How to play
Playbook is a betting game between friends. Everyone starts a tournament with the same pile of fake money, bets on real NFL and NHL games at real odds, and the biggest pile at the end wins. There is no real money anywhere, and no password.
1. Get in
- Open the invite link a friend sent you (or tap Tournaments and type the 5-letter code).
- Pick a display name. That's your account.
- You are in, with the tournament's starting bankroll (usually $1,000).
Want to play on your phone and your laptop? Open Profile, note your 6-character recovery code, and enter it under "Restore an account" on the other device. Without the code, a new device means a new account.
2. Place a bet
- Tap Games. Pick NFL or NHL.
- Tap a price to add it to your bet slip. The list shows the moneyline; tap a game's name for the spread, the total and more.
- Tap the yellow "Bet slip" bar at the bottom.
- Choose your stake ($1 minimum) and tap "Place bet".
Your stake leaves your balance right away. If you win, you get it back plus the winnings. A bet can't be cancelled, but many can be cashed out (see below).
If the price moved while you were deciding, the slip shows the new price and asks you to tap again. Nothing is placed until you do.
3. Read the odds
| -150 | The favorite. Bet $150 to win $100. A $10 bet pays back $16.66. |
| +130 | The underdog. Bet $100 to win $130. A $10 bet pays back $23.00. |
The slip always shows "to pay": what comes back to you if the bet wins, stake included.
4. The three main bets
| Moneyline | Pick the winner. In hockey, overtime and shootouts count. |
| Spread | The favorite must win by more than the number: "KC -3.5" needs Kansas City to win by 4 or more. "LV +3.5" wins if Las Vegas wins, or loses by 3 or less. In hockey it is called the puck line. |
| Total | Both teams' points added up: over or under the number. |
If a bet lands exactly on the number, it is a push and your stake comes back. Same for a moneyline bet on an NFL game that ends tied.
5. Parlays
A parlay ties 2 to 10 picks into one bet. The odds multiply, so the payout is big, but every pick has to win.
- Add two or more picks to the slip.
- In the slip, switch from "Straights" to "Parlay".
- Tap "Place parlay".
On "Straights", each pick is a separate bet for the stake shown. A pick that pushes drops out of a parlay and the rest still counts. You can take several picks from the same game, but not two of the same kind (not the moneyline and the spread together, not two totals).
6. Before the game and during it
Before kickoff you bet at the pre-game lines; they close at kickoff. Once a game is on, its page shows live prices that follow the score and refresh every 20 seconds. When no reliable live price is available, the page says "Live betting unavailable": try again a little later.
7. Alternate lines and player props
On a game's page, "Alternate spreads" and "Alternate totals" let you take a different number at a different price. NFL games also have a few player props (anytime touchdown, rushing yards and so on); only the ones with a reliable price are listed, and sometimes only the "Yes" side.
Props are settled about an hour after the game, later than everything else.
8. Results and ranking
Bets are graded on their own, a minute or two after the final whistle. My bets shows what is open and what each bet still needs ("needs 3 more to cover"). Each tournament has a live ranking: tap a player to see their bets.
| Now | What you would hold if every game stopped this minute: winning bets count in full, losing bets count for nothing, bets on games not started count at their stake. |
| Balance | The money you can bet with right now. |
The tournament is marked FINAL when its last game is over and every bet is settled. A game postponed and not played within 36 hours: your stake comes back.
Cash out
On My bets, an open bet on a moneyline, spread or total shows a "Cash out" button with an amount. Tap it to end the bet now and take that amount, before or during the game. The amount follows the live price: it goes up when your pick is doing well and down when it is not, and it is always a bit less than the bet is "really" worth, like at a sportsbook.
No button means no fair price right now: parlays and player props can't be cashed out, and neither can a bet whose line is no longer offered.
9. The bots
A tournament can include bots, marked "bot" in the ranking. They play by fixed rules, so you always have someone to beat.
| Chalk Charlie | Favorites only. |
| Underdog Ursula | Underdogs only. |
| Dartboard Dan | Random bets. |
| Parlay Pete | Twenty random NFL parlays. |
| Long Shot Larry | Nothing shorter than +300. |
| Chasing Chad | Doubles his stake after every loss. |
| Halftime Hank | Backs the team that is behind at halftime. |
| Contrary Carl | Takes the other side of your bets, a few minutes after you. |
10. Assistants (optional)
From My bets, "Assistants" lets you set a rule that bets for you, inside a budget you choose:
| Wait for a price | In the slip, tap "Or wait for a better price…". The bet is placed only if the price gets there. |
| Copy a player | Takes the same bets as someone else, as they place them. |
| Fade a player | Takes the other side of their bets. |
Fantasy football
The Fantasy tab is a second game, separate from the betting: its own ranking, in fantasy points, and it does not touch your bankroll. Each tournament has one fantasy contest per NFL day.
- Tap Fantasy, then "Build my lineup".
- Pick 9 players: 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 FLEX (a RB, WR or TE) and 1 team defence (D/ST).
- Stay under the $50,000 salary cap. Better players cost more.
- Tap "Save lineup".
In a hurry? Under "Build it for me", an assistant fills the open spots around the players you already picked: the best projected lineup, a quarterback stacked with his receiver, an under-the-radar lineup without the obvious stars, or a lucky dip. Check it, change what you like, then save. Tick "Injury guard" and a player ruled out before his game is replaced for you.
Each player locks when his own game kicks off. Until then you can swap him out, so you can still build a lineup from the late games after the early ones have started. Other people's players stay hidden until they lock.
Points count live from the real games: 1 point per 10 rushing or receiving yards, half a point per catch, 6 per touchdown, 1 per 25 passing yards, 4 per passing touchdown. The full scoring is at the bottom of the Fantasy page.
If something looks wrong
| A price button does nothing | Reload the page. |
| "… is not part of this tournament" | The game is outside the tournament's dates or leagues. Check the tournament picker in the slip. |
| "Not enough balance" | Open bets have already used your money. It comes back as they win. |
| My account is gone on a new phone | Enter your recovery code under Restore an account. |