Bikoosh Pools · guide
Office pool rules: what to write down before the first game
Most arguments in an office pool come from a rule nobody wrote down. The six lines below cover nearly every one; copy them into the pool's notes and the season runs itself.
You can create the pool now and share the link when the game is set. The board stays empty until people join, nothing is charged, and the manage link is yours to keep.
Six lines to agree in advance
- Who may join, and until when (the lock).
- What a square or a correct pick is worth, and how the periods or rounds split.
- What happens on a tie (shared, or the tie-break rule the pool states).
- Who enters the results and from which source (the league's own final scores).
- Whether the pool carries any stake at all, and if so, that the host settles it outside the tool.
- Where the board lives: one public link, so everyone sees the same standings.
What a hosting tool should never do
- Bikoosh Pools never collects, holds or pays out money and never sets stakes: it keeps the grid, the picks and the standings for people who already know each other. Whether a pool carries any stake, and whether that is allowed where you are, is the host's responsibility.
- A tool should also never change a result silently: every result the host enters is dated on the board.
Start a squares pool What Bikoosh Pools does
Quick answers
Are office pools legal?
It depends on where you are and whether money is involved; a pool with no stake is a game, and a pool with stakes is regulated differently in each country and US state. The tool keeps the board only; the host decides what the pool carries and checks the local rule.
What should an office pool's rules include?
Who may join and until when, what a correct pick or square is worth, the tie rule, who enters results and from which source, whether there is any stake at all, and the one link where the board lives.
Other guides: How Super Bowl squares work (and how to run a grid at the office) · How a pick'em pool is scored (NFL playoffs, bowl games, any bracket) · How to split a squares pool payout (the common structures) · How squares numbers are drawn, and why the draw comes after the lock · Which squares numbers win most often, and why it does not matter before the draw · Pick'em tiebreaker rules that actually settle a tie · Confidence pools and weighted pick'em: how to make later rounds count more · Survivor pool rules (last one standing), written down · March Madness office pool: bracket or pick'em, and how to run it by round · Is an office pool legal? What it depends on · Squares for any game: college football, the World Cup final, the Grey Cup, a cup final · How many people do you need for a squares pool · Running an office pool for a remote or hybrid team
Bikoosh Pools is an independent tool, not affiliated with any league, team or broadcaster; team and event names are used to describe the game being followed. Bikoosh Pools never collects, holds or pays out money and never sets stakes: it keeps the grid, the picks and the standings for people who already know each other. Whether a pool carries any stake, and whether that is allowed where you are, is the host's responsibility.