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Take on all comers with Sherdog's MMA Pick 'Em, a fantasy game that lets you pick the winners in the biggest fights in MMA. Make your picks at each event, follow the action throughout the night, and see if you can beat the field to be the ultimate champion.

At each event, players choose who they think will win each fight on the card. If the correct winner is selected, players can earn bonus points for choosing the correct method of victory and finishing round. Players also have the option of adding a Boost to a limited number of fights if they are sure that they will get the winner right. Boosted fights are worth more points, but incorrect guesses will subtract points from a player's score.

Create a private group to challenge your friends, join a group started by others, or play against everyone in the Overall challenge. Just make your picks, watch the action unfold, and rack-up as many points as you can.

Sherdog MMA Pick 'Em is free to play. Please see the Official Rules for more details.

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Joining a game is easy. If you're not already registered, simply make picks for the active event on the game homepage. After saving picks, register either with Facebook Connect or our system. If you register with our system, it will send you a verification email with a link to click. Once you've been confirmed, you'll see the picks you made and will be able to join pools, make picks in future events, and see your score.

If you're already a registered player, the new game will appear when you login.


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The Picks page is your home for making picks, seeing results, and viewing your score.

Making Picks
An event will open for picks approximately one week before the scheduled date. Once a round is open, making picks is as easy as clicking the check mark next to the name of the fighter you think will win the fight. If you choose KO/TKO or SUB as the method, you must also choose the round in which you think the fight will end. Choosing DEC means there is no need to choose a round. Click the Boost button next to the fights in which you are most confident to be eligible for bonus points.

If you want more information about the fighters in the event, click on their name to go to their page at Sherdog.com.

Deadlines
Open events will lock for picks within one hour of the start of the event (not the start of the televised portion). To ensure you get your picks in on time, the Picks page will let you know how much time is left before the event locks.

Changes to Fight Card
In the event that a fight matchup changes while a round is open for picks, all picks for the match will be cleared and players will be responsible for making a new pick.

Example: Fighter A is scheduled to fight Fighter B and you pick Fighter A to win. While the round is open, Fighter B gets injured and is replaced by Fighter C. All picks for this match are cleared. Even though you picked Fighter A, who is still fighting, you must evaluate the new matchup and make a new selection before the round locks for picks.

In the highly unlikely event that a match changes after a round is locked, all picks for the affected match (or matches) will be cleared.

Game Alerts
In the event that a change is made to a fight in an open event, a Game Alert will be issued notifying players of the need to make a new pick. It is highly recommended that all players subscribe to Game Alerts.

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Scoring in Sherdog's MMA Pick 'Em is simple. Each correct winner is worth 50 points. If the winner is chosen correctly, players can get 30 bonus points for picking the correct method of victory and 30 bonus points for the correct finishing round. If a player chooses Decision as the method, there is no need to choose a round and the correct guess will be worth 60 points. If the winner is chosen incorrectly, players will not receive points for choosing the correct method or round.

Methods
For the purposes of this game, KO's and TKO's are considered one method called KO/TKO. This also includes TKO's for injury, doctor's stoppage, or a corner throwing in the towel.

Submissions include both tapouts and technical submissions, including submission to strikes.

In the event of a disqualification, all method choices will be considered incorrect.

Rounds
Points are awarded for correctly choosing the round in which the fight ends. In the event that a fight is stopped between rounds, the correct round will be the last completed round. Example: If a fight is stopped between Round 2 and Round 3, the correct round choice is Round 2.

In the event of a technical decision prior to the completion of a fight, the round number is disregarded and the fight is treated like a normal decision in a fight going the distance.

Boosts
For each event, players will have a limited number of Boosts available to try and earn even more bonus points. The number of Boosts available is half the total number of available fights, rounded down. For example, on a card with 12 fights, there will be six Boosts available. On a card with 11 fights, only five Boosts will be available.

A Boost earns players 100 bonus points if they pick the correct winner, but subtracts 50 points if the winner is chosen incorrectly. A player's guesses for method and round have no effect on the Boost bonus.

The maximum possible score for a single fight is 210 points (50 for the correct winner, 30 for correct method, 30 for correct round, and 100 for a Boost bonus). Even with incorrect Boosted fights, a player's score for an event cannot go below zero.

Draws or No Contests
In the event a fight is ruled a draw or No Contest on the night of the event, all picks for that fight will be treated as incorrect.

Changes to Results
If a fight result is overturned or the result is changed after the night of an event, the result as entered on the night of the event will remain.


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At the end of the game, if two or more players finish with the same number of points, the tie will be broken in the following order:

* The player with the greatest total number of correct picks

* The player whose answer to the first Tiebreaker Question is closest to the correct total.

* The player whose answer to the second Tiebreaker Question is closest to the correct total.

If the players are still tied after these criteria are employed, the players will be considered tied in the standings.


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While every player is entered in the Overall challenge, Pools are a great way to compete against smaller groups of friends or fans.

After registering, clicking the Pools tab will give you a chance to create a new pool, join an existing pool, or skip pools. You can always access your pools options on the Settings tab in the Games & Pools section.

Use the Pools tab to access the pools you are in. The dropdown box under your screen name allows you to navigate between all the pools you have joined.

Public Pools
A public pool is one that any player can join without needing a password. Create one to show support for your favorite fighter, setup a public pool for readers of your site, or challenge any and everyone in an open format. Since it has no commissioner, public pools do not allow for message boards or status updates.

Join an existing Public Pool
When you open the Join Pool interface, you will see a box containing a list of all the public pools available and the number of users in each. Just click the one you want to join and click Join Pool to become a member of that pool.

Create a Public Pool
If you want to make a new public pool, simply type the name into the box and click Create Pool to make one of your own.

Private Pools
Joining an Existing Private Pool
Once you've received the pool name and password from your commissioner, you can join the pool upon first registration or on the Settings tab in the Games & Pools section using the Join Private Pool button.

Create a Private Pool
Creating a private pool is as easy as coming up with a name and password and then clicking the Create Private Pool button. The text box below will provide a standard message you can copy and email to friends, post on your Facebook page, in forum posts, etc.

By creating a pool, you become the commissioner and can choose whether to display Featured Users in your pool standings and whether to allow players to post status updates or messages.

NOTE: By turning on Messaging, you, as the commissioner are responsible for moderating all messages and comments to ensure they comply with the Terms of Service. Commissioners should use the Delete button found next to all messages or comments to remove any offending messages or comments.

User Status
If you are a member of a pool that allows for status updates, the Pool page contains a section called Set Your Status, giving you 140 characters to sound-off to your pool mates. NOTE: All status updates must comply with the Terms of Service.

Message Board
Have more to say than can fit in 140 characters? If you are a member of a pool that has a message board, you can start new message threads using the NEW MSG button. To comment on an existing message, click the subject title of the message and use the Post a Comment section. NOTE: All messages and comments must comply with the Terms of Service.

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Players choose their email options when they first register and can change them at any time using the Settings tab. The different email options include:

Game Alerts
In the event that a change is made to a fight in an open event, a Game Alert will be issued notifying players of the need to make a new pick. It is highly recommended that all players subscribe to Game Alerts.

Open Event Notification
Events open for picks one week before the event date. Select this option to get an email reminder when a new event is open for picks.

Day of Event
If you prefer to wait until closer to the even date to make your picks, select this option to get an email reminder the day an event is scheduled to take place.

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Got a question or comment? Send all inquiries to us at fantasy@sherdog.com. If you are experiencing trouble with the game, please make sure that your message includes your screen name and any applicable pool names. We will attempt to respond within 24-48 hours.

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