# Help me with a question on my football pool tie-breaker. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 22, 2004, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-a-question-on-my-football-pool-tie-breaker/276013 "2004-11-22T00:45:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-a-question-on-my-football-pool-tie-breaker/276013/1 "2004-11-22T00:45:24Z")
I’ve never had this problem before. In the pool I’m running this year, we have 2 people that went 12-2 so far. All 8 have picked both Green Bay and New England, so it’s going to come down to the MNF points. One took 42 points, the other 64. We’ve had 2 other weeks that came down to points. One where both had the same points so it was a coin flip, the other was under both picks so it went to the lower total picked. Here’s the question. How do you play the points when one is under the total and the other is over? In this case if the total is 53, both are off by 11. Do you still do the coin flip? Or is there a system you use to skip an over or under pick? Like on _The Price is Right_ where the closest without going over wins? I’ll even take opinion. Just let me know that’s what it is instead of how you actually play it. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-a-question-on-my-football-pool-tie-breaker/276013/2 "2004-11-22T00:49:56Z")
I would say the closest without going over would be the winner. ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-a-question-on-my-football-pool-tie-breaker/276013/3 "2004-11-22T00:58:51Z")
Well if you stated beforehand that the person who picked closest to the right number of points would win, with no mention of “not going over,” I feel that that’s an unfair addition as it affects strategy. If this is a rule change consideration for the future, then as long as it’ stated before the players pick, it’s a legitimate rule. The newspaper I work for runs a “beat the experts” type of thing, and our solution is the coinflip (or in the case of more than two, random draw out of a box). ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-a-question-on-my-football-pool-tie-breaker/276013/4 "2004-11-22T00:59:39Z")
General Questions is for questions with factual answers. I think you need IMHO, for opinions. Of course, you can still get a factual answer in there. Moved. **samclem** GQ moderator ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-a-question-on-my-football-pool-tie-breaker/276013/5 "2004-11-22T01:06:44Z")
Why can’t you have a tie? Is it a case of a weekly payout? If so, why not split the pot in the event of ties? Or, IMO, it’s a push, house wins. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-a-question-on-my-football-pool-tie-breaker/276013/6 "2004-11-22T01:12:58Z")
**Garfield** , the problem is we’ve never actually had a set rule about this. In the last 7 years it’s never been an issue. I just haven’t thought about it till now. It’s not really changing the rule as much as trying to establish one. **samclem** , I kinda figured it might be IMHO, but don’t want you getting lazy on us. 😉 **Casey** , it’s a weekly payout. Each buy-in is $10 for the week, half of the pot going each week and the other half pooled to an end of season 3 way payout. ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-a-question-on-my-football-pool-tie-breaker/276013/7 "2004-11-22T01:17:59Z")
**Casey** , I forgot to mention we’re all pretty competetive so we like to have a single winner each week for bragging rights. Also, weekly wins figure into end of season tiebreakers. Kinda like head to head and overall division wins in the NFL. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-a-question-on-my-football-pool-tie-breaker/276013/8 "2004-11-22T01:22:10Z")
> [@duffer](#): > > **Casey** , it’s a weekly payout. Each buy-in is $10 for the week, half of the pot going each week and the other half pooled to an end of season 3 way payout. If they wind up tied, I’d split the payout funds among those tied. Without a hard and fast rule specific to a situation like this, it seems to be the fairest thing to do. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-a-question-on-my-football-pool-tie-breaker/276013/9 "2004-11-22T01:24:52Z")
> [@duffer](#): > > **Casey** , I forgot to mention we’re all pretty competetive so we like to have a single winner each week for bragging rights. Also, weekly wins figure into end of season tiebreakers. Kinda like head to head and overall division wins in the NFL. In that case, screw 'em. It’s a push and the house wins. 😉