Free $4,000 Bankroll Contest

Your NFL office pool is lame, there are no point spreads and some chubby intern chick in the Accounting Department won the pot last week by picking teams based on her favorite colors.

Not in this contest, she won`t.

The NFL Bankroll game hands you $1,000 and tells you to make as much money as you can with it. Pick NFL winners against the spread, build your bankroll and claim your share of $4,000 in prizes.

Sound good so far? It should. It`s free to play and that $1,000 is play money (called points). But winners will turn $1,000 in funny money into cold hard cash.

And the fun continues each month of the 2011 season! [ How to Play Bankroll Contest ]

It starts in Week 2 of the pro football season and runs for four weeks. Then the next contest starts up to run from Weeks 6-9.

It`s sponsored by Bodog where contestants who like picking underdogs can also find the most favorable lines on their teams (not to mention a 100% bonus for new customers).

Why is this better than the standard straight-up pickem pool where you simply pick winners? Because you get to challenge yourself and others by checking point spreads, handicapping injuries and following trends. Not simply closing your eyes and checking off all the home teams because 12 of them are favored.

If you pick the Giants at -6.5, they have to win by 7 or more for you to win.

Pick a bunch of games (you can risk anywhere from 10 points to 1000 points in Week 2 but remember you must pick at least three games). Bet the full 1,000 points each week or play conservatively and only bet 100 on a few games.

You decide the best strategy – whatever adds up to the biggest bankroll at the end of the contest. Then, OddsShark.com tallies the scores and pays out the Top 25 contestants. You can be one of them!

Check out the rules and prize breakdown and play for real at Bodog.