There was a time, long before the National Lottery and other financial games, when the pool was the most exciting place to gamble without feeling like you were doing it. By the end of World War II, the stadium was handling around 15 million packages of mail a week, and by the 1950s, more than 100,000 people were working in the industry.
However, in modern times, Pools has reinvented itself and still enjoys a very loyal fan base. All the classic games that you have come to love are here, along with a host of new games made possible by the fact that they are now available online.
This can vary based on the type of pool you are playing. There are various types of football pools such as Survivor Pools or Pick’ems.
SURVIVOR POOLS
Survivor Pool is one of the largest and most popular swimming pools in the area. In fact, Las Vegas has a big city tournament in that everyone can participate. With Survivor Pools, each week someone picks a team to win a match. If that person’s team wins, they advance to the next week. If that person’s team loses, they are removed from the pool.
Pool operators can choose options to be straight or with a spread. Most Survivor Pools are direct selections because it’s hard enough to pick winners without worrying about contagion.
SQUARES POOLS
Squares Pools are a very popular football pool played during the Super Bowl, also known as “Super Bowl Squares”. This group requires a 10 x 10 grid, with one team representing the X-axis from zero to nine and the other team representing the Y-axis from 0 to nine.
Members select a square where they believe the last digit of each team’s score will intersect at the end of each quarter. There are four opportunities to win squares, at the end of each quarter. Some pool marshals randomly distribute the boxes, while others let you choose.
PROP POOLS
Like squares, Prop Pools are very popular during the Super Bowl. In the supply room, members simply select the correct answer to various questions. Questions can range from game results to entertainment around the event. The question might be, “Does the Tight End score a TD in the game?” or “How’s Half a Show for 4.5 songs?”
PICK’EM POOLS
Pick’em pool is very popular during the regular season because it’s just to see who can pick the best game. Using the pick pool, members select only the winners of each game each week. The member with the most votes at the end of the season wins. This format is very popular as it is easy to run and play.
CONFIDENCE POOLS
This style of pool is very popular during the College Football Bowl season, in which pool members are rewarded. The pool manager can decide whether the members choose the results of the spread or only the winners.
Scores vary based on confidence, as members must assign a “confidence number” to each choice. What is a trusted number?
If you pick the outcome of 16 football matches in a week, a member of the trusted team assigns each match a number between 1 and 16 – each number is picked once. If the pool member is very confident in their selection, they can send them the 16, and if they win, they get 16 points.
33 POOLS
33 Pool is a unique pool game where each member receives a randomly selected pool. If their team scores 33 points in a game, they get one point. Whoever has the most points at the end of the season wins. This is a great format to use if you want to play during the pool season but don’t need to do something different every week.
Games You Can Play
| Game | How To Play | Cost | Top Prize |
| Classic Pools | Select ten fixtures from those on offer, with the aim being to find eight that will end in a score-draw | £1 per game | £3 million if you correctly identify the nine games out of 49 that end in a score-draw when they are the only nine that end as a score-draw |
| Goal Rush | Pick eight matches, this time aiming for those that you think will see both teams scoring | £2 per game | £1 million if you correctly identify the first eight matches in which both teams score. Seven correct guesses earn a consolation prize |
| Premier 6 | Predict the outcome of six football matches, opting for Home Win, Away Win, or Draw | £2 per line | Varies according to how many people play and pay into the pool |
| Premier 10 | Correctly predict the outcome of ten pre-selected matches, choosing between a Home Win, Away Win, or Draw | £1 per line | Varies according to how many people play and pay into the pool |
| Premier 12 | As with the other ‘Premier’ games, predict the outcome of 12 pre-selected matches in order to win, deciding on whether they will end as a Home Win, Away Win, or Draw | 50p per line, a minimum stake of £1 | Varies according to how many people play and pay into the pool |
| Lucky Clover | Guess which numbers will be drawn in the Irish Lottery | £1.50 per draw | Match three and win £700, match all six and win £1 million |
