Survivor Football Pools (also known as Eliminator Football) are probably the easiest type of football pool to run or participate in, but also one of the toughest to win. \u00a0As it is with most football pools, the size of the pool should definitely be a consideration in how you want to play it. \u00a0It\u2019s somewhat similar to poker, where you play much differently in early stages of a multi-table tournament vs sitting down with the final few players. \u00a0The difference, however, is in Survivor Football Pools, only one person gets paid, so you need to play to not only make it deep, but to put give yourself the best chance to actually win. \u00a0Every move you make should be focused on being the last person standing, not just the person that made it through this week. \u00a0If you participate in a decent sized Survivor Pool, one win likely makes you profitable over your lifetime of participating in these pools. \u00a0It’s why you’ll find most people make multiple entries in a large pool.<\/p>\n
For a large portion of those that participate in a Survivor Football Pool, this is their strategy. \u00a0They don\u2019t look beyond the schedule for the current week, and tend to pick the team that\u2019s the largest favourite for the week. While there is a time and a place for this strategy, the early stages of your pool, especially if you\u2019re in a decent sized pool, is not it. \u00a0If you do make it through, there\u2019s a very good chance that most everyone else did as well, as most of your opponents will be riding the big favourites as well.<\/p>\n
Once most of your pool is eliminated, and you\u2019re down to only a handful of teams, this often turns into the best strategy. \u00a0You don\u2019t want to get cute and cost yourself the win, when the best option was staring you in the face all along. \u00a0Plus if you\u2019ve planned ahead for tough weeks, you very well may have better remaining options than your opponents.<\/p>\n
This is always a good way to start your planning for the season, and can give you a huge advantage once you\u2019re into the mid-season bye weeks. \u00a0Knowing when there\u2019s only 1 or 2 really good options in a week, and saving those options until that week can give you a pretty good advantage when you get there. \u00a0The first thing I do each season, is to look at the entire schedule week by week, and find the games where the spread is likely to be 7 or higher, with double digit spreads being more valuable. \u00a0Circle the weeks where there are the fewest of these options available, and make note of which teams are key in each of those weeks. \u00a0Try not to burn those teams early in the season, and then when others are scrambling to find a decent pick, you\u2019ll be sitting pretty with what should be a relatively safe selection.<\/p>\n
Obviously, things can change in a hurry during the 17 week grind that is the NFL schedule, but having a plan will definitely give you a leg up on those that are flying by the seat of their pants.<\/p>\n
Early on in a Survivor Pool, we advise against taking the biggest favourites as they\u2019ll be the most popular selections for the week, as you have less to gain by doing so. \u00a0Consider a week where close to 75% of all entries take the biggest favourite. \u00a0If you\u2019ve also selected this team, you don\u2019t really gain much expected value if you make it through. \u00a0If you stayed away from this team, and they were upset, you\u2019re down to only a quarter of the entries surviving, and you have a much greater shot at winning the pool. \u00a0And really, that\u2019s what it\u2019s all about, giving yourself the best shot to win the entire thing. \u00a0You may say, well that never happens, but it seems to happen at least once every season or two. \u00a0I remember a New England\/Arizona game a few\u00a0seasons ago which completely decimated pools in Week 2. \u00a0The season before that, Seattle knocked off the Giants in Jersey as double digit\u00a0underdogs.\u00a0 Always remember your end goal\u2026not just surviving, but giving yourself the best chance to be the sole survivor.<\/p>\n
West Coast Teams<\/strong> \u2013 When these teams play the early games on the east coast, it\u2019s like their 10am for their body clock. \u00a0Take note when one of these teams plays back to back on the east coast though, as some teams will stay east between the 2 games. \u00a0The same can be said for East Coast teams going west.<\/p>\n Byes or Short Weeks<\/strong> \u2013 Keep an eye on teams playing following a bye or a short week. \u00a0The extra rest and time to game plan an opponent can make a big difference.<\/p>\n Divisional Opponents<\/strong> \u2013 A lot of entries like\u00a0to avoid taking divisional opponents or big rivalry games where possible. \u00a0Most teams get up for their rivals and these are often tougher games to pick.<\/p>\n Road Teams<\/strong> \u2013 Most people try to avoid picking road teams as much as possible.<\/p>\n Trap Games<\/strong> \u2013 I try to avoid a good team going on the road in between 2 divisional opponents or rivalry games, as there is a tendency to look past a lesser opponent and focus on those big divisional games.<\/p>\n New Coaching Staffs<\/strong> \u2013 Early in the season, it\u2019s often a good idea to avoid teams with new coaching staffs, that may be implementing all new systems. \u00a0Football is a sport that thrives on familiarity and consistency, so an overhaul of the staff or the playbook can make for some early season hiccups. \u00a0Give these teams a few weeks to work out the kinks before putting your entry on the line with them.<\/p>\n Obviously, you won\u2019t be able to avoid all of these situations during the course of your season, but keep them in mind when making your selections and you’ll be much further ahead than most.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Are you tired of just donating to your Survivor Football Pool? Learn how to come up with a season long strategy, and what teams and games to avoid in your quest for your pool’s top prize. A little planning, with some in-season flexibility can make you a champion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[6,8,17,13],"class_list":{"0":"post-37","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-strategies","7":"tag-nfl","8":"tag-office-pool","9":"tag-strategy","10":"tag-survivor-football-pool","11":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6CptU-B","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":157,"url":"https:\/\/hostedpools.com\/pickology\/manage-pool\/playoff-football-pools-new-for-2016\/","url_meta":{"origin":37,"position":0},"title":"Playoff Football Pools – New for 2016!","author":"hpadmin","date":"December 28, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Due to a number of requests, HostedPools has added\u00a0a pair of popular playoff football pool options for the 2016 NFL playoffs. \u00a0We have been running pools of these types off-site for a number of years, and finally were able to add them to the site, thanks to some of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Manage a Pool"","block_context":{"text":"Manage a Pool","link":"https:\/\/hostedpools.com\/pickology\/category\/manage-pool\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":130,"url":"https:\/\/hostedpools.com\/pickology\/manage-pool\/hockey-pool-fundraiser\/","url_meta":{"origin":37,"position":1},"title":"Hockey Pool Fundraiser","author":"hpadmin","date":"October 15, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Looking for a quick an easy way to raise money for your youth hockey team or organization? Try one of our easy hockey pools as a fundraiser!","rel":"","context":"In "Manage a Pool"","block_context":{"text":"Manage a Pool","link":"https:\/\/hostedpools.com\/pickology\/category\/manage-pool\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":116,"url":"https:\/\/hostedpools.com\/pickology\/manage-pool\/office-pool-payout\/","url_meta":{"origin":37,"position":2},"title":"Office Pool Payout","author":"hpadmin","date":"August 24, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Money management is key to running a successful office football pool. We'll take a look at some things to consider, including setting entry fees and payout structures.","rel":"","context":"In "Manage a Pool"","block_context":{"text":"Manage a Pool","link":"https:\/\/hostedpools.com\/pickology\/category\/manage-pool\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":140,"url":"https:\/\/hostedpools.com\/pickology\/analysis\/2016-nfl-survivor-pool-picks\/","url_meta":{"origin":37,"position":3},"title":"2016 NFL Survivor Pool Picks","author":"hpadmin","date":"July 27, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"NFL training camps kick\u00a0off this week, so it's\u00a0a good time to start looking at the regular season schedule and planning out your picks to win your Survivor Pool\u00a0in\u00a02016. \u00a0Doing so will give you a leg up on many of your competitors, many of whom don't think beyond the next week,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Pick Analysis"","block_context":{"text":"Pick Analysis","link":"https:\/\/hostedpools.com\/pickology\/category\/analysis\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":53,"url":"https:\/\/hostedpools.com\/pickology\/manage-pool\/start-an-office-pool\/","url_meta":{"origin":37,"position":4},"title":"Start an Office Pool","author":"hpadmin","date":"August 9, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Considering starting an office sports pool? Here are some basic steps to get you on the right path to creating a successful football or hockey pool.","rel":"","context":"In "Manage a Pool"","block_context":{"text":"Manage a Pool","link":"https:\/\/hostedpools.com\/pickology\/category\/manage-pool\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":202,"url":"https:\/\/hostedpools.com\/pickology\/manage-pool\/ultimate-loser-pool-fundraiser\/","url_meta":{"origin":37,"position":5},"title":"Ultimate Loser Pool Fundraiser","author":"hpadmin","date":"October 27, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Over the last couple seasons we've been hosting a number of pools set up by people that have used the now defunct Ultimate Loser Pool (or Ultimate Sports Fundraiser) website, so we wanted to highlight some differences to hopefully make things a little clearer and\/or easier for people that want\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Manage a Pool"","block_context":{"text":"Manage a Pool","link":"https:\/\/hostedpools.com\/pickology\/category\/manage-pool\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hostedpools.com\/pickology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hostedpools.com\/pickology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hostedpools.com\/pickology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hostedpools.com\/pickology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hostedpools.com\/pickology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/hostedpools.com\/pickology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52,"href":"https:\/\/hostedpools.com\/pickology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37\/revisions\/52"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hostedpools.com\/pickology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hostedpools.com\/pickology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hostedpools.com\/pickology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}