can submit a request to join the pool.
This option will be locked once signups are closed and the pool is in progress.
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Manager Approval Required to Join [Check Box]
If this box is checked, then a manager will need to approve each player who requests to join the pool.
If this box is unchecked, then anyone who requests to be in the pool is automatically approved to participate.
You may use either this or the Signup Password option to create a private pool and limit or monitor who joins it. If you leave both options blank then you are essentially creating a public pool and anyone can automatically join it.
This option will be locked once signups are closed and the pool is in progress.
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Entries Locked Until Activated [Check Box]
When is a newly signed up player able to make picks for his entry(s)?
Selecting this option will set new entries to an ‘unpaid’ status and the player will not be able to access them until a manager or a player coordinator has marked them as active. This option is often selected for a pool with an entry fee, because it incentivizes the players to pay their fees before they can make their picks.
Leave this option blank if you want a player to be able to make picks on his entry(s) immediately upon joining the pool, without further intervention by a manager. This is the setting you would normally use for a free pool.
This option will be locked once the pool is open for signups.
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Signup Question [Text box]
If you would like to ask your players a question during their signup process, type it here. This Q&A has no effect on registration – it is purely informational. You can ask something like “Who referred you to the pool” or “How do you intend to pay your fees” or anything else you want.
If you leave this blank then no question will be asked.
This option will be locked once signups are closed and the pool is in progress.
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Require Player Real Name [Check Box]
If this box is checked then the player’s real name will be pulled from their site profile and be visible to the other players in the pool. Real names will not be visible to anyone not in the pool.
The “real name” field is an optional field on the user profile settings panel. If the user joining the pool has not saved their real name on their user profile, they can enter it on the pool join page and it will be saved to their user profile.
Real names are not visible when viewing someone’s profile, nor anywhere else on the site, except to players of your pool.
If you leave the box unchecked then players’ real names will not be shown to anyone, including managers.
This option will be locked once the pool is open for signups.
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Track Recruiter [Check Box]
If this box is checked then the players will be able to specify who recruited them into the pool when they sign up. They must name a user that is already a player in the pool. This field is informational only- it has no impact on anything in the system.
This option will be locked once the pool is open for signups.
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Entry Fee [Amount]
Having a cash entry fee for your pool may or may not be legal in your area. Zathras & Wubba’s King of the Hill is never involved in collecting, handling, or disbursing any entry fees or prizes. The legality of any fees and/or prizes associated with a pool is entirely the responsibility of the person(s) managing the pool.
If it is legal for your pool to have fees, you may use the system to track them by entering the fee per entry here. This will add a field to your pool to track the fees. These fee-related fields are only visible to pool managers.
Alternatively, some pools may have “fees” which are not real money. Eg., a private pool run by an internet forum might use some sort of “reputation points” or other artificial currency that its members earn on their website. The system can help you keep track of this type of entry fee as well.
If you leave this blank there will be no fee-related fields added to your pool.
This option will be locked once the pool is open for signups.
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Entry Fee Type [USD, CDN, Points]
Select the currency type. The current options are USD (US Dollar), CDN (Canadian Dollar) or POINTS (representing an artificial currency such as forum reputation points). Additional options can be added upon request.
This option will be locked once the pool is open for signups.
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Track Player First Year [Check Box]
This adds a field to your pool to track how many years each player has been participating. It is informational only and has no effect on anything.
This option can be changed any time.
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Maximum Entries per Player [1-10]
How many entries can any one player sign up for?
The range of values is 1 to 10, and this limits the players to this many entries during the signup process. However, a pool manager can always add any number of additional entries to a player once the player has signed up.
This option is locked in when the pool is in progress.
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Maximum Entry Rebuys [0-3]
How many times can a player reactivate or rebuy an entry which has been eliminated?
Setting this to 0 (default) disables rebuys. If you enable rebuys you must also go to the schedule page for each week in which you want to allow entries eliminated that week to rebuy, and click the “Rebuy Available” checkbox. Then click “Save Schedule”.
For pools which use the “No Repeat Teams” option, all previously used teams are still used. This is NOT a new entry, and cannot be used to allow a ‘late’ entry into the pool. This is bringing back to life an existing entry which has been eliminated that week. The option to rebuy will appear next to the entry for that player and he has until the start of the first game of the next week to opt in.
The fee (if any) for the rebuy can be specified, and can be set to a different amount each week if desired.
This option is locked in when the pool is in progress.
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Start Week [Week# in regular or post season]
When does the pool start?
Select the week you want the pool to begin. If the season is already underway, the next upcoming week is the earliest that can be chosen.
This option will be locked once the pool is open for signups.
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End Week [Week# in regular or post season]
When does the pool end?
Select the week you want the pool to end.
This option will be locked once the pool is open for signups.
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Lockdown Point [First game of the week, First Sunday game of the week, None]
When does the pool’s lockdown process run?
Once a pool’s lockdown occurs, the defaults are assigned to any entries with missing picks, and no further changes can be made by the players. This process is not reversible.
Any games which kick off before the lockdown point are locked in when they start- that is no picks may be added to or removed from any game in progress.
FIRST GAME OF THE WEEK: All games are locked in at the kickoff of the first game of the week.
FIRST SUNDAY GAME OF THE WEEK: Any games which happen before Sunday are locked in when those games kick off. All Sunday and Monday games are locked in when the first Sunday game kicks off.
NONE: This in effect creates a “rolling lockdown” where every game is locked as it kicks off. With this option, the only game available for default picks would be the last game of the week, usually the MNF game.
This option can be changed any time.
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Lockdown Method [Automatic, Manual]
How is the weekly lockdown triggered?
MANUAL: The pool is locked down manually by a pool manager each week. If a manager does not run the lockdown then it automatically occurs at kickoff of the lockdown point game.
AUTOMATIC: The lockdown will happen automatically at the pool deadline.
This option can be changed any time.
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Weekly Deadline [At Kickoff, 2 Hours Before Kickoff, 24 Hours Before Kickoff]
When is the deadline for players making picks?
The deadline may apply to each game individually, or to the pool as a whole, depending on how you have other options set.
This option can be changed any time.
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Pick Reveal [At Game Start or Pool Lockdown, At Pool Lockdown, As Soon as Pick is Made]
When are the players’ picks revealed to others?
AT GAME START OR POOL LOCKDOWN: When any given game kicks off, all picks on that game become publicly visible. When the pool lockdown occurs then all picks on all remaining games become visible.
AT POOL LOCKDOWN: Picks are only revealed when the pool is locked down, even if there are games occuring prior to the full lockdown.
AS SOON AS PICK IS MADE: Players can see each others’ picks, even before the lockdown point.
This option can be changed any time.
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Allow Team Repeat Picks [Check Box]
Can someone pick the same team twice during the season for a given entry?
Select this option to allow players to pick any team each week regardless of the teams that have been chosen for that entry in previous weeks.
Leave this box unchecked to require an entry to pick a different team each week.
Note that a pool which extends into the post season ignores this option in those playoff weeks. During the post season all teams are available regardless of whether that entry has selected that team previously in the regular or post season.
This option will be locked once the pool is open for signups.
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Survivor Goal [Pick a Winner, Pick a Loser]
What is the goal each week in order for an entry to survive?
PICK A WINNER: Pick a team that wins.
PICK A LOSER: Pick a team that loses.
This option will be locked once the pool is open for signups.
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Entry Eliminated After [1st Incorrect Pick, 2nd Incorrect Pick, 3rd Incorrect Pick]
How many losses does it take to eliminate the entry?
Sometimes a small pool may want to give people a mulligan or two on their entries. Most pools usually select “1”, but this option lets an entry survive until it has had two or three strikes against it.
This is also known as “Multi-strike”. This option has the general effect of allowing entries to survive longer, whereas the “Multi-pick” option, described below, generally has the opposite effect.
This option will be locked once the pool is open for signups.
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Number of Picks (option on the Schedule Maintenance Page) [1, 2, 3]
How many teams does an entry need to pick correctly this week to survive?
Sometimes a large pool may want to whittle down the size of the pool faster. Most pools usually select “1”, but setting this to “2” or “3” on a given week requires each entry to select 2 or 3 teams respectively for that week. Each week is set separately so you can have different weeks with different number of picks required. Entries which do not pick all their games correctly are eliminated.
This is also known as “Multi-pick”. This option has the general effect of eliminating entries quicker, whereas the “Multi-strike” option, described above, generally has the opposite effect.
This option will be locked once the pool is open for signups.
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Pick Default [Earliest Scheduled Eligible Visiting Team, Earliest Scheduled Eligible Home Team, Latest Scheduled Eligible Visiting Team, Latest Scheduled Eligible Home Team, No Default Pick- Entry Loses]
What happens to an entry that doesn’t have a team picked for it before the lockdown?
The larger a pool gets, the more often there will be people that miss the deadline. This option controls how the pool handles entries with missing picks when the pool is locked down.
EARLIEST or LATEST SCHEDULED ELIGIBLE VISITING or HOME TEAM: This selects the visitor or home team from the game with the earliest or latest scheduled start time that is still eligible for this entry to pick. When multiple games have the same scheduled start time, they will be ordered alphabetically by the full home team’s name including the city/geographical area.
For weeks with FLEX scheduling, we will use the schedule after any games have been moved. However, any unplanned scheduling changes (ie, weather related, etc), will not affect the order of games for purposes of default pick assignment.
Selection eligibility comes into play if the Repeat Teams option is not selected. Eg., if this option is set to latest visitor and earlier in the year the entry had picked the team who is this week’s MNF visitor, then the visitor of the Sunday night game will be examined for selection. If that team was also already selected, then the 4:15pm games will be looked at, etc. For multiple games with the same start time, they will be assessed in order of how they appear on the schedule, starting at the bottom and working upwards. We use the schedule as shown on our site at the time of the lockdown.
In the event that all of a person’s possible default games have been used up, we will flip to the unused group (home/visitor) to continue searching for an eligible default team. Eg, week 17 in a pool with no repeats, and default is ‘last visitor’, and a player’s pick is missing who has happened to already have used all 16 visitors in the first 16 weeks, they will receive the last home team as their default pick.
In cases where there is no lockdown point, then defaults are applied from the last game of the week as it is being locked down. This could easily result in a case where both teams have been used up, and therefore that entry is eliminated (or takes a strike if the pool is using multiple strikes).
NO DEFAULT PICK- ENTRY LOSES: This means that an entry which does not have a pick made for it by the deadline automatically loses.
This option will be locked once the pool is open for signups.
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Ties Survive [Checkbox]
What happens to the entry in the event that the game ends in a tie?
Check this box to allow entries picking either team in that game survive.
Unchecking the box means any entries picking those teams are eliminated.
This option will be locked once signups are closed and the pool is in progress.
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