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. PikSheet handles the rules, pick submission, lock timing, field reveal, standings, and commissioner controls from one place.
How it works
The format stays familiar to your league; PikSheet keeps the weekly mechanics clear and consistent.
- 1Pick exactly one game each week — and one team from that game.
- 2If your team wins, you score the margin of victory.
- 3If your team loses, you score the negative of the margin.
- 4You cannot reuse a team during the regular season.
- 5Highest cumulative margin at season's end wins.
Member flow
Members see the current week, make the required picks, and can edit anything that has not locked yet.
Field reveal
After lock, the pool can see who picked what without chasing text threads or screenshots.
Scoring
Game results update the leaderboard according to this format's rules and history.
Three weeks in
A quick scoring example for this format.
- 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 a Margin pool
Strategy that separates the season winners from the pack.
- 1Blowout 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.
- 2Divisional games run closer than the records suggest — they're weak margin picks even for good teams.
- 3Don'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.
- 4A 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
Margin pool FAQ
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.