Survivor pools, explained
Survivor (also called eliminator or suicide pool) is the cruelest format in pool culture: pick one team per week, they must win, and you can never use them again. One wrong Sunday and your season is over. Simple rules, brutal math — here's how to run one and how to survive one.
The rules
Some pools run 'second chance' or 'strikes allowed' variants (one free loss before elimination). They're kinder to casual groups and roughly double a pool's lifespan.
- Each week, every live entry picks one NFL team to win its game (no point spreads — straight up).
- If your team wins, you advance. If they lose or tie, you're eliminated.
- You may pick each team only once all season.
- Last entry alive wins. If everyone dies in the same week, the week is usually replayed or the pool splits — decide the rule in advance.
Strategy: saving teams matters more than picking winners
The rookie mistake is treating survivor like weekly pick'em — grabbing the biggest favorite every week until you're out of good teams by week 6. A team you don't use this week is an asset for later; the question isn't 'who wins this week?' but 'who wins this week that I'll least miss in weeks 8–18?'.
Check the weekly slate for mid-table teams with a soft home matchup. A 70% win team you'll never want again beats an 85% win team you'd need three times later. Our survivor tracker locks used teams automatically so you can see your remaining ammo at a glance.
Running the pool
Deadline: kickoff of each game (let people pick a Thursday team if they submit by Thursday). Post eliminations the morning after the last game — the weekly 'survivors remaining' count IS the drama of this format. And write down the 'everyone dies same week' rule before it happens, because it happens.
FAQ
What is a survivor pool?
A weekly elimination contest: pick one team per week to win outright. Win and you advance; lose and you're out. Each team can only be used once per season. Last entry standing wins.
What happens if everyone is eliminated in the same week?
House rules decide: most pools either replay the following week with everyone resurrected, or split the pot among the final week's casualties. Announce the rule before week 1 — this situation is common.
Should you save good teams for later in a survivor pool?
Yes — using an elite team early wastes them. Prefer mid-strength teams with soft matchups, and save the handful of teams with easy late-season schedules for the final weeks.
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