65 Pool

65 Pool is a site where users can create, join, and compete in friendly sports betting pools - think of it as a cross between a March Madness bracket and a sports book, with the simplicity and leisure of Super Bowl squares. This web site was created to streamline the process of managing and participating in these pools.

Background

This site is a web adaptation of a competition by the same name. I don't know the full history, but I was introduced to 65 Pool by my friend whose father had started this annual NFL playoff pool with friends and family decades prior. I eventually got invited to participate and have been playing every year since.

The concept is as follows:

• People buy in for $65, which forms the prize pot.
• It lasts the duration of the NFL postseason.
• Each round of the playoffs, you make three picks for each game - winner, over/under, and spread.
• You get points for each correct pick and a running total is kept.
• The person with the most points at the end of the season wins.

Each year, someone organizes this 65 Pool and the process has much room for improvement. The organizer writes down the game lines on a piece of paper each week and sends out a photo of it. We make our picks and either send them back via email, text, or carrier pigeon - sometimes by proxy if the participant isn't in direct communication with the organizer. The organizer maintains a spreadhseet with all participants, their picks, and points. You can see how there is room for error and unnecessary burden on the organizer.

Inspiration

This is a project I started working on with my good friend and veteran software engineer, Joe Magardino. After participating in 65 Pool for several years - witnessing the inefficiencies and opportunities for improvement - we decided to bring this game into the 21st century. By creating a centralized platform, we are looking to streamline workflows, open the door to new features, and maximize the potential of this great concept. For me, this has been a great way to learn functional programming with Elixir and explore the Phoenix framework.

If you're not familiar with Phoenix, I highly recommend you check it out.

Note: This project is still in development, but you can follow along with us on GitHub.