The 7 Best NFL Pool Formats — and How to Pick One for Your Group

Choosing a pool format is really three questions: how much weekly effort will your group actually sustain, how much should skill matter versus luck, and does everyone need to stay alive all season? Here's how the seven main formats answer them.

Pick'em — the default for a reason

Everyone picks every game; most correct picks wins. It's the easiest format to explain, works from 5 to 500 people, and scales in difficulty with one setting (straight up vs against the spread). Weakness: the bottom half of the standings can check out by November unless you add weekly prizes. Best for office pools and mixed-skill groups.

Survivor — maximum drama, shortest seasons

One team a week to win outright, no reuse, one loss and you're out. No format produces more sweat per pick, and the no-reuse rule makes it genuinely strategic. The tradeoff is brutal: a third of your pool is often gone by week 3 with nothing to play for. Best paired with a second format, or softened by allowing multiple entries per person. Best for groups that love tension and trash talk.

Confidence — the strategist's pick'em

Pick every game and rank your picks 1–16; correct picks score their rank. It's the most skill-expressive full-slate format — being right about how sure you are is the whole game. It's also the most work per week, and the one format that genuinely needs software to score. Best for engaged groups that want decisions to matter.

Margin — the underrated one

One pick a week, score the margin of victory (negative if they lose), no team reuse. Survivor's strategy without the sudden death; one pick's effort with season-long engagement. If your group has never heard of it, that's a feature — everyone learns together. Best for group chats and survivor veterans wanting a twist.

High 5 — low effort, jackpot energy

Pick exactly five games; every correct pick counts as a win, and season standings rank total wins. Five picks takes three minutes, and trimming the card to your best calls makes each one matter. Best for groups that want season-long standings without full-slate homework.

Best Bet — pick'em with teeth

Pick every game for a win each, but flag a set number of 'best bets' that earn bonus wins when they land. That extra weight turns lock-flagging into a real decision and separates otherwise-identical cards. Best for pick'em groups ready for a second layer without confidence-pool homework.

Squares — the one for everybody

Buy squares on a 10×10 grid, random numbers at kickoff, score digits pick the winners each quarter. Zero knowledge or weekly effort required, which makes it the only format your entire extended family can play. It's pure luck by design. Best for Super Bowl parties and single big games alongside a season-long pool.

The cheat sheet

• Mixed office crowd: Pick'em (straight up), weekly + season prizes.
• Football-savvy group: Confidence or Pick'em against the spread.
• Maximum drama: Survivor — allow multiple entries per person if the group hates early exits.
• Minimum effort, season-long: Margin or High 5.
• One big game: Squares.
• Can't decide: run two. A full-slate pool plus survivor or margin is the classic combo, and the same app can host both.