# Margin Pool — NFL Rules, Scoring & Hosting

> Margin pool (margin of victory pool) rules: pick one NFL team a week, score their margin of victory — negative if they lose — with no team reuse. Strategy and hosting.

Source: https://piksheet.com/pools/margin
Last updated: 2026-08-07

**Margin:** One pick a week. Get it right by a lot.

Pick one game per week. Score the actual margin of victory — negative if you miss.

Sport: [NFL](https://piksheet.com/nfl)

## How it works

1. Pick exactly one game each week — and one team from that game.
2. If your team wins, you score the margin of victory.
3. If your team loses, you score the negative of the margin.
4. You cannot reuse a team during the regular season.
5. Commissioners can require two picks in specific weeks — each from a different game, scored independently.
6. Highest cumulative margin at season's end wins.

## Three weeks in

1. Week 1: You take the Eagles. They win by 17. +17.
2. Week 2: You take the Cowboys. They lose by 10. −10.
3. Week 3: You take the Ravens. They win by 3. +3.
4. Season total through Week 3: +10.

## How to win

- Blowout potential beats safety. A 4-point favorite that could win by 20 is usually a better margin pick than a 10-point favorite in a game likely to stay close.
- Divisional games run closer than the records suggest — they're weak margin picks even for good teams.
- Don't hoard elite teams forever. Saving two or three for the stretch run is smart; finishing the season with your best margins unused is not.
- A negative week isn't fatal, but two in a row usually is. When you're torn, a likely 7-point win beats a coin flip with 20-point upside.

## What the commissioner controls

Every setting is configurable at pool creation and editable until the pool opens.

- Lock mode: week or per-game
- Straight-up or against-the-spread margins
- Missed-week penalty: week's worst margin (default) or zero
- No team reuse — each team once per season
- Optional double-pick weeks — two team picks required in commissioner-chosen weeks

## Frequently asked questions

### What is a margin pool?

A season-long NFL pool where you pick one team each week and score their actual margin of victory — negative if they lose. Teams can't be reused, and the highest cumulative margin at season's end wins.

### Can you pick the same team twice in a margin pool?

No — each team is used once per regular season. Managing which teams you burn early is the strategic core of the format.

### What happens if you miss a week?

Commissioner's setting: a missed week either takes the week's worst losing margin as a penalty (the default) or scores zero. Either way the entry stays in the pool.

### Is a margin pool the same as an MOV pool?

Yes. Margin pool, margin of victory pool, and MOV pool all describe the same format.

### What are double-pick weeks?

A commissioner can require two team picks — from two different games — in specific weeks. Both picks score independently and add to your season total; missing either still takes the usual missed-week penalty.

## Related

- [Margin walkthrough](https://piksheet.com/help/pool-types/margin)
- [Compare every pool format](https://piksheet.com/pools/compare)
- [Pricing](https://piksheet.com/pricing)

---

Most pages on https://piksheet.com have a markdown version: add .md to the URL (the home page is https://piksheet.com/index.md) or request the page with `Accept: text/markdown`. https://piksheet.com/llms.txt lists every page and links each markdown version.