United States
Member #129,708
June 26, 2012
2 Posts
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Hi Guys,
New member to the site. I've been playing the lotto for years and recently my office has decided to start playing as a group. For some reason or another, I was tasked with managing our pool. We are going to play a couple different games and have a couple different buy-in amounts. I'm looking for suggestions and ideas to accomplish a couple things;
1) whats the best way to manage it?
2) how can I make sure its fair for everyone?
3) any ideas for making it fun and keeping everyone interested?
Canada
Member #96,074
August 22, 2010
193 Posts
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Quote: Originally posted by lotteryloser on Jun 26, 2012
Hi Guys,
New member to the site. I've been playing the lotto for years and recently my office has decided to start playing as a group. For some reason or another, I was tasked with managing our pool. We are going to play a couple different games and have a couple different buy-in amounts. I'm looking for suggestions and ideas to accomplish a couple things;
1) whats the best way to manage it?
2) how can I make sure its fair for everyone?
3) any ideas for making it fun and keeping everyone interested?
Please share your own experiences.
Thank you - looking forward to the responses.
I ran a workplace pool of 10 years ago. You need to take several precautions before you start playing.
First of all document in writing everything you do. Even conversations with pool members regarding the pool. This is for your legal protection.
As a minimum create some basic rules for the pool regarding entering and leaving, contributions from members, division of winnings and dispute settlements. Ask the pool members for their input on these matters. Once agreed put all these rules in writing. Then make copies and distribute among pool members. Make sure that all pool members sign that they received (and understood) all the rules. Don't start playing until you have all signatures - no signing later, perhaps after the win.
No need to make rules too complicated. Although it is going to be a legal document for the pool you don't need a lawyer to create it. Make it simple for everybody to understand which means use as plain and simple English as possible.
Designate 1 person for runing the pool but, to keep interest in the pool alive, discuss playing strategies with others. Some of them may have good ideas that may benefit all pool members.
Keep all tickets purchased in a file, loosers and winners alike. Always let members of the pool know about the results (emails, posting results, giving copies etc). Be transparent with this to reduce possibilities of disputes or accusations of manipulation.
All these rules should reduce risks of legal action in case you win something bigger. Remember, when it comes to big money even closest family members or friends may turn from best friends to most bitter enemies. Protect yourself and others.
There is a lot of info on the Internet on pools. Google for "lottery pools" or "lottery syndicates". Good luck.
Canada
Member #96,074
August 22, 2010
193 Posts
Offline
In my pool we rolled all wins over (even when we won $500+ at one time) but it was done by mutual consent. It is a good idea to have this defined beforehand in your pool rules so you don't have to ask pool members every time you win. Say, we roll over all the wins under this preset amount and we distribute them when over the amount.