Frequently Asked Questions for March Madness Office Pool Manager.

Membership and joining/creating pools on PoolHost.com is completely free of charge. However, you might have some questions before you start using the platform. For instance, you might want to know if you can join multiple pools or create your own; the answer to both questions is "yes." Keep in mind that you can create as many as you like, though, at some point, it might become challenging to keep track of all of them. After you sign up, you should receive your password via email. In case you don't, don't worry, it might take a while - keep checking your inbox. If you forget your password or username, there is no need to panic. Go to the login page and follow the instructions. Chances are that you typed them wrong, but if the problem persists, you can contact customer service.

Besides, you might be wondering why you need to have an email address to register. The point is that email serves as a primary point of contact between you and the platform, as well as between you and other users. If you sign up on behalf of someone without internet access, you might want to check out the FAQ section and see if there's anything you can do to assist them. Finally, keep in mind that you ought to use your real name rather than a username when you join a pool. When you create or change pool settings or rules, you'll need to figure out how many people you want to have in your pool. There are other intricacies to keep track of, such as weights for a confidence pool or uploading a pool logo. All in all, the process is relatively straightforward.

When I first logged in, I remember having access to options for making picks and viewing standings in the pool I joined, but now I can't seem to find them. What happened?

If I make picks in one pool, will my picks also count in the other pools I belong to?

Is it possible to enter picks after the pick deadline?

When is the deadline for making picks?

Can I set a custom pick deadline for my pool?

What should I do if I'm unable to make picks for one week, such as when I'm out of town or can't access a computer?

What happens if I miss the pick deadline and fail to make my picks?

After submitting my picks, can I still go back and change them?

Can I view the picks made by other members in my pool?

What if a pool member forgets to make picks in the pool that I run?

As a pool admin, can I enter or fix the picks of my users?

Scoring:

• How is scoring calculated?

Does PoolHost.com offer live scoring?

When are scores updated?

What is the championship game total points tie-break method?

What are Round Weights?

What is a Seed Bonus?

What is an Underdog Bonus?

If two people have the same score and pick the same championship game total points value, what happens?

Miscellaneous:

• Why do I get an Access Denied page when using my bookmarked pool's home page?

Is it possible to transfer my pool to PoolHost.com if I am currently using another website?

Can I still sign up and transfer my pool information into a pool I set up on your site even if I missed the tournament's start?

Why do I need to log in again after extended periods of inactivity?

How come I'm not receiving the email sent by PoolHost.com to everyone else?

Is it really free to become a member of PoolHost.com and create or join a pool?

Indeed, it is completely free to become a member and join or create a pool on PoolHost.com.

Can I join multiple pools on PoolHost.com?

Yes, you are welcome to join as many pools as you like on the platform.

Am I able to create multiple pools on PoolHost.com?

Users are allowed to create up to four pools on PoolHost.com.

What is the maximum number of pools I can create on PoolHost.com?

As previously mentioned, the maximum number of pools you can create on PoolHost.com is four.

I signed up for PoolHost.com but did not receive my password via email. When will it arrive?

Typically, you should receive your password within a few minutes of registering. However, if you did not receive it, please double-check that you entered your email address correctly. This is the most common reason for not receiving the password email.

I forgot my username or password and cannot sign in. What can I do?

You may visit the forgotten password link and enter the email address you used to sign up. Your information will then be sent to you via email within a few minutes. If you receive a message saying that your password is not valid, it may be due to typing your password incorrectly or using the incorrect case. Passwords are case-sensitive. If you need to change your password to something easier to remember, you can do so by going to Edit User Info after logging in.

Can I keep my email address private from other members on PoolHost.com?

During registration, there is an option to hide your email address from other users. You may also modify this setting by going to Edit User Info at a later time.

Is it possible to hide my last name from other users on PoolHost.com?

Yes, during registration, there is a checkbox to hide your last name from other users. This setting can be changed later by accessing Edit User Info.

Why am I required to provide an email address when registering at PoolHost.com?

At PoolHost.com, we use email addresses to identify registered users uniquely. Additionally, our registration process ensures that email addresses provided are valid. Providing a valid email address is necessary because users can communicate with each other through our mailing system. Invalid email addresses are problematic and hence are verified during the registration process.

Can I register someone who doesn't have internet access on PoolHost.com?

Unfortunately, it is not possible to register someone who does not have internet access on PoolHost.com currently. Our registration process involves verifying the validity of email addresses, which is not possible for users without internet access. We plan to change this policy in the future. In the meantime, the best way to register them is to create an email account on a different service, such as Yahoo or Hotmail, for the sole purpose of registration. Once registration is completed, the email address will no longer be required.

Why can't I use my username as my display name instead of my real name on PoolHost.com?

Display names on PoolHost.com must be the user's real name. This is to maintain authenticity and trust among community members.

Our system has a current limitation but we will be making changes soon. If you need to update your username, email, location, password, or other information, please visit the Edit User Info page after logging in.

To join a public pool, simply click on Join a Public Pool and select the pool you wish to join. You will be prompted to confirm your choice and can always resign from the pool by visiting Resign from a Pool.

If you want to join a private pool, you will need to obtain the Pool ID and Pool Password from the pool admin. They can send this information to you via email by using the Invite a Player feature, or by sending it manually.

If you want to revisit a pool you joined previously, simply log in and click on My Pools. This will display a list of pools that you are currently a member of, and you can select one to view its menu options. You can switch between pools by returning to My Pools and choosing a different one.

If you need to update your pool rules, Pool ID, or Pool Password during the season, visit the Pool Settings page.

You can also add a message to your pool's home page or Pool Rules page from the Manager's Message section or by entering extra information in the text box under Pool Settings.

Pool size can be adjusted on the Pool Settings page, with a maximum capacity of 200 people. Weighted confidence pools are also an option that can be set on this page, but keep in mind that any changes made after user picks have been submitted will result in their picks being deleted for the current week.

If you want to add a Pool Poll to your pool's home page, you can do so from the Pool Poll section and activate it by clicking the Activate button.

Finally, if you previously had menu options for making picks and viewing standings in a pool but now they are gone, try returning to the PoolHost.com home page. This does not un-join you from the pool but will reset your menus to the default view.

PoolHost.com provides the ability to participate in multiple pools. Upon logging in, pool menus are accessible by clicking on "My Pools." To view the menu options for a specific pool, click on the corresponding pool from the list of joined ones. If you wish to switch between pools, navigate back to "My Pools" and select a different pool.

Picks made in one pool do not transfer over to other pools due to the support of multiple pool types with multiple pools. Therefore, each pool requires independent picks. If you are not the pool admin, you cannot enter picks after the deadline. However, if you are the admin, you can make or change picks at any point, even if it's after the deadline or for previous weeks. To do so, go to the Make Picks page and select the desired user's name from the dropdown menu. Click on "Select" to view the user's current picks and make any necessary changes. Finally, click "Save Picks" to preserve the user's picks.

The pick deadline is always 15 minutes before the first game of the tournament. It is not possible to customize the pick deadline as it causes more trouble than it's worth. In the event that you are unable to make picks in a certain week, you can email the picks to the admin who can then enter them for you at any time.

If you are unable to make picks before the deadline, the pool admin can decide whether to allow late submissions or allocate points in a different manner. Picks can be changed an unlimited amount of times before the deadline. Once the deadline passes, all picks can be viewed on the All Picks page.

As the pool admin, it is up to you to decide how to handle situations where a pool member forgets to make their picks. If they email the picks to you before the deadline, you can enter them for the member on the Make Picks page. Furthermore, the admin can enter or correct picks for any user for any previous week by selecting the corresponding username on the Make Picks page, selecting the appropriate week and making the necessary changes.

Scoring is determined by either assigning each win a value of one point or a "weight" value according to the round in which it is won. "Round Weights" are decided by the pool admin upon the creation of the pool and can also incorporate Seed Bonuses and Underdog Bonuses. Seed Bonuses can be calculated by adding or multiplying a winning team's Seed value to the point value of the win, while Underdog Bonuses add the difference between the picked team's seed and the favorite's seed to the point total for that win. Both Seed Bonuses and Underdog Bonuses can be set on a per-round basis by the pool admin. Finally, live scoring is not available on PoolHost.com.

At PoolHost.com, you can enjoy live scores for NFL games, although this feature isn't available for March Madness currently. If you're wondering when scoring is updated, it's typically done at the end of the day. The Pool Scoring system updates automatically when game scores are updated.

You may also be curious about how the championship game total points tie-break works. In this case, the winner is the person who gets closest to the total point value without going over. If two people have the same total points and the same championship game tie-break total point value, then the person who made their picks first wins. The system automatically sorts by the time at which picks were made, and the tie-break only applies to individuals with tied pick points. The tie-break total points don't get added to the player's total points for the tournament.

Another terminology that you might encounter on PoolHost.com is round weights. Basically, round weights refer to the number of points a player earns for each win in each round. You can give different point values for wins in different rounds or set them all to the same value. Since the number of games in each round decreases after each round, it's common to assign more points to games in later rounds. For example, if you set each round of 64 game worth 1 point and each round of 32 game worth 2 points, each Sweet 16 game worth 4 points, etc., then each round will be worth 32 points.

We also have seed bonus, which uses the picked teams' seed value to give a bonus to the player if the team picked has a lower seed than the other team. If you enable the Add Seed option, for instance, for the round of 64, a player who picks the 12 seed to beat the 5 seed will be awarded 12 * 2 = 14 points. Alternatively, if you enable the Multiply Seed option for the round of 64 and pick the same team, you'll get 12 * 2 = 24 points.

Finally, you might want to know what an underdog bonus is. If you enable this option for a given round, a player who picks a team with a lower seed than its opponent to win will get the difference between the picked underdog's seed value and the favorite's seed value. The point difference is calculated using the actual team matchup, not the picked matchup. So, if you pick a 13 seed to meet a 5 seed in the round of 32 and have the 13 seed winning but the actual matchup was the 13 vs. the 12 seed, you'd only get 1 Underdog Bonus point instead of the expected 8. You will also not get the Underdog points if you picked a team that would be an underdog, but the actual matchup makes the team you picked to win the favorite.

If you encounter any problem accessing your pool's home page, keep in mind that our pages require you to be logged in. If you bookmark a page that you need to be logged into, you will not be granted access to that page until you log in. Instead, you should bookmark http://www.poolhost.com instead.

Last but not least, if you're using a different site and would like to transfer your pool to PoolHost.com, we're glad to tell you that this is possible. Just get in touch with us to know how.

Is it possible to enter picks for current and previous weeks for all players in a pool? Yes, it is relatively simple to achieve this. As the pool creator, you automatically become the pool admin and gain access to such privileges. All you need to do is create a pool according to your rules and transfer all the required pick information onto our site.

Why do I need to log back in after being inactive for some time? Our site has a default timeout of 20 minutes for inactivity. This ensures that inactive users are automatically logged out, freeing up server resources for other users. Many other sites use the same standard timeout for similar reasons.

Why am I not receiving group emails from PoolHost.com? Our group email is sent with everyone's email address on the blind copy (BCC) line, and a generic PoolHost.com email address on the TO line. Email services like Yahoo may direct emails received without the email address in the TO line to the Bulk Email Folder, preventing group emails from getting to you unless you regularly check that folder. Check if your email service allows changes in its settings to avoid this issue. If this is not possible, it may be challenging to receive PoolHost.com emails or mail from your pool admin. Visit the Help page for more assistance.

If you need further clarification, submit your support requests to us through our support request page.