Mode | How Picks Are Graded | Who Sets the Number |
Straight Up | The picked team just needs to win the game outright. | N/A — no spread involved (though spreads can still be displayed for informational context if the commissioner turns that on). |
Against the Spread — Splash-set | The picked team must cover the spread (e.g., a −7.5 favorite must win by 8+). | Splash's live, dynamically updating odds. These update through the week until the spread lock time, then freeze for grading. |
Against the Spread — Commissioner-set | Same covering logic as above. | The commissioner manually enters a spread for every game. |
Summary: Straight Up = pick the winner, nothing else matters. ATS = the pick has to cover a number, either Splash's live odds or one the commissioner sets by hand.
A Note on Hooked Spreads & Pushes
Hooked Spreads are on by default for Splash-set ATS. A "hook" adds a half-point to the spread (e.g., −7 becomes −7.5) specifically to eliminate ties against the spread.
When spreads aren't hooked, a push is possible — the picked team wins or loses by exactly the spread number, with no clear cover. In this case, the commissioner decides in advance how a push counts for everyone in the contest:
Win
Loss
Half-Win
Summary: Hooked spreads (the default) mean no ties are possible. If a commissioner turns hooking off, they also need to decide how pushes get scored — win, loss, or half-win — and that rule applies contest-wide.