American Idol Pool

How It Works

Welcome to the American Idol pool. This pool has been run since Season One by user Jackass (Aaron), but Season Nine was the first time it was online. Here's how it works:

When the Top 12 is set, users guess the order in which the contestants are eliminated from the show. Picks close before the first Top 12 singing show, and cannot be changed for the rest of the season. For each contestant you guess exactly right, you get 10 points - or 20 points if it's the show's season winner. If you're off by one place (e.g. your 8th place pick gets booted off in 9th or 7th place), you get 7 points. If you're off by two places, you get 6 points, and so on down to zero. That's it!

There are a few wrinkles based on how the show itself works. Seasons Eight and Ten had 13 finalists, which just meant everyone had to do 13 picks intead of 12. Everything else worked the same.

Also, for various reasons, sometimes two contestants are booted in one show. When that happens, contestants are considered to be booted off in the order they were sent packing, unless the show specifies who got fewer votes that week. If two are sent off at the same time with no mention of votes (as happened on Season Ten), Dial Idol's results/predictions page decides who got fewer votes. When the judges use their save, that contestant is not considered booted off that week.