March Madness Calcutta Pools

Start your tournament with a team auction.

Auction the tournament teams to your group, then award each owner a share of the pool based on their teams’ results. The winning bids usually fund the pool. Your award schedule determines what each team can earn.

Auction teams to your group before the tournament. Owners earn awards as their teams win or reach a finishing stage, according to the schedule you set before bidding.

An auction before play. Teams to follow through the tournament.

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Set up your Calcutta

Decide what each team’s run is worth.

Choose how results earn awards before the first bid. That schedule gives members a basis for valuing teams.

Award each win or the final finish.

Use an award for each win, or a single award based on a team’s final finish. A per-win schedule rewards a champion in every round; a finish-based schedule gives it the final category’s award once.

Auction teams individually or in bundles.

Auction each team on its own, or combine lower seeds into groups to keep the auction moving. Each bundle’s owner follows every team in it.

Allow open bidding or set budgets.

Let members decide how much to spend, or give each bidder the same spending limit. Allow groups to bid together if you want shared ownership.

Your pool’s rules

Keep the auction and award rules clear.

Publish the full schedule before bidding so every team is valued against the same rules.

Teams and auction lots

Tournament and starting stage: Use the men’s or women’s tournament. Set which teams and rounds are included before the auction.
Individual teams or bundles: Auction one team at a time or combine specified teams into a lot. State how each team within a bundle earns awards.
Opening-round slots: Auction an unresolved bracket slot as a single lot that follows the advancing team, or auction the teams separately with an explicit opening-round award rule.
Nomination order: Use bracket order, random order, or bidder nominations to decide which lot comes up next.
Unsold teams: Reoffer unsold lots, assign them by a stated method, or define how their possible awards are handled.

Bidding and ownership

Spending limits: Allow open bidding or set a maximum budget per bidder or bidding group.
Minimums and increments: Set an opening minimum and the smallest allowed bid increase.
Auction close: Define how a live or timed auction closes, including simultaneous bids and any extensions.
Shared ownership: Allow groups to bid together and record each owner’s share. Ownership shares for a team must total 100%.
Purchase records: Record the winning bid and owner for each lot, including corrections agreed before play.
Ownership changes: Set whether transfers are allowed after the auction and the deadline for recording them.

Awards and tournament results

Award pool: Define which auction proceeds make up the pool and any amounts reserved for separate awards.
Cumulative win awards: Award a stated amount or percentage for every eligible win. A team can earn awards in several rounds.
Final-finish awards: Alternatively, award each team once according to its final finishing category. Keep these categories mutually exclusive.
Percentage basis: Specify per-team percentages or each round’s total allocation. Account for the number of qualifying teams so the full schedule reconciles to the available pool.
Special awards: Reserve a defined share for an upset, winning margin, or another stated result. Include these shares when balancing the award schedule.
Rounding and ties: Set how fractional amounts, equal special-award results, and any remainder are handled.
Official results: Use official advancement and game results, with rules for cancellations, forfeits, and corrections.

Commissioner records

Auction results: Keep a list of lots, teams, winning bids, and ownership shares.
Member visibility: Choose when members can see auction results, team ownership, and earned awards.
Entry management: Keep track of who has joined, how many entries they have, and who still owes their dues.
Co-commissioners: Share pool administration with another commissioner.

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Rules

Your house rules
have a home.

Your scoring, your tiebreakers, the traditions your group has built. You decide how the pool runs. We help you make it work.

People

Your pool.
Your people.

Your members won’t be added to a marketing list or shown sportsbook promotions. You decide who joins.

Support

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A setup question, a scoring issue, a house rule you want to try: you’ll hear from the people building Picksheet.

Before the first bid.

The distinctions that change how a Calcutta is run.

Does everyone fill out a bracket?

No. The auction assigns teams to their owners, who follow their actual tournament results. An owner does not have to predict the path or opponents for a team to earn awards.

How is a Calcutta different from a team draw?

A draw assigns teams randomly. A Calcutta lets members compete for teams through bidding, with different teams selling for different amounts.

Can several people own one team?

Yes, if the pool allows it. Record the ownership shares so each team’s earned awards can be divided correctly. A group can also bid as a single owner and manage its shares together.

Does a champion collect awards from earlier rounds too?

Under a cumulative per-win schedule, yes. Under a finish-based schedule, the champion receives its final category’s award once. Mixing those methods accidentally can make the total promised awards exceed the pool.

Can we bring the results of an auction held elsewhere?

Send your auction results and award schedule. Include team bundles, winning bids, and any shared ownership so we can help you organize the pool around them.

For your group

Bring us your Calcutta rules.

Send the auction format, award schedule, and ownership sheet if you have one. We’ll help you work through the setup.

Get in touch

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