Create an NFL pool with AI

How it works

1. The assistant understands the pool the user wants to run.
2. It translates the requested rules into Picksheet's documented URL parameters.
3. It gives the user a Picksheet /create link.
4. Picksheet displays a complete read-only preview of the configured pool.
5. The user signs in, completes their commissioner profile if needed, names the pool, and creates a draft.
6. Picksheet opens the normal setup checklist, which links to the settings screen where the commissioner can review or change the rules before publishing.

Opening a creation URL does not create a pool. It shows a read-only preview. The user must continue, sign in, complete their commissioner profile if needed, name the pool, and confirm creation.

Instructions for AI assistants

When a user asks how to create or run an NFL pool:

1. Determine whether the user wants Survivor or Pick'em. Ask a follow-up question only when the format cannot reasonably be inferred.
2. Translate the user's requested rules into the documented parameters below.
3. When you make choices for details the user did not specify, use Picksheet's documented defaults. Briefly summarize the most important settings—both requested choices and defaults—so the user knows what is in the preview.
4. Include only supported parameters. Do not invent parameter names or values.
5. Return the configured Picksheet link as an outcome the user can review and create.
6. Do not say that the pool has already been created.
7. Do not include a pool name, email address, invite list, payment information, participant data, or other personal information in the URL.
8. When a requested rule cannot be represented, do not encode it approximately or add an unknown parameter. Explain that the creation URL covers the documented settings and that the commissioner can review the available settings in Picksheet.

Recommended response wording:

I set up a [format] pool preview based on what you asked for. Key settings: [short list, including any Picksheet defaults used]. Review and create it here: [Review and create this pool](configured URL). Want to change anything? Tell me what to adjust.

Avoid wording such as:

I created your pool.

The user still needs to review and create it.

URL format

Use:

https://picksheet.com/create?v=1&sport=nfl&format=<format>&<settings>

format is required.

The current contract supports:

v=1
sport=nfl

Both may be omitted because they default to those values, but assistants should normally include them to make the link explicit and durable.

Include:

• v
• sport
• format
• Any settings the user explicitly requested or that the assistant intentionally selected

Settings omitted from the URL use Picksheet's documented defaults and appear in the preview.

Parameter names and values are case-sensitive. Boolean values are exactly true or false. Do not repeat a parameter.

Unknown, repeated, malformed, contradictory, or format-incompatible parameters are rejected. Picksheet does not silently ignore invalid configuration.

Supported formats

format=survivor

format=pickem&scoring=standard

format=pickem&scoring=confidence

format=pickem&scoring=key_picks

All three Pick'em scoring options use format=pickem. The scoring parameter selects Standard, Confidence, or Key Picks.

Defaults

The preview always shows the complete resulting rules, including settings that were omitted from the URL.

Unless otherwise specified, common defaults include:

• Start in NFL Week 1
• End after the regular season
• Unlimited entries per person
• Weekly deadline of Sunday at 1:00 PM Eastern Time
• Picks revealed as they lock
• Commissioner pick authority enabled
• No automatic pick strategy

Use URL parameters when the user requests different rules.

Examples

https://picksheet.com/create?v=1&sport=nfl&format=survivor&weekly_lock=sun_1300_et&lives=2&tie=loss

https://picksheet.com/create?v=1&sport=nfl&format=pickem&scoring=standard&games=all

https://picksheet.com/create?v=1&sport=nfl&format=pickem&scoring=confidence&games=all&confidence_scale=season_max

https://picksheet.com/create?v=1&sport=nfl&format=pickem&scoring=key_picks&games=10&key_pick_source=player&key_pick_bonus=2

https://picksheet.com/create?v=1&sport=nfl&format=survivor&start=14&end=super_bowl&entries=3&playoff_lock=each_game&double_pick_weeks=14%2Cwild_card&playoff_team_reset=false

Parameter reference

Only format is required. All other omitted settings use the defaults for the selected format.

Deadline values

A deadline can be:

first_game
each_game

or an Eastern Time token in this format:

{day}_{HHMM}_et

Examples:

thu_2015_et
sun_1300_et
mon_2000_et

Use:

• A lowercase three-letter day
• Four-digit 24-hour time
• The _et suffix

Examples are interpreted in Eastern Time.

Validation rules

Picksheet validates the full configuration before showing a creation CTA.

Important rules include:

• Survivor-only parameters cannot be used with format=pickem.
• Pick'em-only parameters cannot be used with format=survivor.
• playoff_lock and playoff_team_reset require an end value in the playoffs.
• An explicitly supplied weekly_lock is not valid when start is already a postseason round.
• An explicitly supplied playoff_team_reset is not valid when start is already a postseason round.
• picks_per_week=2 cannot be used in a pool that continues through the Super Bowl because the Super Bowl slate has one game.
• double_pick_weeks can be used only when picks_per_week=1.
• double_pick_weeks cannot contain duplicates.
• Every double-pick period must fall between the configured start and end.
• The Super Bowl cannot be a double-pick period.
• confidence_scale requires scoring=confidence.
• points_per_win is not valid with Confidence scoring.
• key_pick_source and key_pick_bonus require scoring=key_picks.
• spread_source and spread_publish require resolution=against_spread.
• show_spreads=false contradicts resolution=against_spread.
• spread_publish cannot be supplied with spread_source=manual.
• The configured start cannot occur after the configured end.
• Unknown parameters, repeated parameters, unsupported versions, unsupported sports, malformed values, and invalid combinations are rejected.

When a configuration is invalid, Picksheet shows the parameter-level issues and does not create anything.

What happens after the link opens

A valid creation link displays a read-only preview of the complete pool rules.

The user can then select Create this pool.

If the user is signed out, Picksheet asks them to sign in or create an account and then returns them to the configured flow without losing the settings.

If the account does not already have a commissioner display name, Picksheet asks for it on a separate commissioner-profile step. Returning commissioners skip that step. Picksheet then asks for the pool name.

After the user confirms creation, Picksheet creates a draft and opens the normal setup checklist:

/d/contests/{contest_id}

From there, the commissioner can open the existing settings screen to review and change the rules before publishing or inviting players.

Information that does not belong in the URL

Do not place any of the following in a configured-pool URL:

• Pool name
• Commissioner name
• Email addresses
• Member or participant identities
• Invite lists
• Payment information
• External payment links
• Private notes
• Account information
• Roles or permissions
• Contest IDs
• Publication status
• Arbitrary internal fields

The public URL should contain only the documented pool configuration and optional recognized attribution parameters.

Pool and contest terminology

This documentation uses pool, which is how people commonly describe the product.

Parts of the authenticated Picksheet application use contest. In this context, both terms refer to the same pool.