Intro to College Bowl Pool 2014

Hello again everyone.  It's College Football Bowl season again.  Every year, I gin up a long e-mail explaining the pool and all the details, but through the magic of the blog, I can just dust off last year's introduction and change a few things to it to make it relevant to this year pool.  So without any further ado.  There are 2 major changes to the pool this year, so make sure that you read all the way to the end.:

 

Hello again everyone.  It's that time of year again - time for the 5th(?) annual college bowl pool.  This e-mail is the official invite to play again this year.  Last year we had 89 entries, which was a pretty good showing given that it's not as easy to enter as the March Madness pool.  Most of the details are the same as last year, but there a few changes, so please read everything over.  I'll be happy to answer any questions that you may have.

How much does it cost? 

As with virtually all my pools, entry fee is $5.00 per entry.  You can enter as many times as you like.  There are various ways you can pay entry fees, although PayPal is definitely NOT one of them.  They are pretty stingy regarding "gambling" using that sight, so I don't want to use it.

1. Cash

2. A personal check mailed to:  Klei Richards 2168 Carol View Dr. #B205, Cardiff CA 92007.  That worked reasonably well last time, so I see no reason not to continue using it.  I highly recommend having your bank send me a check as if I am the Cable company or something.  I get several checks at a time that way.

 

Next: How do I enter?

I'm attaching the spreadsheet for you to fill out.  The concept is relatively simple.  There are 38 Bowl games this year.  First time around, pick who you think will win each game.  Once you've got that figured out, rank how confident you are that the team you picked to win will actually win from 1-38 using each number exactly one time.  For example, if I like Western Michigan to win the Idaho Potato Bowl, I may put 38 points on that game.  If I don't feel particularly confident about it, I may put only 1.  If the team you picked wins the game, you get the amount of points that you placed on that game.  The person with the most points at the end of all the games wins.

 

For those that haven't played in one of my pools before, I think the thing that separates mine from others is the amount of statistics that I generate.  I like to compile a lot of statistics regarding pick distributions as the games go on, but I really like to figure out when picks are mathematically eliminated from contention.  Many times, people need to have the team they pick lose because it would hurt someone ahead of them in the standings more.  I like finding little gems like that.

 

Once all the picks have been submitted to me, I will send out a spreadsheet containing everyone's picks and points so you can keep me honest and play along (if that's your thing).  As with pools in the past, I will be compiling stats and commentary on the games as they go on.  The difference is that this year, I'm just going to use a blog format instead of sending e-mail out to everyone.  That makes it less slightly less work for me, and for those that couldn't care less about the standings, you don't have to be inundated with updates.  The blog site will be:

http://kleisports.blogspot.com/

I don't think there's any kind of password or anything to that, so it should be good to go.

 

Who can enter?

Anyone.  Feel free to pass this on to anyone that wants in.  The more people get in, the larger the prize pool so invite whoever you want.

 

What are the payouts?

Last year I had 89 people, and I paid out 3 places.  If I somehow manage to get 100, I'll pay out 4 places.  If I get <50, I'll pay out 2.

 

Anything else I need to know?

I don't think so.  If I missed something, let me know.  Also, if you want to be taken off distribution, let me know that as well.  I don't want to bother people that don't want to be bothered.

 

Good luck to everyone!!!!!

I forgot to mention, but the entries are due before the first game on the 20th of December.  When you send me your entry, let me know how you intend to pay.  Thanks.

 

Changes:

1. Payouts:  The last two years, I've had the same person win 2 of the 3 payouts.  That's great for the person that gets all the cash, but kind of sucks for everyone else.  Going forward, the rule will be that you can enter as many times as you want, but you can only win one place.  If someone manages to win 2 places, they will get paid out whatever the higher place is, and everyone else will move up one spot.  For instance, last year, we had one person get 1st and 2nd.  If that happens this year, that person would get paid out for 1st, the person who finished 3rd would get 2nd place money, and the 4th place person would win 3rd place.

2. The Last Game:  Unlike the wonderful BCS years, this year, we get an additional game to determine the national champion.  I wanted to incorporate that extra game, but it didn't seem quite right to include it in the confidence portion of the pool, so I've made the Championship game a fixed 30 points, but you have to choose 1 of the 4 eligible teams (Alabama, Oregon, Florida State or Ohio State).  I actually like this extra game.  It adds an extra wrinkle to the odds of winning - and also makes those semi-final games pretty crucial.