Brackie scoring rules

This page explains how scoring works in Brackie pools, including Upset points, Goodies, and the optional Stroke rule.

Upset points

Upset points only apply if Upset multipliers are enabled for your pool. Each correct pick is still worth a base number of points that depends on the round, but correctly picking a lower seed to beat a higher seed can add an extra Upset bonus.

  • Base points are set per round under "Points Per Round" in pool settings.
  • When Upset multipliers are on, each round also has an Upset multiplier value.
  • For a correct upset pick, your Upset bonus is:Upset multiplier × seed differential.
  • The seed differential is the winning team's seed minus the seed that would have been in that spot if the bracket went all chalk (higher seeds always advancing).
  • Example: in the second round, a 13-seed beats a 12-seed in the game that is supposed to be the 4-seed's spot. The seed differential is 13 − 4 = 9, so the Upset bonus is 9 × Upset multiplier.
  • If you pick the favorite, or if Upset multipliers are off, you just get the base points for that game.

Goodies

Goodies are optional bonus scoring categories for each pool. Commissioners can turn them on, choose which Goodies to use, set how many points they are worth, and optionally enable the Stroke rule on a per-goodie basis.

Lowest seed to win first round

You earn points for correctly picking the lowest seed that wins at least one game in the first round. Only correctly picking that specific team and game earns this Goodie.

Lowest seed to Sweet 16

You earn points for correctly picking the lowest seed that reaches the Sweet 16. You must have that team advancing to the Sweet 16 in your bracket to get credit.

Lowest seed to Elite Eight

You earn points for correctly picking the lowest seed that makes it to the Elite Eight. As with other bracket-derived Goodies, you only score if your bracket actually has that team reaching that round.

Lowest seed to Final Four

You earn points for correctly picking the lowest seed that gets to the Final Four. This rewards correctly backing the deepest Cinderella run into the national semifinals.

Best region bracket

This Goodie goes to the bracket with the most correct picks in a single region. If multiple players tie for the best region, they share this Goodie according to the Stroke rule setting for this Goodie.

16-seed bonus

You earn bonus points for each game in which you correctly picked a 16-seed to win. Each correct 16-over-1 (or later 16 seed win, if it happens) pays out the configured number of points.

NIT champion

Before the tournament, you pick an NIT champion from the provided list of options. If your pick wins the NIT, you earn the NIT champion Goodie points.

Biggest first round blowout

You try to predict the first round game with the largest margin of victory. If the game you picked ends up having the biggest blowout margin, you earn this Goodie.

First conference out

You pick which elite conference (ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Big Twelve, or Big East) will be the first to have all of its teams eliminated from the tournament. If your conference is the first to go out, you earn the configured points or the conference-multiplier scoring chosen for this Goodie.

Dark Horse National Champion

This is your second, "dark horse" national champion pick. Your Dark Horse must be at least a 3-seed (seeds 3–16). You may choose a 1- or 2-seed, but if anyone else in the pool picked that same team as their main champion, you lose Dark Horse eligibility for that pick — so to be safe, stick to seeds 3–16. If your dark horse wins the national title, you earn this Goodie based either on fixed points or on the same score a bracket would receive for correctly picking the real champion, depending on the scoring mode set by the commissioner. When Dark Horse is using bracket-upset scoring and multiple players hit it, those players split the Dark Horse points; there is no "second-closest" Dark Horse winner.

Stroke rule

For some Goodies, commissioners can enable an additional stroke rule. When the Stroke rule is on for a Goodie, it controls how those Goodie points are awarded when nobody hits the exact result.

  • If at least one player gets the Goodie exactly right (for example, correctly picking the exact lowest seed that wins in the first round), each of those players earns the full Goodie points.
  • If nobody gets the exact result, the points for that Goodie go to whoever came closest, based on the same seed-differential idea used for Upsets.
  • When multiple players are tied for "closest", they split the Goodie points. For example, if a 15-seed beats a 2-seed in the first round and nobody had that exact 15-over-2, the points for "lowest seed to win first round" would go to the next closest correct picks.
  • In that example, if three players correctly had a 14-seed over a 3-seed as their lowest first-round upset, those three players would split the Goodie points equally. If instead those same three players had correctly picked the 15-over-2, each of them would receive the full Goodie points.
  • If the Stroke rule is off for a Goodie, that Goodie simply pays out its points normally when it is hit and does not reassign or split points when nobody has the exact result.
  • For the Dark Horse National Champion Goodie, when it is using bracket-upset scoring, Dark Horse points are split by default among all players who correctly picked the Dark Horse champion. There is no "second-closest" Dark Horse winner — if nobody hits the Dark Horse exactly, the Dark Horse Goodie does not roll down to a next-best pick.