Originally developed as a hobby site intended to serve as a blog focused on Philadelphia sports, thePhaithful migrated towards it's niche in offering competitive sports pools through the establishment of both an NFL Pick'em and Survivor contest in 2009. Due to both positive feedback and user demand, we were able to branch out to alternate sports in establishing an NCAA bracket contest the following year and have since provided additional offerings on an annual basis. In 2010, thePhaithful began running office pools for registered users in an attempt to better integrate brand recognition with a positive user experience. While the site's growth is evident in both demand and new offerings, our branding efforts are heavily dependent so we want to maintain a close relationship with our users. This ultimately drives us to seek out new ideas, features and contests to provide the most effective and seamless experience to you!

We currently offer 6 types of contests for the NFL season; Pick'em Pool, Spread Pool, SUPER Contest Pick'em, Survivor Pool, Upset Pool, and Fantasy Sportsbook.

At thePhaithful.com, we run our own pool on the site each year, but others also choose to run their pools through us as well. We run office pools for other groups that want more control over their pool than is offered by other sites without the time commitment of running it by hand. We also are able to add custom features for pool administrators when requested.

You bet! Contact our site administrator at [email protected] with the details.

You bet! We enjoy hearing feedback of bugs or features you'd like to see. Contact our site administrator at [email protected] with the details.

A pool consists of a group of people competing in one or more contest. Some contests in a pool may not be in all contests offered by the pool. Contest requirements are set by the pool administrator.

We offer a mobile site! On your phone or tablet, navigate to http://m.thephaithful.com to view a faster, pared down version of the site.

If the question is specific to your pool, please contact your pool administrator. Otherwise, feel free to contact us directly. We will either answer it for you or forward it along to your pool administrator if needed.

All times are listed in Eastern Standard Time.

thePhaithful.com is an invite-only site. To register for the site, you must have an e-mail from an existing user with an invite code or a pool ID and pool password from an existing user. Once you have one of those, you will have access to register and select which contests you will like to join.

thePhaithful.com only uses your e-mail address to contact you directly, either for pick reminders or site news. It is not given to any third parties and you may opt out of e-mails using the account maintenance page.

The login page provides links to recover your username (based on e-mail addresses) or reset your password. All passwords are one-way encrypted, so we cannot see or recover your existing password. If you still have issues recovering your password, you can contact the site administrators at [email protected] to help you gain access back.

Each contest has different rules for when games lock. Most lock before each game, but some contests lock at a specified times each week. Check the settings for your pool in the contest rules section of the site to determine when picks are due.

The tiebreakers each week are the last 2 games of the week (as displayed on the schedule before the season starts). The first tiebreaker is the last game of the week and the second tiebreaker is the second to last game. The tiebreaker for each is the total number of points scored in that game( Away Score + Home Score). Because thePhaithful.com is ran by Eagles fans, the season tiebreaker is total points score by the Philadelphia Eagles in the regular season (we hope for high numbers).

Scores and spreads are updated anywhere from every 1 to 5 minutes. The timing changes based on load on the website, but you can expect updated data at least every 5 minutes.

We are constantly monitoring and improving our site, but sometimes things go wrong. Many times we are able to catch issues before our users do, but in times where we are not able to catch the issue, please email ([email protected]) us your picks or fantasy bets. We will make sure they are entered into the site once the system back to normal.

The Pick'em Contest is a game-picking contest where each contestant picks the winner of each game straight up, no spread. The user with the most correct picks at the end of the contest wins. Tiebreakers are offered (if configured by the pool administrator) if a weekly or yearly prize is offered.

Picks for the Pick'em contest are due at the listed time of each game. Once the posted start time has passed, the pools picks for that game are visible in the Pool Picks Section and locked from editing

This depends on the setup of your pool by your pool administrator. Check the contest rules for your pool or contact your pool administrator for more details.

The Spread Contest is a game picking contest where a user picks the winner of every game each week against the spread. The spread for each game will be listed by Thursday of that week, except in extreme cases when a spread is not available due to injury. The user with the most correct picks at the end of the contest wins. Tiebreakers are offered (if configured by the pool administrator) if a weekly or yearly prize is offered.

Picks for the Spread contest are due at the listed time of each game. Once the posted start time has passed, the pools picks for that game are visible in the Pool Picks Section and locked from editing

This depends on the setup of your pool by your pool administrator. Check the contest rules for your pool or contact your pool administrator for more details.

The Survivor contest (often called Suicide Pool or Knock-out Pool) works by requiring each user to pick a team each week they believe will win. Each team can only be used once. If the team you picked does not win, you are knocked out of the pool. The goal is to be the last person left in the contest.

For the Survivor Contest, picks are due at one of two times. Either before the first game of the week or before 1pm on the Sunday of that week. This is based on the setup of your pool by the pool administrator. If your pool is setup with a 1pm Sunday lock time, and teams that have played before that time are unavailable as soon as their game starts for the week.

The pool administrator has the option to select Eliminator Games each week. These games are selected on an as needed basis. If you pool is setup with an Eliminator Question for a given week, alive contestants must pick the winner of the Eliminator Game AND pick a normal Survivor team correctly for that week. The Eliminator Pick is not limited to the teams you have not picked yet nor will it effect your ability to pick that team in the future. Normal Survivor rules apply to your survivor pick.

This is up to the pool administrator. Usual protocol is to have a tie for first, but each pool administrator may run their pool at their discretion. Check the pool rules for more details or contact your pool administrator.

The Upset contest requires each user to pick an underdog team (a team the Vegas line dictates is NOT favoured to win) each week. If the team picked WINS the game, the user will receive the number of points equal to the spread posted on thePhaithful.com. For example, if Dallas is favored by 3.5 over the New England, and New England wins, all users who picked New England would receive 3.5 points added to their season score for upset.

For the Upset Contest, picks are due at one of two times. Either before the first game of the week or before 1pm on the Sunday of that week. This is based on the setup of your pool by the pool administrator. If your pool is setup with a 1pm Sunday lock time, and teams that have played before that time are unavailable as soon as their game starts for the week.

The NFL Fantasy Sportsbook is a contest that gives each user a FAKE starting sum of money. Through-out the season, users make fantasy wagers on provided lines, with the goal of having the most money at the end of the season.

The following wagers are available: Spread, Over/Under, and Moneyline bets. Parlay wagers can be made with combinations of Spread and Over/Under bets.

Wagers are due at the listed time of each game. Once the posted start time has passed, the pools wagers for that game are visible in the Pool Picks Section and locked from editing

Each pool can be configured differently, but most have a minimum required bet each week. If all the contestants wagers do not total at least the minimum required wagered for a week, then the contestant is penalized the difference, up to the minimum required.