Dancing With the Stars: The Rules

We have a couple of new players this time around, so I wanted to make sure that the rules are clear. They are slightly different from last time in that you can now predict the Top Scorer (TS) and the Bottom Scorer (BS).

The Rules of the Show

On the show, celebrities compete with professional dance partners to put on a dance performance in a particular ballroom or latin style (such as the Mambo, or the Foxtrot).

Every week, one of the celebrities is eliminated from the show based on two factors: the total score of the three judge panel (each judge rates them on a simple 1-10 score), and the home audience vote (viewers can call in for their favorite performer). The two factors are weighted equally.

The Rules of the Pool

In the pool, everyone starts with 1,000 points. Every week, your point total changes, and the person with the most points at the end of the season is the Lord of the Dance (the winner).

Your score is affected in the following ways:

-- Every time a star is eliminated, if your prediction for that star is off, you lose points. For each place off, you lose ten points. So, if you predicted that Jeffrey would be eliminated in 9th place, and he was actually eliminated in 13th place, you would be off by four places, and would therefore lose 40 points (13-9 x 10 = 40).

-- Every time a star is eliminated, if your prediction for that star is dead on, you gain 50 points. For example, if you predicted that Jeffrey would be eliminated in 13th place, you would have been right and gained 50 points.

-- Every week, you will predict a Top Scorer for that week. If your chosen Top Scorer actually receives the Top Score from the 3 judges, you will get bonus points. But, the number of points you get goes down for every other person who also correctly predicted the top scorer.
1 person successfully predicted TS = 40 points
2 people successfully predicted TS = 20 points each
3 people successfully predicted TS = 16 points each
4 people successfully predicted TS = 13 points each
5 people successfully predicted TS = 10 points each
6 people successfully predicted TS = 8 points each
7 people successfully predicted TS = 6 points each
8 people successfully predicted TS = 5 points each

-- Every week, you will also predict a Bottom Scorer for that week. If your chosen Bottom Scorer actually receives the Bottom Score from the 3 judges, you will get bonus points. As with the TS, the number of points you get goes down depending on how many people also correctly predicted the top scorer.
1 person successfully predicted BS = 40 points
2 people successfully predicted BS = 20 points each
3 people successfully predicted BS = 16 points each
4 people successfully predicted BS = 13 points each
5 people successfully predicted BS = 10 points each
6 people successfully predicted BS = 8 points each
7 people successfully predicted BS = 6 points each
8 people successfully predicted BS = 5 points each

You can send in a fresh pick every week, or you can put in a standing order for your TS and BS, such as:

I always want Maurice as my TS, or
For the BS, I always want the person who scored worst the previous week

At the end of the season, everyone will have a chance to predict the finishing order of the finalists for a slew of bonus points. More on that when the finale approaches.

That's it! It's simpler than all this typing would suggest, but I wanted to be thorough.