What is a 13 Run Pool for MLB? How to Run a 13 Run Office Pool

What is a 13 Run Pool?

A 13 Run Pool is a fun way to connect with friends or coworkers through casual gambling all baseball season long. There are several variations of rules, but the main theme is that everyone puts in the same amount of money into a pot and gets a Major League Baseball team.

Some variations have it that you swap around teams each week so you have most of the teams in the league at some point throughout the season, but others just keep the one team all season long. Alternatively, you can pick one team each week but only use that team once all season, similar to a survival pool.

The winning player is the first one whose team(s) ends a game with every single run total from 0-13. For example, if your team was the Philadelphia Phillies and the first week of the season they scored 3, 5, 0, 8, 7, 2, 5, then you cross off 0, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8 from your list. To win, you still need them to score exactly each of 1, 4, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 at some point in the rest of the season. 

How to Run a 13 Run Pool:

To run a 13 run pool just gather a bunch of willing participants and explain the rules found here. Feel free to customize them to whatever seems the most fun for your specific situation. Collect money from each participant once the rules are determined, and be sure to keep a master list of which numbers every participant has hit so there are no disputes. 

MLB 13 Run Pool Rules:

Regardless of format, whether your pool is keeping the same teams all season, rotating each week, or playing survivor style, the rules are the same. Each player must have a team in their possession score exactly each number from 0 to 13 over the course of the regular season. The first player to cross off all 14 numbers wins. 

Tiebreakers in a 13 Run Pool:

It’s up to you how to determine tiebreakers should nobody get all 13 run totals or multiple people do it on the same day. Common tiebreakers used in 13 run pools include total runs by the teams all season, times a team is shutout, fewer games played by the team, and the team to score 13 runs earliest in the season. 

Pros of a 13 Run Pool:

• Easy and simple
  • Instead of making bets with odds or setting a fantasy lineup everyday, all you have to worry about is the run total that the team you “own” will score that day.
• Everyday excitement
  • As long as the competition is going, you never know when you are going to make progress towards winning. In the first week of the season most games will cross off a number, but as you get into May, June, and beyond you may only be hoping for one specific number. If that number is eight for example, and the team you have has seven in the late innings, that gives a great reason to tune in and see if your team can score exactly one more run to move you a step closer to victory.
• Friendly competition
  • Pools like this are often way more communal than betting against the house at a sportsbook. Plus, in addition to following your team that day you may be rooting against your competitors just as hard.
• Creative form of gambling
  • New and fun ways of gambling especially with friends, family, or coworkers are always fun!

Cons of a 13 Run Pool:

• Not the most strategic
  • Teams scoring specific numbers of runs over the course of the season can be pretty random.
• Can get stale towards the end
  • If your team is just missing totals like 12 and 13 and hasn’t scored through a few innings, there won’t be much anticipation or excitement on that day.