WIZARD OF VEGAS 2026 NFL PICKS CONTEST - RULES

1. The entry fee is $30, of which $25 goes into the Prize Pool and $5 goes into the Perfection Pool.
   Everybody is on the Honor System - you do not send me any money; instead, at the end of the season, you send $25 to the Prize Pool winner and $5 divided equally among the Perfection Pool winners.
   
   
2. There will be 18 rounds - one per regular season week. There will not be any postseason rounds.
   
   
3. At some point on the Thursday before each round, I will post the spreads and Over/Under numbers for each NFL game being played on that Saturday, Sunday, or Monday. Thursday and Friday games will not be included.
   The primary source for spreads will be the William Hill Nevada app, but the commissioner has the option to use a different source if that source is unavailable (for example, driving to M and getting the numbers from the William Hill sportsbook there).
   
   
4. Each entry will include up to five picks. A "pick" is either a team to win against the spread, or Over or Under on a particular game.
   For an Over/Under, you need only specify one team in the game. If you specify two and they are not playing each other, the selection will be made on the game with the team you listed first.
   You may select both a Spread and an Over/Under on the same game.
   You may not select both teams for a Spread in the same game; if you do, the selection on the underdog (or the visiting team, if it is Pick'Em) will be removed.
   You may not select both Over and Under in the same game; if you do, the Under will be removed.
   If an entry has six or more valid picks, only the first five listed will be counted.
   
   
5. One of the five picks may, but does not have to, be designated as a "confidence pick."
   A confidence pick counts as two wins or losses (or one of each if the pick is a push).
   
   
6. Results are determined based on the final score, including overtime.
   For example, if the 49ers are 4-point favorites against the Raiders and the Over/Under is 45.5, and the score is tied 21-21 at the end of regulation, but the 49ers win 27-21 in overtime, then the 49ers and Over are considered winners, and the Raiders and Under are considered losers.
   
   
7. Should 50 minutes or more of a game be played, the final result is official.
   Should fewer than 50 minutes be played, and the game not restarted or replayed, then all bets on that game are declared no contest (not a tie), except that if the Over has already been reached, bets on Over will be considered wins, and bets on Under will be considered losses.
   
   
8. You are allowed to "skip" five games. This is a change from the old "skip week" rule; instead, you can select fewer than five games in a round, provided the total number of games skipped in the season does not exceed five.
   You can skip an entire round; that counts as all five games you are allowed to skip.
   If you skip any games once you are past five, the "default selection" procedure will be used.
   
   
9. Each player may submit a "default selection procedure" to be used if they miss, or are short in, a round, and have no skips available. Note that any skips the player has remaining will be used before the default selection procedure is used.
   The default "default selection procedure" is:
   (a) Spread on the favorite with the lowest spread;
   (b) Over on the lowest number;
   (c) Spread on the underdog with the highest spread;
   (d) Under on the highest number;
   (e) Spread on the favorite with the lowest spread.
   None of these will be Confidence picks.
   Ties for the highest/lowest will be in alphabetical order of the team nickname; for example, Bears comes before Bills, whether it is a favorite, underdog, over, or under selection.
   
   
10. Picks are to be PMed to the commissioner, preferrably with a title that clearly identifies that it is an entry in the contest.
    The deadline for sending in picks is noon Eastern time on Sunday, except that if any of your picks include any games that begin before noon Eastern on Sunday, the deadline is one hour before the earliest scheduled kickoff for any of your picks.
    Any selection for a game that is submitted after the deadline for that game will be treated as a skip; however, any selections on that submission made before the deadline for that game will count.
    
    
11. Once a set of picks is submitted, it cannot be changed.
    
    
12. The "recommended" format for submitting your picks is:
    At the top, your Wizard of Vegas name, followed by a colon.
    Below that, your five picks, one per line.
    A spread pick consists of the team nickname followed by either "Spread" or the spread itself (e.g. "+4").
    An Over/Under pick consists of the team nickname followed by "Over" or "Under", and optionally the number (e.g. "Over 42 1/2").
    If you make a Confidence pick, put "* Confidence" at the end of the pick.
    If a pick shows a different point spread or Over/Number number than what the posted odds are, the Commissioner will attempt to PM you before the deadline to confirm or change the pick; however, once the deadline is reached, the pick stands, using the "official" odds for that week, but any Confidence tag will be ignored.
    
    
13. If there are 10 or fewer entries, the Prize Pool will go in its entirety to the person with the highest winning percentage at the end of the season, counting ties as 1/2 win and 1/2 loss.
    There is no tiebreaker; ties split the Prize Pool equally.
    If there are 11 or more entries, and there is a tie for first, the tied players split the Prize Pool equally.
    If there are 11 or more entries, and there is a single winner, the winner receives the larger of $250 and 2/3 of the Prize Pool, and the remainder goes to the player with the second-best winning percentage, or split among the tied players in a tie for second.
    
    
14. The commissioner has the final authority on all decisions made concerning the operation of this contest.