Guides

How to set a fair pick order for a season-ticket draft

In any draft, the first pick is worth more than the last. If your group is dividing a season-ticket package, the way you set the order decides whether the result feels fair. Here are the common methods and when each works.

Pick the first-position method

  • Random draw. Neutral and quick. Pull names from a hat, flip coins, or roll dice on a video call. Everyone can see it was not rigged.
  • Rotate year to year. If your group shares tickets every season, the person who picked last this year picks first next year. Keep a note of the order so it carries over.
  • Seniority or contribution. Some groups give early picks to whoever organized the package or covered the deposit. This works only if everyone agrees to it openly.
  • Auction for position. Rare, but it can work when people care a lot about specific dates and are willing to trade money for early choice.

Then make the order fair across rounds

A fixed order favors the person who picks first in every round. Reversing the order each round, a snake draft, balances that out: the last person in one round picks first in the next. Read snake versus repeat drafts to choose between them.

Set the order before anyone looks at the schedule

Choose the method and the order, then reveal which games are in the package. People accept an unlucky draw far more readily when they agreed to the method first.

Setting the order in Top Salty Picks

The person who creates the draft invites participants by email or phone. Once everyone has accepted, the organizer arranges the pick order with the up and down buttons on the Participants page and starts the draft. Whatever method your group used to decide, the app then enforces it: only the person whose turn it is can pick, and everyone sees each choice as it happens.

Participants and pick order screen listing four people in the order they will pick.
The organizer’s pick-order screen.

A short checklist

  1. Agree on how the first position is decided.
  2. Decide whether the order reverses each round.
  3. Write the order down where everyone can see it.
  4. Let each person rank their favorites ahead of time so turns move quickly.