How the football pools work
Every week the pools coupon lists 49 matches, numbered 1 to 49. Most are Saturday 3 o'clock games from the four English divisions and the Scottish leagues; when there aren't enough, the last numbers go to games from Spain, Germany and Italy. Lunchtime games are never on the coupon, because it closes at the 3 o'clock kick-off.
On Classic Pools you choose eight matches you think will end in draws. Each match then scores points for its result, and your best eight count:
| Result | Example | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Score draw | 1-1, 2-2, 3-3 | 3 |
| No-score draw | 0-0 | 2 |
| Home or away win | 2-1, 0-3 | 1 |
| Postponed or abandoned | – | Pools Panel decides |
Eight score draws make 24 points, the most you can score. Prizes are shared between the entries with the highest totals, so a week with few score draws pays more for each one you find.
Reading this week's coupon
- No. is the coupon number, the number you mark on your coupon or give your agent.
- Score draw is our chance that the match ends 1-1 or higher. It comes from each side's home and away scoring and conceding this season, and it's the number that matters most for points.
- Draw includes 0-0 as well, so it's always a little higher.
- Result fills in as the games are played: the score, then the pools outcome and its points.
Our draw chances for a week are published with that Saturday's tips, at 00:00 WAT on Thursday, and don't change after that. Highlighted numbers are our eight likeliest score draws.
Perms and plans: what a bigger entry costs
Many players don't stop at eight. A perm (or plan) takes more matches and plays every combination of eight among them, so if any eight of your matches are draws, one of your lines has them all. The number of lines grows quickly:
| Matches in your perm | Lines of 8 | If 8 of them draw |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | 1 | 1 line with all 8 |
| 9 | 9 | 1 line with all 8 |
| 10 | 45 | 1 line with all 8 |
| 11 | 165 | 1 line with all 8 |
| 12 | 495 | 1 line with all 8 |
| 13 | 1,287 | 1 line with all 8 |
| 14 | 3,003 | 1 line with all 8 |
| 15 | 6,435 | 1 line with all 8 |
| 16 | 12,870 | 1 line with all 8 |
Multiply the lines by your stake per line to get the cost. A banker is a match you put in every line: it cuts the number of lines, but if your banker doesn't draw, no line has eight draws.
Pools words, explained
- Coupon: the week's list of 49 numbered matches.
- Score draw (SD): a draw with goals, 1-1 or higher. The best result for points.
- No-score draw (NSD): 0-0.
- Banker: a match included in every line of a perm.
- Perm / plan: an entry that plays every combination of eight from a larger set of matches.
- Pools Panel: the panel that decides the result of a match that is postponed or abandoned, so the coupon can still be settled.
- Void: a match that doesn't count as played; on the pools the Panel's verdict is used instead.
Play the pools sensibly
Eight draws from 49 matches is a long shot even for the best readers of the game. Set a weekly amount you can afford and stick to it, and never pay anyone who claims to sell "fixed" or guaranteed draws: nobody knows the results in advance. The forum blocks phone numbers and links for exactly that reason.