# American Idol Pool 2010 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [January 19, 2010, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-pool-2010/525490 "2010-01-19T00:02:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-pool-2010/525490/41 "2010-03-12T19:57:12Z")
By popular request (well, a couple of people saying “Hey, let’s do _both_ pools!”), I set up a Top 12 pool the way we used to do it. You have four days to get your one and only pick set in for the season, so [get 'em in](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=555649) by Tuesday evening! ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-pool-2010/525490/42 "2010-03-18T12:06:09Z")
I’m in first place in the fun pool! w00t! That’s a first for me. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-pool-2010/525490/43 "2010-03-25T12:58:27Z")
Enjoy it while it lasts, **Rebo** …🙂 You still have the lead, but there’s a pack of us tied for second place nipping at your heels! ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-pool-2010/525490/44 "2010-04-01T15:21:02Z")
Good job **Crotalus** and **Ataraxy** for putting all 20 points on Didi. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-pool-2010/525490/45 "2010-04-01T15:38:01Z")
Damn my bet-hedging – I _knew_ Didi was doomed, but I still felt the need to throw five points on Aaron, just in case. Ah well…your time at the top is coming to an end, **Crotalus** …I’m on your heels and ready to make my move! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-pool-2010/525490/46 "2010-04-14T12:01:50Z")
> [@Hal\_Briston](#): > > Damn my bet-hedging – I _knew_ Didi was doomed, but I still felt the need to throw five points on Aaron, just in case. > > Ah well…your time at the top is coming to an end, **Crotalus** …I’m on your heels and ready to make my move! 🙂 Nobody was more surprised than me to see where I am in the standings. So does anything change for tonight, with two going home? Or do we still distribute 20 points however we want? I guess I could go to the pool site and see, huh? ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-pool-2010/525490/47 "2010-04-14T12:46:21Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > So does anything change for tonight, with two going home? Or do we still distribute 20 points however we want? I guess I could go to the pool site and see, huh? As far as I can tell, it’s business as usual – spread your 20 points around however you like, and if they go home, you score. Makes it twice as easy to get some points this week – I’ll take it. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-pool-2010/525490/48 "2010-04-15T12:14:47Z")
> [@Hal\_Briston](#): > > Damn my bet-hedging – I _knew_ Didi was doomed, but I still felt the need to throw five points on Aaron, just in case. > > Ah well…your time at the top is coming to an end, **Crotalus** …I’m on your heels and ready to make my move! 🙂 Right you are. Good job, Hal. ---
**Author:** ![Rachael\_Rage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71c47a/32.png) [@Rachael\_Rage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachael_Rage)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-pool-2010/525490/49 "2010-04-22T12:16:35Z")
I put my faith in Teflon Tim a little too long, but I’m happy to see the bonus questions did me some good this week. Without Tim I have even less incentive to keep up, but I’m hoping to prove I can win this thing without watching the show! Bwa ha haa! ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-pool-2010/525490/50 "2010-04-29T13:42:11Z")
Damnit, damnit, damnit – I had my points split between Michael and Siobahn, but at the last minute I decided to throw my entire lot in with Michael. Still clinging to that lead, though – good thing not too many points were put on Siobahn. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-pool-2010/525490/51 "2010-04-29T13:49:40Z")
I had no idea Siobahn was going. I put everything on the men, specifically on Lynche to get…wait…don’t say lynched\*…booted off the show. Yikes! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-pool-2010/525490/52 "2010-04-29T14:37:09Z")
I always\* split my points 10-10 between the two I think most likely to get sent off. Looks like that tactic actually paid off this week, since I split between Michael and Siobhan. Her scream has now transitioned into boring. I was nervous for a bit though–I have Casey down as the overall winner. \*Except the double elimination week, when we were only required to pick one of the two. ---
**Author:** ![judikium](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9adbd/32.png) [@judikium](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/judikium)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-pool-2010/525490/53 "2010-05-06T02:45:11Z")
I ignored the Casey-will-go groupthink and finally had a good week. I find it so strange that Mike got voted off five weeks ago and he’s still here. I assumed that every judges’ save would end up gone soon after. Now he’s fighting with Lee for a spot in the finale. Or maybe he’s going home next week. Or… ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-pool-2010/525490/54 "2010-05-06T03:04:50Z")
Man, talk about being torn at the final – I’ve wanted to Aaron gone in the worst way for ages now, but I had five points on Mike. So, I got the better final four, but damnit, now I’m in second! \ ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-pool-2010/525490/55 "2010-05-20T16:38:45Z")
The good news: I got a perfect score this week. The bad news: my overall winner pick was eliminated. That pretty much puts me out of the running as the high scorer, but overall I did quite well this season. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-pool-2010/525490/56 "2010-05-27T14:12:12Z")
All right, another season in the books! A quick check of [the standings](http://www.funofficepools.com/idol924/standings.php?ps_key=50a73a61dab&pool_key=ddb42234241) shows the winner was…me! 😃 Indulge me for a moment, as I repost my facebook status from yesterday afternoon: > [@](#): > > Remember when it was the Top 24 stage, and you were all “Ooo, Siobhan is gonna win" and “Casey is a hottie – he’s gonna get all the girl’s votes"? Remember that? Who was it that said “You watch – this Lee guy is going to walk away the champ”? Yeeeeeah…who’s got two thumbs, the ability to predict the AI winner months ahead of time, and a massively over-inflated sense of self-esteem stemming from it? This guy. Ok…done gloating now. Let me give kudos to **Pleonast** here – I won the game, but it was he who did the best when it came to pure picking – it was only doing good with the bonus questions and picking Lee for the win early on that gave me the victory. Nicely done, **Pleo**! For posterity’s sake, here’s how this all shook out (I know copying and pasting is going to blow up the formatting, but whatever – if someone wants to know the results a couple of years from now, they’ll be able to figure it out): Overall Standings Through Week 14 Rank Selection Pts Bonus Over All Total Overall Pick (Max Pts) 1 Hal’s Croaky Karaoke 155 34 36 225 Lee D (36) 2 Rachael’s picks 154 23 27 204 Lee D (27) 3 Kolak of Twilo’s picks 157 23 18 198 Crystal B (36) 4 Pleonast 160 28 6 194 Lee D (6) 5 Rachel’s Groovy Picks 141 32 3 176 Crystal B (6) 5 Mahaloth’s picks 140 21 15 176 Crystal B (30) 7 Rebo’s picks 134 20 15 169 Crystal B (30) 8 drainbead’s picks 116 31 14 161 Crystal B (27) 8 judikium 113 30 18 161 Crystal B (36) 10 gonzoron 111 29 14 154 Crystal B (27) 11 My Picks 120 18 15 153 Lee D (15) 12 Jahiegel 96 27 18 141 Crystal B (36) 13 Kitten’s Picks 110 22 6 138 Crystal B (12) 14 Crotalus 100 28 9 137 Casey J (36) 15 Ataraxy’s Picks 102 18 8 128 Crystal B (15) 16 Os’s Picks 78 26 18 122 Crystal B (36) 17 mchapman’s picks 88 27 4 119 Casey J (15) 18 BetsQ’s picks 79 21 18 118 Crystal B (36) 19 Sam’s Picks 79 23 9 111 Casey J (36) 20 Gorgonzola’s picks 67 28 9 104 Casey J (36) 21 phungi 66 23 0 89 -none- 22 Blue Mood 67 19 0 86 Michael L (36) ---
**Author:** ![RachelChristine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7ab992/32.png) [@RachelChristine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RachelChristine)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-pool-2010/525490/57 "2010-05-27T21:47:05Z")
Hey fifth place aint too shabby! I feel bad because I totally forgot to put my points in this week, but still happy with my place. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-pool-2010/525490/58 "2010-05-28T03:38:02Z")
Well, considering I picked Crystal for the win and still managed to come in third without all those points I suppose I should be happy. But, next year **Hal** …ooooh boy, wait 'til next year! ---
**Author:** ![Rachael\_Rage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71c47a/32.png) [@Rachael\_Rage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachael_Rage)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-pool-2010/525490/59 "2010-05-28T06:41:48Z")
Well, we all know that the ones with **real** talent always get 2nd place… 😃 I don’t feel too bad being a bridesmaid for the second year in a row (or third?) since I mostly stopped watching at top 12 and completely stopped watching after Adam Lambert week (which apparently had something to do with Elvis too). If only I had picked Lee to take it all from the beginning like I did over at MJsBigBlog’s version of the same pool - I got 16th place out of over 1400 over there! Congratulations, all! If it hadn’t been for the pool I wouldn’t have paid attention to this crap-ass season at all. ---
**Author:** ![judikium](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9adbd/32.png) [@judikium](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/judikium)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-pool-2010/525490/60 "2010-05-28T06:50:05Z")
Huh. I would have gotten third if I had put my 40 points on Lee. I guess I went for “go big or go home” though- I would have had no shot at winning if I had split my points between my 40 for Lee and 36 winner points for Crystal. I had a few good picks near the end but mostly failed this season. Oh well. I wish I had done this back in Season 5 because I _knew_ Chris Daughtry was going home. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-pool-2010/525490.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-pool-2010/525490.md?page=4)