Help & Rules

How to Play Poor Fantasy League

Everything you need to know — from making your first prediction to climbing the leaderboard.

Section 01

Getting Started

1
Create a free account

Register with a username, a 4-digit PIN, and your favourite cricket & football teams. No email required. No credit card. Ever.

2
Find an active tournament

The home page shows all ongoing tournaments — cricket and football. Check the ticker at the top to see what's live right now.

3
Submit predictions before kick-off

Go to Predict in the nav. Each match has a lock time — once it passes, that match is sealed. You can edit predictions any time before the lock.

4
Watch the points roll in

After the admin enters results, your points are calculated automatically. Check the leaderboard on the home page or the Live view for a real-time breakdown.

5
Review your history

The History page shows every match you've predicted — your score, the actual result, and how you compared against others.

Section 02

Making Predictions

Football — predict the exact scoreline

Enter the number of goals you expect each team to score (e.g. 2 – 1). The closer your prediction, the more points you earn.

Cricket — predict the winner

Select which team you think will win. Some matches also have a bonus question (e.g. "Who will be Player of the Match?") worth extra points.

Predictions lock at match start

Once a match starts you cannot change your prediction. The lock time is shown on the Predict page next to each fixture. Plan ahead for early-morning matches.

Missing a cricket prediction costs you points

For cricket in an ongoing tournament, players who didn't predict receive a −1 penalty when results are entered. There is no such penalty in football.

You can update predictions up until lock time. Changed your mind? Go back to Predict and adjust — as many times as you like before the match starts.

Section 03

Football Scoring

Points
Exact scoreline +3 pts
Correct goal difference +2 pts
Correct winner only +1 pt
Wrong prediction 0 pts
No prediction submitted 0 pts
Examples
Predicted 2–1, actual 2–1 +3 pts
Predicted 2–1, actual 3–2 +2 pts
Predicted 2–1, actual 1–0 +1 pt
Predicted 2–1, actual 0–2 0 pts
Predicted 1–1, actual 0–0 +2 pts (same diff)

No penalty for wrong or missing football predictions. A wrong guess scores 0 — not negative. Always submit something; even a guess is better than nothing.

Loyalty Bonus — at the end of every football tournament, the top 3 players by loyalty rate (how often they backed their favourite club or country) receive bonus points added to their final score: 🥇 +3 pts · 🥈 +2 pts · 🥉 +1 pt. Ties share the same rank. The top player also earns the Loyalty King badge.

🏏
Section 04

Cricket Scoring

Standard Match
Correct winner +1 pt
Wrong winner −1 pt
No prediction (active tournament) −1 pt
Correct bonus answer +1 pt
Wrong / no bonus answer 0 pts
Match abandoned +1 pt (everyone)
High Value Match ★
Correct winner +1 pt
Wrong winner −1 pt
No prediction (active tournament) −1 pt
Correct bonus answer +2 pts
Wrong / no bonus answer 0 pts
Match abandoned +1 pt (everyone)

High Value Matches (★) are marked on the Predict page. Typically finals, semi-finals, or marquee derbies. The bonus answer is worth +2 pts instead of +1 — double the reward for getting it right.

The −1 penalty applies to all users in an ongoing tournament — including those who registered after the match. Once a tournament ends, no retroactive penalties are applied for any missed matches.

Loyalty Bonus — at the end of cricket club tournaments, the top 3 players by loyalty rate receive bonus points: 🥇 +3 pts · 🥈 +2 pts · 🥉 +1 pt. Ties share the same rank. The top player also earns the Loyalty King badge. Note: cricket country tournaments (e.g. World Cup) do not have a loyalty bonus.

Tie-breaking for bonus questions

When two or more players share the same primary stat, the admin uses differentiators in order to pick the single correct answer. Pick the player who wins after all differentiators are applied.

Bonus Rule What it means Diff I Diff II Diff III
Most Runs Highest run scorer Winning team S/R 6s
Most Wickets Highest wicket taker Econ. Dots / Maidens
Best Econ. Most economical [min. 2 overs] Dots / Maidens Wickets Extras
Most Sixes Maximum sixes S/R No. of 4s Runs scored
Best S/R Best S/R [min. 10 balls] Runs scored 6s 4s
Official MoM Man of the Match No differentiator — official award
No. of 50s No. of 50+ innings in the match No differentiator — count is the answer
Section 05

Bonus Questions

Two types of bonus questions

Match bonus — attached to a specific match (e.g. "Who will be Player of the Match?"). Locks when that match locks.
Tournament bonus — applies to the whole tournament (e.g. "Who will be top scorer?"). Has its own separate cutoff date shown on the Predict page.

Answer types

Bonus questions can be free text, player selection, team selection, number, yes/no, or multi-team pick. The type is always shown clearly on the Predict page so you know what to enter.

Multi-team questions use proportional scoring

For questions like "Which teams will reach the knockout stage?", you can pick multiple teams. Points are awarded proportionally based on how many of your picks were correct out of the total correct answers.

There is no penalty for a wrong bonus answer. Only missing the cricket winner prediction costs points. Always fill in the bonus — even a guess gives you a shot at extra points.

Section 06

Private Leagues

1
Create a league

On the home page, switch to the My League tab and click Create a League. Give it a name — a unique 6-character invite code is generated instantly.

2
Share the code

Copy the code (e.g. XK7F2A) and send it to your friends. They join by entering it on their My League tab. Codes are case-insensitive.

3
Compete on a private leaderboard

The My League tab shows a leaderboard filtered to only your group members. Same predictions, same scores as global — just your circle.

4
Leagues persist across tournaments

Your league is not tied to one tournament. Between tournaments the member list is still visible — the leaderboard resumes as soon as a new tournament goes live.

5
Leaving a league

You can leave any time. If you are the creator and others remain, ownership transfers to the longest-standing member. If you are the last member, the league is deleted.

You can belong to multiple leagues simultaneously. Create one with family, another with colleagues — each shows its own filtered leaderboard independently.

Section 07

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, 100% free. No in-app purchases, no premium tier, no ads. It was built for friends to play together and it will stay that way.
No — predictions lock at match start and cannot be submitted after. For cricket in a live tournament you will receive a −1 penalty when results are entered. For football, missing a prediction scores 0 (no penalty). Set a reminder before big fixtures!
Results are entered manually by the admin after each match. Points are calculated automatically as soon as the result is saved. There may be a short delay after full-time before your score updates.
Every player receives +1 point for an abandoned match regardless of their prediction. No penalties are applied and no bonus points are awarded.
Yes, for ongoing cricket tournaments — the −1 penalty applies to all users who didn't predict, even those who registered after the match. This keeps the leaderboard fair: everyone in a live tournament is held to the same standard.
Username changes are not currently supported. If you need to update your PIN, contact the admin directly.
Loyalty King is the badge earned by the player with the highest loyalty rate at the end of a tournament — the one who most consistently predicted their favourite team to win. It also comes with a +3 point bonus added to their final score. 2nd and 3rd place receive +2 and +1 pts respectively. Ties share the same rank. Cricket country tournaments (e.g. World Cup) do not have a loyalty bonus.
Yes. If you predict 1–1 and the match ends 1–1 that's an exact score (+3 pts). If you predict 0–0 and the match ends 1–1, the goal difference is the same (both 0), so you get +2 pts. Any draw prediction that matches the drawn result gives you at least +1 pt for the correct outcome.
Each league has a permanent 6-character alphanumeric code (e.g. XK7F2A). It never expires and never changes. Share it any time — anyone who enters it on the My League tab will join the league immediately.
There is no limit. You can create and join as many private leagues as you like. Each one maintains its own independent leaderboard.
Section 08

Tips to Score Higher

Predict early, refine later

Submit a prediction as soon as fixtures drop, then update it as team news comes in. You can change right up until kick-off.

Prioritise High Value Matches

The bonus on a ★ HVM is worth +2 pts — double the usual. Getting it right can swing the leaderboard in your favour.

🏏 Never skip a cricket match

Missing any prediction costs you −1. Even a 50/50 guess is better than leaving it blank.

Chase exact scores in football

The +3 for a perfect score is a big swing. Common results like 1–0, 1–1, and 2–1 are worth predicting — don't always play it safe.

📊 Use the Live & History pages

Live shows how all players scored per match in real time. History reveals your own patterns — use both to sharpen your strategy.

🏆 Start a private league

The global leaderboard can feel abstract with many players. A league with 5–10 friends makes every single match feel personal.

About the Odds Displayed
Some match cards show indicative betting odds (e.g. 1.80 / 2.10) sourced from The Odds API. These are averaged decimal odds across multiple bookmakers, refreshed once daily.

These odds are shown for entertainment only — to give a quick sense of which team is the favourite. They are not financial advice or betting tips, and PFL does not facilitate gambling in any way. If you or someone you know is affected by problem gambling, visit BeGambleAware.org.

Ready to start predicting?

Pick winners, nail scorelines, and climb the leaderboard — for free, forever.

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