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How to get your pool started

From a new account to a pool full of players in eight steps. Each step shows the real screen you'll see. The one that matters most is step 6: invite your players.

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1

Sign up

Go to the Sign Up page.

  1. Enter a Username (12 characters max).
  2. Enter your Email address. Use one you can check right now, because you'll need to confirm it.
  3. Enter your Password and type it again in Confirm password.
  4. Tick the box to accept the Terms and Conditions, then click Submit.

You'll see a page telling you to confirm your email address.

The Sign Up form: Username (12 characters max), Email address, Password, Confirm password, Terms and Conditions checkbox, Submit and Cancel buttons
Real screen Sign Up page (signup.aspx).
2

Confirm your email

You must confirm your email address before you can log in.

  1. Open the email from NFL Pick'Em. The subject is Registration Successful. It can take up to three minutes to arrive. Don't forget to check your spam folder.
  2. Click the link in the email.
  3. The Log In page opens and says Your email is confirmed.

No email? Please make sure you check your spam folder.

The confirmation email from NFL Pick'Em: Congratulations, you have successfully registered, please click the link given below to verify your email address, followed by the link
Real screen The confirmation email. Click the link to confirm.
3

Log in

After you click the confirmation link, your username is already filled in.

  1. Enter your Password. Passwords are case-sensitive.
  2. Click Login.

Next time, just use Log In at the top of any page. Forgot your password? Use the retrieve link on the Log In page.

The Log In page with the green message Your email is confirmed. Enter your password to log in, the username filled in and a Login button
Real screen Log In after confirming your email.
4

Choose Create A Pool and name your pool

After you log in you land on the invitation page, where you either join a pool or create one.

  1. Choose Create A Pool and click Submit.
  2. Type your Pool Name, for example Sunday Squad.
  3. Click Create.

The site creates your pool, makes you the pool admin, and opens Pool Settings, where you create your invitation code.

Choose the name carefully. It becomes your Pool Title.

The invitation page: Join A Pool and Create A Pool options with a Submit button; after choosing Create A Pool, a Pool Name box and a Create button
Real screen Choose Create A Pool, then enter a Pool Name and click Create.
5

Fill out every Pool Settings field

Next you'll see Pool Settings. Please fill out every field. Read the orange warnings: some choices lock when you hit Submit.

FieldWhat to enter
YearAlready set to the current season (2026). Nothing to do.
Pool Admin EmailYour email address. Players reach you through the Contact Pool Admin link. Players can't see your email.
Invitation CodeYou create this code (for example NFL26). Players who join without an invitation email need your pool name and this code.Change it later to stop new people joining.
Playing ForPts. (points) or $ (money). This site does not administer any payments or collections.If you choose $, it's up to you to make sure that's legal where you and your players are.
Pool TitleSet by the pool name you entered when you created the pool (step 4). You don't fill it in here.
Enable SurvivorY to run a survivor pool too, N if not.Once you choose Y and hit Submit, you can't turn it off later. The survivor start week, strikeout (misses) and survivor entry fee lock at that time.
First Week of Survivor PoolThe week your survivor pool starts. You can start it mid-season.Can't be less than the current survivor week. Locks when you enable Survivor and hit Submit.
Current Survivor WeekDisplay only: the week the season is in now.
Number of Survivor Misses before eliminated from poolHow many misses (losses or missed picks) a player gets before they're out. Required: if it's blank you'll see Enter number of survivor misses.Has to be 5 or less. Locks when you enable Survivor and hit Submit.
Enable PlayOffY to run a playoff pool, N if not. You can always enable this right before the playoffs. If you leave it off, the Playoff menu won't show all season.
Weekly Entry FeeThe entry fee for each week of the weekly pool.A change only applies to weeks that haven't started yet. Weeks that already started keep the old fee.
Survivor Entry FeeThe entry fee for the survivor pool.Locks when you enable Survivor and hit Submit.
Playoffs Entry FeeThe entry fee for the playoff pool.
The Pool Settings page filled in: Pool Admin Email, Invitation Code NFL26, Playing For $, Pool Title, Enable Survivor Y, First Week of Survivor Pool 4, Current Survivor Week 4, Number of Survivor Misses 3, Enable PlayOff Y, Weekly Entry Fee 10, Survivor Entry Fee 25, Playoffs Entry Fee 10, and the orange warnings
Real screen Pool Settings, every field filled in. The orange text is the warnings. Click to open full size.

Click Submit when every field is filled in. You can change most settings later from the pool menu, but read Admin Please Read in your pool menu first.

Once the pool has started, don't change: the survivor start week, the playing-for amounts, or the strike-out (misses) amount.

6

Invite your players, one email at a time Most important

It's important you invite players to your pool. After you save Pool Settings you should work on inviting users to your pool. It's under the Pool menu.

  1. Check the Pool and Invitation Code shown at the top.
  2. Type one player's email address in User's Email.
  3. Click Send.
  4. Repeat for every player, one email at a time.

Seeing a "Pool Admin / User" page instead? Every time you log in, you log in as a user (player mode). Choose Admin in Play as, click Submit, then go back to Pool > Invite Users.

Each invitation only works for the email it was sent to. Send every person their own invitation and it makes their signup process a lot easier. They won't have to confirm their email address.

One email, one pool. An email address can only be in one pool, so an invitation to an email that's already in a pool is refused.

Invite Pool Users: Enter the email address to invite. The invitation link will only work for that email. Pool, Invitation Code, a User's Email box and Send and Cancel buttons
Real screen Invite Pool Users (sendpooluserinvitation.aspx).
Pool Admin / User page: Please Note: Everytime you log in, you log in as a user. You must switch to an admin status (below) in order to change users picks for locked games, update pool settings and to gain access to other administrative pages on this site. Play as: User dropdown and a Submit button
Real screen If you see this page: choose Admin in Play as, click Submit, then go back to Pool > Invite Users.
7

What your players see

New players don't need to sign up first and don't need to confirm their email. Clicking the link in your invitation counts as confirming it.

  1. They open the email invitation from NFL Pick'Em with the subject NFL PickEm - Invitation.
  2. They click Click Here to Join your pool.
  3. The Join Pool page opens with your pool and their email already filled in.
  4. They choose a Username (12 characters max) and Password, type the password again, and click Join.
  5. That's it: they're logged in to your pool and can make their picks.

Already have an account (not in a pool)? Their invitation email has a login link instead. They log in and your pool is attached automatically.

Tell your players to look in their spam folder if the invitation doesn't show up.

Tip: turn on pick reminders in My Account > Edit Your Profile. Tick Weekly Pick Reminder Notifications and Survivor Pick Reminder Notifications, then click Update.

The invitation email from NFL Pick'Em: You have been invited to join the pool. Click the following link to join. This link only works for the invited email. Link: Click Here to Join the pool
Real screen The invitation email.
Join Pool page: Create your username and password to join this pool. Pool and Email filled in; Username, Password and Confirm password boxes; Join and Cancel buttons
Real screen Join Pool: pool and email are filled in. Choose a username and password, then click Join.
8

Post news for your pool

News you post shows up on the home page when your players log in. Use it for reminders and weekly updates.

  1. Open Edit News from the pool menu.
  2. Write your message and save it.
  3. Your players see it under News when they log in.
The logged-in home page News block showing: This week was a rough week with many people missing a lot of picks.
Real screen Your news on the logged-in home page.

Running the pool all season

Every time you log in, you're in player mode, so you can play in your own pool. To use the Pool menu pages (Pool Settings, Invite User, Edit News…) or change locked picks, switch to pool admin mode: choose Admin in Play as on the Pool Admin / User page (playasuser.aspx) and click Submit.

Player mode (every time you log in)

  • Make and change your own picks.
  • See results, summary and standings like any player.

Pool admin mode playasuser.aspx

  • Access the pool menu (Pool Settings, Invite User, Approve Users, Manage Users, Edit News).
  • Change players' picks and confidence points for locked games.
  • See players' hidden picks for upcoming games and manage all user settings.

Approve Users

approveusers.aspx

Disable or suspend a user. A disabled user is removed from the pool's calculations.

Manage Users

manageUsers.aspx

Add or delete users and reset passwords. Don't delete users who have picks for completed games or transactions.

Edit News

editNews.aspx

Post news for your players. It shows on the home page when they log in.

Message Board

messageBoard.aspx

In admin mode you can edit messages on the message board.

Entries

Admin mode

Make or edit any player's entry, even after games lock, and delete entries before final results are in.

Stop a user

Manage Users

To stop someone from using the pool, change their password and their email address.

Point your players to How to Play for the rules of the weekly, survivor and playoff pools.

Ready to get your pool going?

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