[CCass]

[ QUOTE ]
Wait a second, here...

...so you want to run an office pool where the teams are to be chosen randomly, but you want to have the option of dropping out unless you get the team you want?

Imagine if everyone felt that way. There would clearly be no office pool at all.

In the first scenario you're describing, it's literally just a random gamble for $100 to win $1200, but it gives you some excitement during the football playoffs. This could be fun.

In the second scenario, though, you're basically looking for a way to only enter the raffle if you have a better chance of winning than everyone else. Seems a little edgy to me? =)

Personally, I wouldn't enter a raffle like that if everyone hadn't already paid. What if you got together a group of 12, started picking names, and then two schmucks snuck out the back of the room when they saw the Eagles get chosen. Now you have 10 people in for $100 each, and two un-chosen teams.

...how do you assign people to these teams? Walk around the office saying "who wants a $100 raffle ticket for the 8-8 Rams?"

I don't see how it could work this way. At all.
-DB

[/ QUOTE ]

Essentially, you and I agree. In the first scenario it is simply luck of the draw, which doesn't really interest me. Much like playing poker, I want an edge.

I also agree that the second scenario could be problematic because there will be teams that no one wants, and if the good teams go early, there goes the pool. I have already told the other guys that if we are going to do the pool, we need to get the money up front, then have everybody draw at the same time (scenario #1). I offered scenario #2 just to see if there would be a mathematical advantage to drawing in a certain order if you knew what had already been drawn.