NFL Surviving Pools have become popular in the past few years and if you’ve ever played in one of those, you know why. A fun and challenging game, surviving pools have no room for errors, unlike fantasy football and sports betting, where you can always make up for some early costly mistakes.
Some pools are just for fun. Some others have money involved and some pots can be great payouts. Time to take surviving pools seriously.
In Surviving pool, one error, you are out. No mercy. So, how do you survive one for 17 weeks?
Here’s United Gamblers 7 tips for winning a fantasy surviving pool in the NFL season 2019.
Don’t Always Take the Top Favorite
Easy to explain. Think about the New England Patriots. They are at home against the Jets or the Dolphins. Take NE? Not so fast. Remember, they play divisional teams twice a year. Burn the Pats early in the season, you may not have a safety blanket late in the season. Look for better options on the schedule.
Avoid Primetime Games
The primetime games bring the best of all players, including the ones trying to pull an upset. Keep that in mind when choosing your survival picks. Monday Night Football as well as Sunday Night Football and even Thursday Night Football, including the Thanksgiving 3-game special, are games you should try to avoid.
Picking Against Winless Teams Are Not a Safe Bet
If you ever play any sports, you know the feeling of getting that first win of the season. Currently, 7 teams are winless in the NFL but you can bet this number will be much smaller come week 5-6.
2019 Special: Pick Whoever is Playing the Miami Dolphins
Yes, this silly strategy can work except for 3 weeks. Since the Fins play the Jets, Pats and Bills twice every season, you will be scrambling for another team 3 times this season. Easier than doing it 17 times. But not 100% guarantee as Miami should win at least one or two games this year.
Divisional Games Are Complicated
Of course you cannot avoid it every single week but between two games with similar odds, between a divisional game and a non-divisional game, take the latter. Divisional foes often play close, last-second field goal deciding games. If you are unsure between two teams with the same chances of winning, take non-divisional games as a tiebreaker.
Injuries Can Play a Big Part of Game Plan
Say a team like the Vikings, big time run-first approach, is missing Dalvin Cook or is playing against the number one Defense against the run. Even if the Vikings are favorites, this game can be tough as the Vikes most likely will have to pass more, something they may not excel as well. Watch for injury reports and check stats and game odds from sports betting sites before making your picks.
Gut Feeling
If none of these options mentioned above are applicable or didn’t convince you and perhaps you want to “go with your gut feeling”, think again.
Studies have shown that 99.9% of people knocked out of surviving pools were eliminated because they went with the pick they thought it was going to win. Jokes aside, it happens to all of us, but trust numbers, stats, and data before going with your “gut feeling”.
