Who
Anyone can play as long as they follow the rules below. This means that you are more than welcome to forward this on to other family and friends even if I don't know who they are. All are welcome!
When
The contest starts once the real American Idol contestants have been narrowed down to 12. The contest ends, of course, once the new American Idol has been crowned; usually in mid to late May.
What You Need to Play
All you really need to play is a valid e-mail address and $10. It would be helpful to have Internet access and a TV, but this is not completely necessary.
The Object
The player with the most points at the end of the American Idol season win. Prizes will be awarded to the first and second runners up.
How to Play
As everyone knows, each week Idol has two shows. One is the performance show and the other is the results show. This contest is based on the outcomes of the results show. Each week you will need to email* me two picks. The first pick is the person who you think will make it on to the next week. You score more favorably if this pick is not in the bottom three. The second pick is the person who you think will be voted off that week.
During the first week, you will also make a one-time third pick. This third pick will be the person who you think will be the overall winner at the end of the American Idol Season. If you are correct, you will score an additional 4 points at the end of the game.
Your weekly "picks" email must be sent to me by no later than 5 p.m. CENTRAL on the evening of the results show. (Results shows typically air on Wednesday nights.) If you do not meet this deadline your picks will be declined and you will receive zero points for that week.
*If you are unable to email between the end of the performance show and the deadline for submitting picks I will also accept text messages or phone calls but please try to keep these at a minimum or else I may have to start billing out portions of my cell phone bill! Please email me if you'd like my cell phone number.
The Catch
The catch has to do with your first pick. You thought that sounded too easy didn't you? When making your first pick you will need to keep in mind that you will only be allowed to choose the same contestant twice throughout the entire season. This means that you probably won't want to pick a front runner right away in week 1 & 2 otherwise you won't be able to pick this person later on in the season. So the best strategy will be to pick the person that barely makes it into the next week without being in the bottom three.
As for your second pick, you are allowed to choose the same contestant as many times as you wish. There is no catch with the second pick.
The Points
4 points - Correctly picking the overall winner of American Idol (Picks are sent in Week 1)
2 points - Correctly picking someone to make it to the next week who is not in the bottom three**
1 point - Correctly picking someone to make it to the next week who is in the bottom three but is not voted off
1 point - Correctly picking the person who is voted off that week
Each week there is a possibility of earning a total of 3 points. The exception to this is the last week when you can earn an additional 4 points if you correctly picked the overall winner during Week 1.
**Every once in a while Idol likes to throw us for a loop and not have a bottom three or instead have a bottom two. This also happens toward the end of the season when there is not enough contestants left for a bottom three. As long as your pick isn't in the bottom anything, you will earn the full 2 points.
The Prize
The prize will be determined by how many people play. The pot will be equal to $10 X the number of people who play. The winner will receive 60% of the pot. The first runner up will receive 25% of the pot and the second runner up will receive 15%.
Want to Play?
If you want to play you will need to send me your name (if I don't know you), your email address and most importantly $10. If I do not have $10 from you before the first week of picks you will not be allowed to play. Sorry, no exceptions and no IOUs. If we get enough people to play it will be too hard to track who has paid me and who has not. So consider that your ticket onto the standings board. My address is 7899-E Forest Blvd, Woodbury, MN 55125. If you don't want to waste a stamp I believe most online banking sites let you send money to a person via Bill Pay. You may also hand me $10 in person if I happen to see you before the contest starts.
Communication
Each Wednesday I will send all of you two emails. The first email will be to remind you to submit your picks before the deadline. The second email will be sent prior to the airing of the results show. It will be a chart showing the picks that everyone has made. This also will allow you to keeps tabs on me so that I can play without you thinking I'm a cheater. On Thursday I will send out a third email showing every one's point totals and the standings board.
Questions?
If you have questions or need clarification on the rules please email me (btnash@comcast.net) or submit a comment.
Anyone can play as long as they follow the rules below. This means that you are more than welcome to forward this on to other family and friends even if I don't know who they are. All are welcome!
When
The contest starts once the real American Idol contestants have been narrowed down to 12. The contest ends, of course, once the new American Idol has been crowned; usually in mid to late May.
What You Need to Play
All you really need to play is a valid e-mail address and $10. It would be helpful to have Internet access and a TV, but this is not completely necessary.
The Object
The player with the most points at the end of the American Idol season win. Prizes will be awarded to the first and second runners up.
How to Play
As everyone knows, each week Idol has two shows. One is the performance show and the other is the results show. This contest is based on the outcomes of the results show. Each week you will need to email* me two picks. The first pick is the person who you think will make it on to the next week. You score more favorably if this pick is not in the bottom three. The second pick is the person who you think will be voted off that week.
During the first week, you will also make a one-time third pick. This third pick will be the person who you think will be the overall winner at the end of the American Idol Season. If you are correct, you will score an additional 4 points at the end of the game.
Your weekly "picks" email must be sent to me by no later than 5 p.m. CENTRAL on the evening of the results show. (Results shows typically air on Wednesday nights.) If you do not meet this deadline your picks will be declined and you will receive zero points for that week.
*If you are unable to email between the end of the performance show and the deadline for submitting picks I will also accept text messages or phone calls but please try to keep these at a minimum or else I may have to start billing out portions of my cell phone bill! Please email me if you'd like my cell phone number.
The Catch
The catch has to do with your first pick. You thought that sounded too easy didn't you? When making your first pick you will need to keep in mind that you will only be allowed to choose the same contestant twice throughout the entire season. This means that you probably won't want to pick a front runner right away in week 1 & 2 otherwise you won't be able to pick this person later on in the season. So the best strategy will be to pick the person that barely makes it into the next week without being in the bottom three.
As for your second pick, you are allowed to choose the same contestant as many times as you wish. There is no catch with the second pick.
The Points
4 points - Correctly picking the overall winner of American Idol (Picks are sent in Week 1)
2 points - Correctly picking someone to make it to the next week who is not in the bottom three**
1 point - Correctly picking someone to make it to the next week who is in the bottom three but is not voted off
1 point - Correctly picking the person who is voted off that week
Each week there is a possibility of earning a total of 3 points. The exception to this is the last week when you can earn an additional 4 points if you correctly picked the overall winner during Week 1.
**Every once in a while Idol likes to throw us for a loop and not have a bottom three or instead have a bottom two. This also happens toward the end of the season when there is not enough contestants left for a bottom three. As long as your pick isn't in the bottom anything, you will earn the full 2 points.
The Prize
The prize will be determined by how many people play. The pot will be equal to $10 X the number of people who play. The winner will receive 60% of the pot. The first runner up will receive 25% of the pot and the second runner up will receive 15%.
Want to Play?
If you want to play you will need to send me your name (if I don't know you), your email address and most importantly $10. If I do not have $10 from you before the first week of picks you will not be allowed to play. Sorry, no exceptions and no IOUs. If we get enough people to play it will be too hard to track who has paid me and who has not. So consider that your ticket onto the standings board. My address is 7899-E Forest Blvd, Woodbury, MN 55125. If you don't want to waste a stamp I believe most online banking sites let you send money to a person via Bill Pay. You may also hand me $10 in person if I happen to see you before the contest starts.
Communication
Each Wednesday I will send all of you two emails. The first email will be to remind you to submit your picks before the deadline. The second email will be sent prior to the airing of the results show. It will be a chart showing the picks that everyone has made. This also will allow you to keeps tabs on me so that I can play without you thinking I'm a cheater. On Thursday I will send out a third email showing every one's point totals and the standings board.
Questions?
If you have questions or need clarification on the rules please email me (btnash@comcast.net) or submit a comment.
