Drafting for Dollars

Is there a better day than the NFL Draft? Nothing beats sitting around all day with a group of friends, talking trash and waiting for picks to go off the board.

That is, until I made it even better. In 2005, I experimented with a gambling game with a few friends. Despite losing $30, I had the time of my life. We called it Drafting for Dollars.

The game is pretty simple. Get somewhere from 3-6 friends together for the first round of the draft. Have everybody bring a ton of $1 bills.

Draw an initial order. Each time a team is on the clock, everybody puts a set amount of money into the pot ($1 or $2 per person usually works best). Using your order, each person picks a player he thinks that team will draft. Go down the line until everyone has picked (no one can pick the same player, hence the order.) If you nab the right player, you scoop the pot and go to the bottom of the order. Everybody else shifts up.

It's that simple. The first five picks will be pretty predictable, but it really gets fun the later you go into the draft. If everybody whiffs, the pot carries over. The pots can get rather large by the end of the draft.

A few side rules:

1. No stalling - You get about 15 seconds to pick. All bets are off if all the picks aren't in and you see a player on the phone. Make a decision.

2. Skip the #1 pick - Most of the time there's no mystery to the #1 overall pick. Sometimes a team will even have the top pick under contract. If that's the case, don't start the game until there's a little drama.

3. Trades happen, deal with it - No resetting when trades happen. It just gets too complicated. Once you pick, you're locked in.

4. I hate you Adam Schefter - Schefter and the rest of the insiders will have inside info on quite a few picks. If he's announced it on TV, no bets. (Note: if you're doing this at someone's house, DVR is encouraged heavily. Pause when the new team is on the clock, and have everybody pick. You can fast forward through the ads pretty easily.)

5. Penalty rounds - I highly approve penalty shots for anyone who gets stuck at the top of the order (meaning they haven't gotten any picks right in a while.) In fact, anybody who goes five or more picks at the front of the line should be forced to drink a Matt Millen. What's that? Whatever the hell the bartender throws in a glass. He'll probably put as much thought into the booze as Millen did with Detroit's draft.

6. No bitching about money - Nothing brings friends down more than when somebody is a sore loser. If you can't afford to lose $30, then don't play.

7. No magazines - If you wanna have a list of players available for everybody, that's cool. But don't be the guy that brings a draft guide. You should know first-round prospects.

8. Put down the blackberry - Part of this game is screwing around with friends. It's hard to do that when you are sending texts, checking email and generally being the jerk on the phone. Leave it at home if you're addicted. Don't be "that guy."

Got any suggestions or variations for my NFL Draft game? Email them at jason@morepointsthanyou.com or just leave a comment below.

Comments

[Justin Bieber Shoes]

Ok. I used the whole cauliflower and got 5 cups! I had such a great time making these...

Definitely making these this week!
...