How to Play NFL Pick’em
Learning how to play NFL pick’em takes about two minutes. Every week you choose which team you think wins each game, you submit the sheet before kickoff, and whoever gets the most games right that week wins the week. Do that for 18 weeks and the person with the best season total wins the pool. That is the whole game. This page walks through the rules, the scoring options, when picks lock, how tiebreakers work and the mistakes that cost new players points.
How to play NFL pick’em step by step
Whether you play on paper or online, the week follows the same shape.
- Get the week’s games. A normal week has 13 to 16 games. Teams on a bye do not appear. The weekly games pages list every matchup with kickoff time, spread and total.
- Pick a winner in every game. Most pools ask for all games. Some ask for a set number, like your best five.
- Add the tiebreaker. Usually a guess at the total points scored in the Monday night game. Both teams added together, so 24-20 is 44.
- Submit before the deadline. Online pools lock each game at its own kickoff. Paper pools usually take all sheets before the first Sunday game.
- Check the standings. Correct picks score, wrong picks do not, and the season table adds up as the weeks go by.
If you want the site to do the scoring, start a free pool and share one link. Members join with a name and email, picks lock automatically and the standings update themselves.
The three scoring styles
Almost every pick’em pool uses one of these.
Straight up
Pick the winner, one point per correct pick, no spread involved. This is the classic office pool and the easiest for people who do not follow the NFL closely. The downside is that in a week full of big favorites, most players end up with the same score.
Confidence points
You pick the winners and then rank the games. With 16 games you assign 16 to the pick you are surest about down to 1 for the coin flip. You score the number you assigned when the pick is right and zero when it is wrong. Each number is used once. Confidence spreads the scores out, so the standings separate much faster than straight up, and one bold high-confidence miss can sink a week.
Against the spread
Each game has a point spread. A favorite listed at -7 has to win by more than seven for a pick on them to count. An underdog at +7 covers by winning or losing by six or less. If the game lands exactly on the number it is a push and usually counts half a point. Against the spread is the fairest test of NFL knowledge because the easy games stop being easy, and it is the format most experienced pools settle on.
Not sure which to run? Straight up for a mixed office group, confidence for a competitive group of fans, against the spread if your players already follow the lines.
When picks lock
There are two common rules and they change how the week feels.
- Rolling lock, per game. Each game locks at its own kickoff. You pick Thursday night before Thursday night and you can still change Sunday and Monday games on Sunday morning. This is what ESPN does and what most online players expect.
- Weekly deadline. The whole sheet locks at the first kickoff of the week. Simpler to run on paper, and it means nobody gains from late injury news.
Either way, a pick saved after kickoff does not count. In a free pool here you choose the rule when you create the pool and can change it later.
Tiebreakers
Ties are common, especially in straight-up pools. The standard tiebreaker is the total points scored in the last game of the week. Everyone writes a number, and the guess closest to the real total wins the tie. Some pools require the guess to be under the actual total, but the simple closest-guess rule causes fewer arguments. If your pool skips the tiebreaker, decide in advance whether tied players split the week or share the rank.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Forgetting Thursday. The Thursday game locks days before the rest. Missing it is the most common way to lose a week.
- Picking with your heart. Backing your team every week is fun and expensive. If you cannot pick against them, at least give them low confidence points.
- Chasing upsets early. Favorites win around two out of three NFL games. Take the chalk in the first weeks, then get creative once you know who is good.
- Ignoring the tiebreaker. A blank tiebreaker box loses ties automatically. Totals usually land in the 40s.
- Not checking the lock rule. Read the pool rules before week one, not after you miss a deadline.
Playing on paper
Paper pools still work well in an office or a bar. Print one sheet per player, collect them before the first game, and mark the winners on Monday night. Free printable pick’em sheets are here for every week, in winner, spread and confidence versions. The trade is that somebody has to score them by hand every week, which is the main reason most groups eventually move online.
Start playing this week
The fastest way to learn how to play NFL pick’em is to play one week. Join the free public pool to try it with no setup, or start your own free pool and invite your friends with one link. Picks lock at kickoff, the standings score themselves, and there is no fee and no app to install.
How to play NFL pick’em: questions
How many games do I pick each week?
Every game on the schedule, usually 13 to 16 depending on byes. Some pools use a pick-five or pick-ten format instead.
What happens if I miss a week?
You score zero for the games you did not pick. Most pools do not allow late picks, so set a reminder for Thursday.
What is a push?
In an against-the-spread pool, a push is when the final margin equals the spread exactly. Nobody wins the game and most pools award half a point.
Do I need to know a lot about football?
No. Picking favorites straight up gets you around 65 percent right in a typical season. Knowledge helps most in against-the-spread pools.
Can I play NFL pick’em for free?
Yes. Pools on this site are free to create and join, with no member limit and no prizes handled by the site.
How is the season winner decided?
Total points across all weeks. Some pools also pay weekly winners, which keeps players who fell behind interested.