Getting Started as a Commissioner

Welcome to TheCommish.app. This guide walks you through creating your account, setting up your first pool, and getting your players in.

1. Create Your Commissioner Account

From the homepage, choose "Run a Pool." This creates your commissioner account and a Client record that will own all the pools you create.

You'll need to provide:

Email address
A phone number (required — used for account recovery)
A password
Confirmation that you're 18 or older and agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

After registering, check your email and click the verification link. You'll need to verify your email before you can create a pool or invite players.

Already have a player account? If you registered to join someone else's pool first, you can upgrade to a commissioner account at any time from your dashboard — no need to create a second account.

2. Create Your First Pool

Once you're logged in, click "+ New Pool" from your dashboard. This takes you straight into the Setup Wizard — a step-by-step flow that walks you through every setting with plain-language explanations. The wizard is the only way to create a pool, for every game type, so there's nothing to choose between first.

The Setup Wizard

Step 1 — Pool Basics

Pool name
Game type — NFL Survivor or NFL Pick'em (more game types are coming)
Season
Visibility — see below

Step 2 — Rules (what this step asks depends on the game type you picked in Step 1)

For Survivor pools, see the Pool Settings & Survivor Rules guide for a full explanation of every option, including:

What happens when a player forgets to make a pick
Bye weeks
Double-pick weeks
Starting mid-season
Maximum entries per player

For Pick'em pools, this step sets point values per game (straight or against-the-spread scoring), Thursday/Monday Night point defaults, and a single no-pick rule for unpicked games — there are no bye weeks or elimination to configure, since Pick'em has no elimination mechanic. Full detail is in the Pick'em Pool Settings guide.

Step 3 — Structure (optional, can skip)

If you want to split your pool into leagues or divisions, configure that here. This step works the same way for Survivor and Pick'em pools. Most commissioners running a single pool for one group can skip this step. See the Leagues & Divisions guide if you're running something larger, like a company-wide pool split into department divisions.

Step 4 — Prizes (optional, can skip)

Set up cash or prize tiers for your pool — also the same for both game types. You can also add or edit these later from your pool's settings page, so feel free to skip this for now and come back once you know how many players you'll have.

When you finish the wizard, you'll land on a Pool Welcome page with your shareable join link — copy it and you're ready to invite players.

3. Public vs. Private Pools

When you set up your pool, you'll choose a visibility:

Private — only people with your join link can find and join the pool. Not listed anywhere on TheCommish.app. Best for a pool among friends, family, or a specific group.
Public — your pool is listed on TheCommish.app's public Browse Pools page, so anyone can discover and join it.

You can have both types — there's no limit on how many pools you run.

4. Inviting Players

Every pool has a unique join link, available from your pool's dashboard card or settings page. Share it however you'd like — text, email, social media, your own website.

You can also copy your embed code and add TheCommish.app directly into your own website, so players join, pick, and check standings without ever leaving your site. See the Embedding on Your Website guide for details.

Note: Players don't need a TheCommish.app account before clicking your join link — registration happens as part of the join flow.

5. What Happens Next

Once players start joining, you'll also get a confirmation email for each join — customize its message from your pool's settings page if you'd like to add your own welcome note.

Your Roster page shows your full player list, with Invoiced and Paid checkboxes built in so you can track billing right from the app — no need to track payment status separately
Once the season starts, you'll enter scores each week (or they'll sync automatically once score sync is live for the season) and the system processes results automatically
Survivor: losing picks are eliminated, and your Standings page shows who's alive, who's eliminated, and why, at any time
Pick'em: there's no elimination — every entry plays every week, and your Standings page shows season points and win/loss record instead

Need Help?

If something on this page didn't cover your question, check the FAQ or email us at support@thecommish.app.