Last year - 485 entries; winner earned $5,000. We almost reached $10K in the pool last year, I expect you all to make it happen this year.
Now, onto the completely true story about how our NCAA Survivor Pool began, and (less interestingly) how you can enter and become a part of the magic:
The year was 2010, and the Ides of March were upon us. The elder brother awoke in a cold sweat. He looked to the clock with eyes accustomed to the night, 3 am. He sighed. Another nightmare. Each March these horrors descended upon him. He was haunted by a sense of dread and emptiness, by a feeling that there was something more. Something just waiting to be discovered to make the lives of everyone around him complete. An end to the suffering and injustices his people endured each year.
He tossed and turned, but once again sleep would evade him.
In a neighboring kingdom, the younger brother slept well that night. And, while his brother awoke listless, the younger brother had less of a dream, and more of a vision. The following day he awoke overtaken by a sense of calm and understanding...And, he knew he had the answer they had been seeking all these years.
For as long as anyone could remember The NCAA Tournament was wagered upon in one way: filling out brackets. The single greatest spectacle in sports, a 68 team single-elimination blowout, was turned into a glorified lottery. Since the dawn of man this is how it had been, and in the eyes of many...including the corrupt sheriff, this is how it would, nay, how it SHOULD always be. Yes, throughout the years some foolish souls had brought up alternatives. But, they were typically hung in the town square for witchcraft. The brothers saw others endure this fate, yet they persisted, knowing in their hearts that their mission was pure and noble.
When the younger brother spoke to his elder the next day he spoke of his vision. The black crow flew low against a red sky, the sun was rising, the day was born anew. He realized this could mean only one thing.....instead of filling out brackets people should make one selection each day in an NCAA TOURNAMENT SURVIVOR SHOWDOWN!
And, that's why, nine years ago, much to the chagrin of the evil sheriff, we hastily threw together the greatest pool ever - The NCAA Tournament Survivor Pool! Years ago we thought we had maxed out when we had over 100 entries. Boy were we stupid. Each year more people awaken to the Survivor Pool Revolution. Burn down your brackets and pick up your...Survivor Pool! Tell your friends, tell your family (even that one super creepy uncle...you know the one), and let's get this thing started.
As always 100% of the entry money is paid out...we just run this pool because no one else has ever come up with anything this awesome for us to enter...
SOME OF THE MOST IMPORTANT RULES:
- You are allowed UNLIMITED entries (some have suggested we cap it, but that's a bad suggestion because it's impossible to police, and buying 200 entries is a completely reasonable strategy)
- Entries are open until the tip of the last game on day one. Even if you have 50 entries already you can buy more until that game tips off (we had a proposal to allow people to pick two games on Day 2 which would have pushed the entry count higher, but too many people are too lame to see how cool that would've been)
First, remind me of all the links and stuff I need. I’m going to ask about it, so just put it up here.
Good call. Here’s a quick reference for all the links you should need:
Entry Fee: $20/entry (no limit on entries per person, buy 2, buy 10, hell, buy 20, I might.)
- Website: tourneypools.blogspot.com – the leaderboard and all updates will be posted here. If you have a question where ANYTHING is, go here before asking, because odds are it’s here.
- Entry Form: Embedded in the bottom - all subsequent forms will be posted here and emailed out. Forms are already scheduled to post at the following times:
- Week 1 forms - 5PM EDT the day before
- Week 2 forms - 10PM EDT the day before
- Email: tourneypools@gmail.com – I’m constantly monitoring this and can get back to you fairly quickly. I ask that you do not send questions asking if I got your pick or payment. All forms this year ask for email addresses so you can receive a receipt of your pick. If you got that receipt back, then I have your pick.
- Paypal ID: paypal.me/philipcrone
- Venmo ID: @Philip-Crone - Venmo is basically Paypal for people who are somehow to slow on the uptake to figure out Paypal. You really have no excuse anymore. It's an app you can get on your fancy smartphone.
Wait wait wait, before you start into your convoluted rules, did you change anything? I played this stupid game last year, so just give me the changes so I can get on with my day!
Ok ok no need to yell here. Any changes are underlined below.
And with that, now to the rules proper…
Rules
- Choose one team each day that you think will win for that particular day.
- If your team wins, congrats, you move on to the next day of picks (assuming you can still pick a team. If not, see next rule). If not, you are out. If you forget to pick one day or try to pick the same team again, you're out. Look, I've made this shit as automated as possible; I can't hold your hand on everything.
- Once you have a chosen a team, you cannot choose that team again for the rest of the contest. If you use Kentucky to beat Davidson in round 1, you cannot use Kentucky again for the remainder of the tournament. If you ever get to a point where you cannot pick a team b/c you have used all the teams playing that day, then your entry will be treated like an entry who could pick that day and lost.
- This comes up every year as a point of contention, but just to reiterate – even if someone does not have a pick, you still have to pick correctly for that day to finish ahead of them. Picking to the point where you run out of teams is an acceptable strategy.
- Multiple entries are allowed – buy early, buy often
- How to submit picks:
- Every day, I will create a Google form that will be used by participants to choose their team for that day. The first day will ask for a handful of information. Subsequent days will not ask for as much info. Trust me when I say all info is necessary.
- Subsequent days will only ask for your entry name, email, and your pick. Entry names will be in a drop-down list, so simply find your remaining entry (or entries) name(s) and then make your selection.
- If you want to change your pick for a day, just use the same form and pick again. I can see timestamps on my end, and I’ll just take the latest one.
Deadlines
- Day One purchase and pick deadline is prior to tip for the last set of games of the evening, which usually occurs around 10:30 PM EDT. If you lose at noon, go ahead and re-buy on day one - you will not be alone. AGAIN YOU CAN RE-BUY UNTIL THE LAST GAME TIPS OFF ON DAY ONE!!!
- Daily pick deadlines for rounds 1 and 2 are prior to tip for the last set of games for that day. For the Sweet 16 and later, the deadline is prior to tip of the first game of the day. Each form will have the deadline on there.
Winner/Tiebreaker
The order of finish is first determined by the total number of winning picks made. In the event of a tie, the tie will be broken in the following manner…
- Highest combined total of all seeds selected
- Ex: You and I get knocked out on Day 6. Because I’m awesome, I had that 12 seed that won in round one. My combined seed picking total is 28, and yours is 26. I win.
- Highest individual seed selected, and then second highest individual seed, etc.
- Ex. You and I get knocked out Day 6, but both of our combined seed totals are 28. I had my 12 seed, but your highest seed you picked was a 10 seed. I win again. (This was the tie-breaker we had to get to in 2012, so make sure you UNDERSTAND THIS RULE.)
- Highest individual seed selected by round, and then second highest individual seed by round, etc.
- Ex. You and I get knocked out Day 6, both of our combined seed totals are 28, and we have happened to have every seed we’ve chosen be the exact same. However, you picked a 10 seed to win in round 1 (which they did), but I had my 10 seed to win in round 2 (which they did). Once again you lose. You’re really bad at this. (If you don’t understand this rule, that’s fine. Odds are it will not come in to play.)
- If this does not result in a tie being broken, the pot will be split evenly.
Payment
- Entry cost: $20
- Money must be in my grubby hands in some form before you make your pick. The pool was big enough last year that I feel like I can big-time you all like this. You can do this one of three ways:
- Venmo - Venmo is a nifty app that lets you quickly send payments to people. You don't even have to worry about commissions. It's basically Paypal for dummies. My Venmo ID is above.
- PayPal – Still the easiest to track and you don’t have to track me down. The paypal ID is above. In addition, when paying on PayPal, CHOOSE THAT IT IS A PERSONAL PAYMENT! Otherwise, PayPal will take a commission. If you do not have a PayPal account, sign up now so it can check your bank account. Again, this is the preferred method of payment. Not only does it guarantee I get the money, it also GETS YOU PAID FASTER IF YOU WIN!!!
- Mail - For everyone scared of computers but somehow doesn't mind the footwork of finding a check, finding a stamp, finding an envelope, and combining all these things to pay, you can send that to 1601 Beechwood Ave, New Albany, IN 47150.
- Find me or one of my designated trusted goons (whoever told you about this pool is probably one of them) and physically hand one of us cash or a check. I literally have to have the payment in my hand. Do not call me and say “I’ll get you Sunday.” Not happening. Unless that Sunday is the Sunday before the tournament starts.
- Payouts will be determined at the end based on number of entries. We have never paid beyond 7 spots, but depending on entry count may go to 10.
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