Consolation awards go to John B., Ryan & Millhouse
See y'all next year.
Welcome,
Millhouse started this as one of our office pools. Of course, now all our original players have scattered and we've invited our racing fan buddies and others to play along. If you have friends you would like to invite, we're okay with that.
We use our Texas Two Step Bracket play method. In our bracket, players pick their teams for the First and Second Rounds in Step 1. Then in Step 2, players make picks from the actual winners for the Sweet 16 through the Championship game. Points vary by round with bonus points for the underdogs in Step 1. Expand the Rules section below for the full details.
The Step 1 Entry form opens on Monday morning after Selection Sunday. We ignore the "First Four" games. You can select the "First Four" team pairs and I'll replace them with the actual "First Four" winners before publishing the picks. You have until Thursday morning, first game tip off to get your entry submitted.
The entry form is long but separated by regions and rounds. Remember that we are only picking for the first and second rounds now.
After you submit, your player name will appear in the Standings along with the "legal" status (see the Rules below). You'll also receive an email receipt with your picks from Google Forms. The email receipt will have a link to edit your picks if desired. If you don't receive the email, then you entered your email address incorrectly, contact me to correct it.
The Step 2 Entry form opens on the Monday after the Second Round. As with Step 1, your entry is editable until the deadline.
Notice: We don't pick for the "First Four" games. Picking the play-in pair will be standardized to the actual winner when picks are posted at the beginning of the First Round.
Rules
ENTRY: To enter the game, the following information is needed.
Your Email is your contact for info and updates. If you are a new player, don’t get this wrong.
Your Real Name, this helps in managing contacts and payments.
A Cell Phone Number (optional) that may be used for urgent text reminders or messages if there is an issue with your entry.
Your Connection/Other Info refers to how you are connected to our games. New members must let us know who invited you to our game, it will be verified. Returning players with new contact information, changing either your email or phone, please describe the change.
The Player name you wish to use. Please use something other than your normal name. Our games have lots of players and we need unique player names. If you enter a common name, it may be changed to avoid conflicts.
HOW-TO-PLAY: We use our Original Texas Two Step Bracket © play method.
Using the entry form is mandatory. I recommended you decide on your picks prior to starting the form. As you can imagine, with this many games the form is long.
For Step 1
Provide the entry information above.
Choose your winning team predictions for each of the First and Second Rounds.
Click "Submit" button. Use the status link in the confirmation message to view your legal status.
Check your email. You should receive a copy of your entry from Google Forms. If not, you probably entered your email incorrectly. Contact me at greg@grege.me to fix it.
You can make changes using the Edit response button in the emailed receipt up to the first game start time.
For Step 2
Enter your email and select your player name.
Choose your winning team predictions for the the Sweet Sixteen through the Championship games using the actual winning teams from the Second Round.
Enter your tie-breaker prediction. Tie-breaker Points is the total number of points you predict will be scored in the Championship Game. Half points are allowed.
Click "Submit" button. Use the status link in the confirmation message to view your legal status.
Check your email. You should receive a copy of your entry from Google Forms. If not, you probably entered your email incorrectly. Contact me at greg@grege.me to fix it.
You can make changes using the Edit response button in the emailed receipt up to the deadline
Late entries will not be accepted.
Legal brackets: Your bracket must be "legal". Within each Step, picks in later rounds must be from the winning picks in the immediately prior round. Google forms cannot down select from previous questions so the form will not stop players from making illegal picks. The status link and spreadsheets will indicate brackets with an error. Players should review their submission receipt email and use the Edit response button to correct your entry. Any pick that is not legal will be a loss.
If you do submit 2 entries with the same player name, the most recent submission or most recently edited submission takes precedence. No changes are accepted after picks are posted.
Picks will be posted at first tip off of the First Round & at 5pm before the tip off of the Sweet 16.
SCORING & RANKING
If your pick wins, you receive the number of points associated with that team. For Step 1, points vary by round with a varying with a lower seed bonus . For Step 2, points vary by round.
First Round: Seed 1 vs Seed 16, 1 vs 6 points; Seed 2 vs Seed 15, 1 vs 4 points; all other upper vs lower seeds, 1 vs 2 points.
Second Round: all upper vs lower seeds, 2 vs 4 points.
Sweet 16, 4 points; Elite 8, 6 points; Final 4, 10 points; Championship, 16 points.
Rankings are based on total points.
Ties in ranking that effect an award will use the tie-breaker points to determine the final ranking. The player with the tie-breaker points closest to the actual total will win. If players are an equal number of points away from the total points scored, UNDER the total takes precedence. If you don't submit a tie-breaker points prediction, you lose the tie-breaker.
Entry Fees
The Sign up and Entry form’s confirmation message and the submission receipt email includes the link to the payment info.
Awards
Awards are 100% of all entry fees, there is no house cut.
The number of awards is based on the number of entry fees received. The awards table is in the Spreadsheets.
The LowMan award is given to the player with the least points with a legal bracket. LowMan award is ONE entrance fee. Entries without a Step 2 submission are ineligible. The tie-breaker rule applies if needed.
The Game's intent is never to split awards. In the unlikely event of an absolute tie for first place, the first and second place payouts are combined and split evenly with no second place payout. The same process applies to the Lowman and lower awards if applicable.