CFL Pick'em: The Summer Football Pool Nobody Around You Is Running
The CFL plays all summer while everyone else is counting down to the NFL. That makes it the easiest pool to win and the easiest to run — fewer people follow it, the lines move more, and there's football on when nothing else is. Set up a CFL Pick'em with your crew, play for chips, and you've got action every week until kickoff.
Here's a move most football guys miss. While everyone's sitting around all summer refreshing NFL depth charts, the CFL is up north playing real games every single week. Nobody in your group chat is paying attention to it, which is exactly why it's the best pool you could be running right now.
Why the CFL is the easy pool to run
Two reasons. First, there's nothing else on. No NFL, no college ball, just baseball and crickets. A CFL Pick'em gives your crew something to argue about every week in the dead months. Second, almost nobody studies it. In an NFL pool everyone's a genius. In a CFL pool it's a coin flip with bragging rights, and the guy who actually watches a couple games has a real edge.
The lines look just like the NFL ones
If you can read an NFL spread you can read a CFL one — same board, same numbers. This past week it was B.C. Lions +2 at Hamilton, Argonauts +1 against Ottawa, Montreal -3.5 over Edmonton. You pick a side against the spread for each game, same as always. The football's a little wilder up there — bigger field, three downs, more scoring — so the overs and the underdogs hit more than you'd think. That's part of the fun.
→ New to hosting? Here's how the good Pick'em commissioners keep their group locked in week after week.A heads-up: CFL ball plays different
If you've only watched the NFL, a couple things will throw you the first week, and knowing them is a real edge in your pool. The CFL gives teams three downs instead of four, so they pass way more and drives move fast — punts come quick and offenses live in the air. The field's bigger and there's an extra man on each side, so there's more open grass and more scoring. There's even a single point, the "rouge," on certain kicks into the end zone. What it means for your picks: don't be scared of the over, and don't bury a team that's down two scores, because comebacks happen up there all the time.
How to set it up
Make a free club, pick Pick'em as the format, and drop the invite code in the chat. Everyone picks sides each week, the points stack into a leaderboard, and the leader at the end of the season takes the chip pot. It's all chips, not cash — no money to collect, nobody to chase down. You're just playing for the standings and the right to talk trash about a league half your friends can't name.
→ Want even more summer action? The WNBA's in season too — an easy second pool for the same group.Run it now, roll it into NFL season
The best part: you don't tear it down in September. Same club, same crew — when the CFL pool wraps, you flip it over to an NFL Pick'em and everyone's already in. You get a head start on football season and you never had a dead week all summer.
Start a free CFL Pick'em club on ValueBet, drop the invite code in your group chat, and have football to argue about again this weekend.
Create your free club →FAQ
When does the CFL season run?
Through the summer and into the fall, while the NFL is still in the offseason. That's what makes it a great pool to run when there's no other football on.
Do I need to know the CFL to play?
Not really, and that's the appeal. Hardly anyone in a casual group studies the CFL, so it's wide open. If you can read a spread, you can play, and watching a game or two each week is a real edge.
Is it the same as running an NFL pool?
Yes. Same Pick'em format, same kind of spreads and totals on the board. The only difference is the league and the schedule — the setup on your end is identical.
Is there real money involved?
No. It runs on chips, so there's nothing to deposit and nothing to cash out. You're playing for the leaderboard and bragging rights.
Can I switch the same club to NFL later?
Yes. When the CFL pool ends you can run an NFL Pick'em in the same club with the same group, so nobody has to re-join when football season starts.