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| CNN's Gerri Willis shares five tips on winning your office's March Madness pool. |
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NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
The brackets for the NCAA Tournament were drawn last night. You know what that means? To steal a line from Dick Vitale, it's March Madness, baby!
It also means work is all about the office pool. The talk above the cubicles and around the water cooler has suddenly shifted to basketball highlights and office pool standings.
Employers hate what March Madness does to worker productivity. But with more than 60 games to be played over the next three weeks, it's hard for even the boss to keep out of the wagering.
Get your pen and bracket ready: today's five tips are all about the office pool, baby!
1. Keep it legal.
I don't want anyone to get in trouble here. Gambling is not always legal. But according to Wesley Cochran, a law professor at Texas Tech University, some states' "social gambling" laws say office pools are okay.
Cochran says the rules go like this. All betting must take place in private (that means no street pools my friends, but your office can work). All the money collected in the pool must be distributed in prizes at the end (that means no one can take a cut). Each state has its own limit on how much the kitty can be worth (so check your individual state's penal statutes).
And, betting over state lines is against federal law; so companies with offices all over the country need to remember to keep their pools local. Utah, Hawaii, Wisconsin, Illinois, Arkansas and Florida are among states whose "social gambling" laws don't allow office pools.
And remember, by holding an office pool, you put your employer at risk. Illegal gambling is a felony; penalties involve substantial fines and even jail time.
2. Go for the small pool.
Think small pool and small wager. Unless you have a crystal ball, you're not going to pick a perfect pool here. When it comes to March Madness, there are always surprises. Even Dick Vitale can't pick all the winners.
So think of it only as an opportunity for fun. Would you rather spend $20 or $2,000 for three weeks of taunting your cubbie-hubbie while you're ahead? You have a better chance to do that than win the whole pool.
Larger pools tend to be more expensive and have a smaller chance of winning. So stick to the small one in your department. And again, why jump into one where you know no one? Where's the fun in that? I hear pools in the marketing department can get pretty intense...
3. Don't look to the polls.
The stats are all over Sports Illustrated and USA Today. From the AP polls before the tournament drawing, Illinois, North Carolina and Wake Forest were the top three in the nation.
Illinois all the way? Not always. The No. 1 ranked team going into March Madness has won only three times in the past 20 NCAA tournaments. And there was only one time since the 1960s when the top three ranked teams made it to the Final Four.
4. Work backwards.
Pick your winner first: it's worth the most points. There are a number of resources for picking a champ. You can take all the experts' advice from www.SI.com, www.ESPN.com, www.SportsLine.com and others.
But take this statistic into account: 13 of the last 15 champions have been either a number 1 or 2 seed. With four brackets, that's 8 to choose from. That narrows the field a bit.
Once you've got your winner, start working that team backwards through the brackets. You might also take some more expert advice on the other four in the Final Four. But remember....
5. Don't pick all the favorites.
Why is it that John from Accounting who doesn't even realize what the "K" in "Coach K" stands for (and certainly couldn't pronounce his last name) is the winner of these things?
It's because John's not picking the obvious picks. He's picking the "Cinderellas" that earn him nice points over others in the pool.
So Basketball Brain, put your pride on the shelf and put a few picks in your pool that your colleagues will laugh at. Drop UNC out of your pool in the Elite 8. Give University of Wisconsin Milwaukee a shot at the Final Four.
You might be the only one to make those moves and you might see some points. And don't go for teams because others are picking them. You can't beat your boss if you have the same pool.
Gerri Willis is a personal finance editor for CNN Business News and the host for Open House. E-mail comments to 5tips@cnn.com.
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