Survivor Pools are a fun and easy way to bet on NFL games. All you have to do is pick one winning team each week of the season until you are the last man standing. I decided to put together a list of do’s and don’ts to help Don survive a little longer than usual. His “out-in-week-one” tradition has led to me calling his entry fee a donation to my winnings. He has been known to buy back in after Week 1, only to be out shortly after. We know where we stand and what our strengths are: He is the Fantasy Football King in our house, and I rock at Survivor Pools!
DO pick the most likely team to win the current week. Period. Without looking ahead to future weeks. Win the week at hand.
DO take expert advice. Look at the expert picks on http://ESPN.com, http://BleacherReport.com, and http://CBSSports.com. Go with the experts. They could be wrong, but chances are they know what they are talking about.
DON’T strategize or overthink your pick. It doesn’t matter who you think will win Week 13 if you get knocked out in Week 4.
DO use the spread points. Vegas knows a lot, so base your pick off of what they know. If there is a team with a 10-point spread, always take that one over the 3.5-point spread.
DON’T take the Monday night game, and be careful with Thursday night games. It is no fun to have to wait until late Monday night to find out if you survived another week!
DON’T take risks. It might seem to make sense to pick a team that nobody else will touch, hoping that they all get knocked out, but that is no way to be the sole survivor. Leave the risky games alone.
DO choose the home team. Road games are harder to predict, with many more variables.
DON’T ever, ever change your pick. Wait until late enough in the week to be able to make a knowledgable pick, and then leave it alone. You will almost always live to regret changing your pick. Your first instinct is the one to go with!