Learn the Ropes.

ALA Pools come equipped with a wide range of configurable settings and customizable game components. New to the terms? See the sports pool glossary.

Pool Setting	Options
Schedule Format Play every game of the week (Tuesday through Monday), or only the days you choose.	🗓️ Full Week (Tue–Mon) Every game from Tuesday through Monday counts. ✂️ Custom Days Only games on the days you choose count — for example, Thursday through Monday.
Survivor Mode Controls the win condition for advancing in the game.	🏆 Winners Entrants advance by picking a team to win its game each week. 💀 Losers Entrants advance by picking a team to lose its game each week. 📊 Spreads Entrants advance by picking a team to cover its game's point spread. Only available for pools with a Selection Lock Time of Individual Games.
Selection Format Each pick is a team in one game that week, or a team for its whole week.	🎯 One Game/Week Pick a team in a single, specific matchup in a given period. 📅 Weekly Schedules Pick a team for the whole scoring period. Entrants advance based on their selection's record across all of that period's games.
Spread Mode (if Spreads) Applicable for Spread pools only. Choose a Static line (fixed once posted; picks changeable until lock) or a Live line (updates with the live market; each pick locks the moment it is confirmed).	📌 Static Entrants pick against a static point spread. Entrants are free to change their picks until selections lock. 📈 Live Entrants pick against a point spread that changes in real-time based on live odds. Picks cannot be changed once made.
Force Hooks? (if Static Spreads) Prevent spreads from landing on an even number. If turned on, even-number spreads will be randomly pushed up or down a half-point.	📋 No Spreads are posted exactly as the market sets them. 🪝 Yes Whole-number spreads are nudged a half-point, so no pick can push.
Selection Lock Time Controls when picks are locked each week.	⏱️ Individual Games Each pick locks when its own game tips off. 🔒 First Game of Week All picks for the week lock when the first game any team in this pool could be picked in tips off. 🗓️ Custom Lock Time Monday at a time you set (PT). A team still locks at its first game if that comes earlier.
Selections Per Week Choose how many team selections each entrant makes per week. ALL picks must win for an entrant to advance.	🏀 1 Pick Per Week Each entrant picks one college basketball team each week. ⚙️ Custom Set a different number of required picks for each week.
Max Team Usage Set how many times an entrant can pick the same team over the season.	🔒 Once (default) Each team can be picked once per season. 🔄 2+ Teams can be reused, up to the number you set per season. ♾️ Unlimited Teams can be reused any number of times.
Max Opponent Usage Caps how many times an entrant can pick against the same team across the season.	♾️ No Limit An entrant may pick against any team any number of times. 🔒 Capped The commissioner sets a maximum number of times an entrant may pick against the same team each season.
Eligible Teams Choose which teams entrants may pick: any Division I team, only teams in specific conferences, or the AP Top 25.	🏆 Top 25 Only AP Top 25 teams are pickable. Each week uses the latest poll released before it starts. 🎯 Specific Conferences Only teams in the conferences you select are pickable. 🏀 Full NCAA D1 Any Division I team is pickable each week.
Restrict vs. non-D1 Opponents One Game/Week pools: games against a non-D1 opponent can be made unpickable.	🏀 Allow non-D1 Games Games against non-D1 opponents can be picked like any other. 🚫 Restrict non-D1 Games A game against a non-D1 opponent cannot be picked.
Restrict vs. Specific Conferences One Game/Week pools: games against teams in conferences you choose can be made unpickable.	🏀 No Conference Restriction Games against any conference can be picked. 🚫 Restrict Conferences Games against an opponent in a conference you choose cannot be picked.
Buy-in ALA does not collect buy-ins or pay out prizes, but does provide tools to help you manage your pool's finances. Set to $0 if you'd prefer not to use ALA's pool finance tools.	🆓 $0 / No Finance Tracking Setting your buy-in to $0 will effectively disable pool finance tracking. 💵 Any $ amount Set any buy-in value, and you can use Commish Tools => Finances to track buy-ins and prizes paid.
Extra Lives / Rebuys An entrant's total lives are their initial life + the number of rebuys permitted.	☠️ 1 life One life — a single wrong pick ends the run. ❤️ 2+ lives (rebuys) Set any number of extra lives, optionally at a cost per rebuy.
Rebuy Cost (if Extra Lives > 0) Set this value to $0 if your pool's entrants should automatically stay in the game until they run out of lives.	🆓 $0 Extra lives are free; entrants automatically remain in the game until they run out of lives. 💰 Any $ amount Entrants pay for each rebuy. Cost is tracked in pool finances.
End Rebuy Period (if Extra Lives > 0) Optionally end the rebuy period after a certain period has completed. If set, remaining entrants will have lives reduced to 1 at the conclusion of the rebuy period, and will be eliminated with a single loss from that point onwards.	♾️ Never Rebuys remain available until an entrant runs out of lives. ⏱️ After a selected period Commissioner can end rebuys after a chosen scoring period.
Rebuy Control (if Extra Lives > 0) Controls who performs a rebuy after an entrant loses a life. User Controlled is the default: entrants rebuy themselves, turn on Auto-Rebuys, or — when rebuys are free — are revived automatically. Commissioner Controlled hands all rebuy responsibilities to the Commissioner.	🙋 User Controlled Entrants rebuy themselves, or switch on Auto-Rebuys. Free rebuys are applied automatically. 🧑‍⚖️ Commissioner Controlled Commissioner manages all pool rebuys via Commish Tools => Manage Entrants.
Rebuy Deadline (if Extra Lives > 0) How long an entrant who has lost a life has to rebuy before they're eliminated.	🔒 First Game of Week Rebuy before any games start. Nobody rebuys knowing a result. 🕙 When Picks Lock Rebuys stay open while the week is underway, until this pool stops taking picks.
Total Wipeout Controls what happens if all remaining entrants are eliminated in a single period. Split Prizes is the standard rule: everyone knocked out that period is a co-champion. Continue Play instead revives them all with one life and plays on.	🤝 Split Prizes Everyone eliminated in that period is a co-champion and splits the remaining prize pool evenly. The pool ends. 💓 Continue Play Everyone eliminated in that period is revived with one life and play continues into the next period.
Max Entries Set the maximum number of entries allowed per entrant.	1️⃣ 1 entry Each entrant may register a single entry in the pool. 🔢 Multi-entry Allow entrants to register multiple separate entries, each with its own picks and life count.
Insurance Allow entrants an insurance policy that awards them a selection if they forget to make a pick. Commissioners can also associate a cost with insurance for finance tracking.	❌ Not offered No insurance. Entrants who miss a pick lose a life. ⭐ Most Popular Pick Insured entrant receives the pool's most popular pick that they still have available. Requires the First Game of Week lock. 🎲 Random Pick Insured entrant receives a random remaining available pick.
Insurance Cost (if Insurance offered) Optionally set a fee for insurance. At $0, every entrant is insured automatically. With a fee, entrants opt in and pay individually, and their payments appear in your pool's Finance tracking.	🆓 $0 Every entrant is insured automatically. 💵 Any $ amount Entrants buy insurance individually; tracked in pool finances.
Max Insurance Usage (if Insurance is free) Optionally limit the number of insurance picks awarded to an entry over the course of the season. Keep at 0 for unlimited.	♾️ Unlimited No cap on insurance awards over the season. 🔢 Capped Limit how many insurance picks one entry can be awarded.
End Insurance Period (if Insurance offered) Optionally disable Insurance after a certain period.	♾️ Never Insurance is awarded through the pool's entire active window. ⏳ Set by Commissioner The commissioner chooses a period after which no further insurance is awarded.

Learn the Ropes.

Schedule Format

Survivor Mode

Selection Format

Spread Mode(if Spreads)

Force Hooks?(if Static Spreads)

Selection Lock Time

Selections Per Week

Max Team Usage

Max Opponent Usage

Eligible Teams

Restrict vs. non-D1 Opponents

Restrict vs. Specific Conferences

Buy-in

Extra Lives / Rebuys

Rebuy Cost(if Extra Lives > 0)

End Rebuy Period(if Extra Lives > 0)

Rebuy Control(if Extra Lives > 0)

Rebuy Deadline(if Extra Lives > 0)

Total Wipeout

Max Entries

Insurance

Insurance Cost(if Insurance offered)

Max Insurance Usage(if Insurance is free)

End Insurance Period(if Insurance offered)

Spread Mode
(if Spreads)

Force Hooks?
(if Static Spreads)

Rebuy Cost
(if Extra Lives > 0)

End Rebuy Period
(if Extra Lives > 0)

Rebuy Control
(if Extra Lives > 0)

Rebuy Deadline
(if Extra Lives > 0)

Insurance Cost
(if Insurance offered)

Max Insurance Usage
(if Insurance is free)

End Insurance Period
(if Insurance offered)