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March Madness Survivor Pools
Keep your group picking as the field gets smaller.
Run a pool that gives your group new picks each playing day. Members choose winning teams, usually without reusing one. A loss eliminates an entry in a one-life pool; the last entry standing wins.
Pick winners as the tournament unfolds and stay alive while other entries fall out. Set daily picks, team reuse, and a seed-total tiebreaker for entries that finish together.
Daily decisions, from the opening weekend to the championship.
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Tell us about itPlan your survivor pool
Set the pick schedule and the finish.
Start with one winner each playing day through the Sweet 16, then one in the Final Four and one in the championship. Decide how the Elite Eight fits between them.
Combine the Elite Eight days.
Let members choose from all four games. Require one winner for nine successful picks from the round of 64 to the final, or two winners for ten. With two picks, both can come from the same day.
Break ties with the sum of seeds picked.
Among entries tied on survival, add the seed numbers of their picks. The higher total wins, so a No. 10 contributes more than a No. 1. Specify whether losing picks count and how to resolve equal seed totals.
Plan for the ending scenarios.
Decide whether multiple survivors share the finish or use a tiebreaker. If everyone loses together, the pool can end there or revive those entries when games remain. Include running out of unused teams in that rule.
Your pool’s rules
Set every round of your survivor pool.
Start with one life and no team reuse, or carry over your group’s variations.
Schedule and eligible teams
- Tournament and starting stage
- Use the men’s or women’s tournament. Start at the main bracket or a later stage, with opening-round games included only if specified.
- Pick periods
- Group games by playing day, round, or a custom schedule. List the games in each period.
- Picks per period
- Require one or multiple winners. In a two-pick period, specify whether both must win and how a partial success is treated.
- Combined Elite Eight
- Choose from all four games across both days. Require one or two picks, with a stated deadline for the combined period.
- Team reuse
- Use each team once, allow a limited number of uses, or reset eligibility at a stated stage.
- No eligible team left
- Treat an entry that cannot make a required pick as a loss or apply a stated exception. Explain how this interacts with a simultaneous elimination.
Lives and pick deadlines
- Lives
- Use one life or allow extra lives. With multiple picks, decide whether losses cost one life per pick or per period.
- Straight-up or spread picks
- Choose outright winners or use a defined point spread. For spread picks, set the line source, freeze time, and push rule.
- Pick locks
- Lock the whole period at its first game or allow picks until each game starts. Games already underway cannot be selected.
- Missed picks
- Count a missing pick as a loss or use a specified automatic-pick rule and limit.
- Postponed or canceled games
- Define whether a delayed game still counts and when a backup pick replaces a canceled selection.
- Entries and re-entry
- Set entries per person. If re-entry is allowed, state the deadline, lives restored, and whether team-use history carries over.
Tiebreakers and ending scenarios
- Sum of seeds picked
- Add seed numbers for entries tied on survival; higher total wins. Count all picks, including losing picks, or choose successful picks only. State which version applies.
- Equal seed totals
- Use a second tiebreaker, such as a championship-total prediction, or split the tied places.
- Other tiebreakers
- Use cumulative winning margin, remaining lives, or another stated measure. Set its priority relative to seed totals.
- Multiple final survivors
- Apply the configured tiebreakers or split the finish among the entries still alive after the last included game.
- Everyone loses together
- End with those entries tied, or revive them if games remain. State whether the tiebreaker applies to an all-out finish.
- Revival eligibility
- Choose whether revived entries keep their used-team history. Set an ending rule for a wipeout in the final period, when no games remain.
Visibility and commissioner controls
- Seeing other picks
- Reveal selections after the applicable pick deadline.
- Rules text
- A rules page generated from your settings, plus a note in your own words
- Commissioner picks
- Enter and fix picks for a member, or turn that off
- 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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Your house rules
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Your pool.
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Your members won’t be added to a marketing list or shown sportsbook promotions. You decide who joins.
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Before the first survivor pick.
The details that matter when the tournament gets short.
Why combine the Elite Eight days?
A separate pick on each day can force members to use a team they hoped to save for the final. A combined period lets them choose from all four games, whether both selections play on the same day or on different days.
Does a higher seed total keep a losing entry alive?
No. In a one-life pool, an entry that survives finishes ahead of one that loses. Seed totals break a tie on survival; they do not cancel a loss. The rules determine whether that tiebreaker also applies when everyone loses together.
Do losing picks count toward the seed tiebreaker?
They can. One version adds every picked team’s seed, including a pick that loses. Another counts successful picks only. Choose the version during setup, especially if you allow extra lives or use the tiebreaker after an all-out finish.
Can we start at the Sweet 16?
Yes. Use a fresh pool with its own team-use history and pick schedule. Check that the required number of picks leaves a possible path through the remaining rounds.
For your group
Bring us your survivor schedule.
Send the daily pick counts, team-use rules, and how you want ties handled. We’ll help you get the pool ready for your group.