Handicap System

What Is a Handicap?

A handicap is a point bonus given to the weaker team (or player) at the end of each round. It levels the playing field so that mismatched teams can compete fairly. Digital Pool calculates the bonus automatically based on the handicap values you enter for each player — you never have to do the math yourself.

Enabling Handicaps

Handicaps are configured inside the Scoresheet Builder under two separate sections:

Handicaps section — turn on Use Handicaps and choose a handicap type.
Team Statistics section — turn on Handicap Points.

Both switches must be on before any bonus is added to scores. This two-step setup lets you record player handicap values for record-keeping purposes without automatically affecting match outcomes until you're ready.

Handicap Types

Choose the type that matches how your league assigns handicap values to players.

Type	How the player's number is set	Best for
Average	Calculated from the player's season-average points	Season-long leagues
Average For Night	Recalculated each night	Weekly-format leagues
Rolling Average	Average over the last N weeks you configure	Leagues that want recent form to matter more
Skill Level	A fixed number assigned to the player directly	APA-style skill level systems
Fargo Rate	Uses the player's Fargo rating; bonus calculated by a formula	Leagues using Fargo ratings
Fargo Race To Win	Uses Fargo ratings to adjust the winning threshold per player	Race-format Fargo leagues

How the Bonus Is Calculated (Step by Step)

At the end of each round, Digital Pool:

Adds up each team's handicap values across all games in that round.
Finds the difference between the two totals (see type-specific notes below).
Applies a multiplier if you have one configured (e.g. 80% of the difference).
Caps the result if you set a maximum per round.
Rounds the final number to your configured decimal places.
Gives the bonus to the weaker team — the team whose total handicap is lower receives the bonus points added to their round score.

If both teams have equal handicap totals, no bonus is applied.

Important: If neither team has scored any points yet in a round, the handicap bonus is not applied for that round even if player handicap values are set.

Type-Specific Bonus Calculation

Skill Level, Average, Rolling Average, and Average For Night

The raw bonus equals the difference between the two team totals:

bonus = |Team A total − Team B total|

Example: Team A total = 15, Team B total = 24 → bonus = 9 points to Team A.

Fargo Rate

The bonus uses the Fargo formula instead of a direct difference:

bonus = (|Team A total − Team B total| ÷ Rating Diff Interval) × Points Per Interval

Defaults: Rating Diff Interval = 50, Points Per Interval = 1.

Example: Team A Fargo total = 1,400, Team B Fargo total = 1,200. (|1400 − 1200| ÷ 50) × 1 = 4 points to Team B.

You can adjust both parameters in the Scoresheet Builder to match your league's rules.

Modifiers

These optional settings change the final bonus amount before it is applied.

Multiplier

Scales the raw bonus up or down.

A multiplier of 1.0 means no change (same as off).
A multiplier of 1.5 adds 50% on top of the raw bonus.
A multiplier of 0.8 reduces the bonus to 80% of the raw value.

The multiplier is applied before the per-round cap.

Maximum Bonus Per Round

Caps the bonus so it can never exceed a set number of points in a single round, regardless of how large the handicap difference is. The cap is applied after the multiplier.

Example with both active:

Raw difference = 7
Multiplier 1.5 → 7 × 1.5 = 10.5
Cap of 10 → final bonus = 10 (not 10.5)

Count Handicap Against Zero-Rated Opponents

By default, a game is only included in the handicap total when both players have a non-zero handicap value. If one player is blank or zero, neither player's value counts for that game — the zero effectively suppresses the opponent's contribution too.

Turn on Count Handicap Against Zero-Rated Opponents to change this. When enabled, a game is included as long as at least one player has a value. The zero-rated player contributes 0; the other player contributes their full value as normal. The rest of the calculation (difference, multiplier, cap) is unchanged.

Use this option when some players legitimately have no handicap (for example, new or substitute players) and you do not want their absence to affect rated opponents.

Decimal Places

You can control how precisely the bonus is calculated and displayed.

0 decimal places (default): Bonuses are whole numbers (e.g. 9).
1 decimal place: Bonuses can be half-points (e.g. 4.5).
Higher values are supported but unusual for most leagues.

Showing Handicaps to Players

Turn on Show Handicap in Player Dropdown (or Show Fargo Rating for Fargo types) to display each player's handicap value next to their name in the player-selection dropdown when entering scores. This is useful for operators and captains who want a quick reference during the match.

Setting Player Handicap Values

Handicap values are entered per player in the scoresheet during score entry:

For Skill Level, Average, Rolling Average, and Average For Night — enter the player's Handicap value on their row.
For Fargo Rate and Fargo Race To Win — enter the player's Fargo Rating (labeled FR in the scoresheet columns).

A player whose handicap value is 0 or blank is excluded from the team handicap total for that round by default. Make sure all players have values entered before the round starts to get an accurate bonus. See Count Handicap Against Zero-Rated Opponents below if your league needs to override this behavior.

Seeing the Predicted Bonus

When handicaps are fully configured and player values are entered, the scoresheet shows a note above the round totals:

"[Team Name] will receive X handicap points per round (applied when points are scored)"

This updates live as you enter or change player handicap values so you can verify the configuration before play begins.

Built-in Template Defaults

If you start from a built-in template, the handicap settings are pre-configured to match common league formats:

Template	Handicap Points on by default
BCA	Yes
VNEA	Yes
APA	No
PTI	No
PLA Tuesday	No
BCA 3×3 WL	No
TPL	No

Templates with handicap points off still support the full handicap system — you can enable the Handicap Points toggle in Team Statistics at any time.

Common Questions

Why isn't the bonus showing in the scores? Check that both Use Handicaps (Handicaps section) and Handicap Points (Team Statistics section) are turned on in the Scoresheet Builder. Also check that player handicap values are entered and non-zero, and that at least one team has scored points in the round.

Does the bonus affect who wins the round or just the points total? The handicap bonus is added to the team's round points before the round winner is determined. This means a sufficient bonus can flip the round result.

Is the bonus applied per round or once for the whole match? Per round. Each round's bonus is calculated independently based on that round's player handicap values. The match totals accumulate the per-round bonuses.

Can two teams receive bonuses in the same round? No. The bonus always goes to the team with the lower handicap total. If both teams have equal totals, neither receives a bonus.

What happens if I change a player's handicap value mid-match? The system recalculates the round bonus immediately. In a split-scoresheet match the bonus for all rounds is updated at once when you change a value. You can use the predicted bonus note to verify the new amount before saving.