INSTRUCTIONS

Home Page

From the Home Page, choose one of the following options.

• Import: Import a league's data.
• Update Access Level: This option may appear after upgrading to the Premium Level or installing the App on a new device if it was not able to automatically detect the change in access level.
• Get Premium Access: Opens a window to purchase the Premium Level annual subscription. 

Import Page

Note some steps may only be relevant for specific data sources and/or Premium Level.

• Insure hosting site settings allow data to be read. For ESPN the setting 'viewable to public' must be 'Yes'. For MFL the setting 'league reports private' must be 'No'.
• Select Source. Choose between fantasy hosting sites, the companion Google Sheets template, or Professional leagues.
• Select Sport. Choose the appropriate sport the fantasy league refers to.
• MFL Prefix. For MFL leagues input the two-digit number that follows 'www' when the league is displayed on the web.
• FPL League Type. Select the type of FPL league (android only).
• Enter League ID. For most hosting sites this is a 4-10 digit number. If using the Google Sheets template see below. League IDs can be saved for future use.
• Select League Year. For leagues that traverse two calendar years this is usually the year in which the season began.
• Select Current Week. Input the current upcoming un-played week/round of the season.
• Select Last Week. Input the last week/round of the regular season (e.g. ff is commonly 14).
• Choose between Team Names or Abbreviations. For hosting sites that offer abbreviations these make the display and reports more readable than the often long fantasy team names.
• Click on the Import League button. Time necessary may range from a few seconds to a minute or two.
• Note that depending on source, tiebreakers and playoff spot info may or may not be automatically import. See Analysis Options and Tiebreaker sections.

Edit Team Info

If any records information is incorrect or incomplete, this section will allow editing. Team Names can also be edited, which may be helpful to make the display or reports more readable.

Remaining Games / What-Ifs

Note some steps may only be applicable to Premium Level and/or non-Median Leagues.

Note there are some minor differences between android and iOS in application of 'what-ifs'.

Note calculations with certain tiebreakers may be affected by 'what-ifs', particularly Goals Difference.

Options to delete or move remaining games generally should only be needed for certain Professional leagues with postponed games.

To do 'what-ifs':

• Ensure the Calculation Options are correct for the league.
• Click on teams to declare them as the 'winner' of a particular game. If tie games are chosen as a possibility, clicking on the team again will declare it as a tie.
• To do mass 'what-ifs' for particular teams, use the Focus feature to create good or bad outcomes for the desired team. There are three 'Methods', 1, 2, and 3, that apply an increasing amount of logic to affect the outcome for the specific team.
• For Ignore X Number of Games, if the goal is to verify a team's clinched/eliminated determinations when there are many remaining games, select 0. If the goal is to verify a team's paths-to-clinch or paths-to-elimination, select the number of games in the upcoming round.
• In the android version, 'what-ifs' will change the displayed w/l record of teams. In the iOS version, if all games are pre-selected, a 'ProjW' column will be displayed in the analysis. These can be used to fine-tune the selections as needed to meet a specific goal.

Past Game / Head-to-Head Info

Displays head-to-head info for reference.

Tiebreaker Info

Note the presentation and editing processes vary significantly between the android and iOS versions, but the overall functionality is the same.

See below for additional tiebreaker info.

To input or edit tiebreakers (android):

• If league is multi-division and the division tiebreakers shown are not correct, select, in order of priority, the appropriate division tiebreakers. Click Clear to start over. Once all have been selected, click Done. If the league is multi-division and the division tiebreakers shown were correct, click Skip to proceed to the wildcard tiebreakers.
• If the wildcard tiebreakers shown are not correct, select, in order of priority, the appropriate wildcard tiebreakers. Click Clear to start over. Once all have been selected, click Done. If the wildcard tiebreakers shown were correct, click Skip.
• For multi-division leagues that award wildcard spots using an NFL-style 'best-in-division' method (e.g. MFL, Fleaflicker), when selecting wildcard tiebreakers firstly choose the appropriate 'BID' tiebreakers to determine which team among those tied in a division will be the 'best-in-division' representative. For example, a multi-division league using 'best-in-division' methods may have the following: H2HSWEEP, DIVRECORD, POINTS for division tiebreakers, and BIDH2HSWEEP, BIDDIVRECORD, BIDPOINTS, H2HSWEEP, POINTS for wildcard tiebreakers. 
• Tiebreakers can be saved for future reference for hosting sites in which the App cannot automatically import the tiebreakers.

To input or edit tiebreakers (iOS):

• Reference the android instructions for the general theme of the process. Select the division (if applicable) and wildcard tiebreakers in priority order. Note that if the league is multi-division, both the division and wildcard tiebreakers must be selected, even if only one needs to be changed.

Analysis / Calculation Options

Note the order of the options may vary between the android and iOS versions. Some options only apply to Premium users and/or non-Median league setups.

• Points League: Select if standings are sorted by league-points (e.g. soccer). If selected, additional options will appear to choose the amount of points awarded per win and tie.
• Tie Games: Select if the possibility of tie-games should be considered in the calculations. Unless ties are very common (e.g. soccer) it is recommended to leave this off until at least the last round or two.
• Division Winners Automatically In: For multi-division leagues only, if division winners receive a playoff berth automatically, this should be set to On.
• Wildcard / Playoff Spots: For multi-division leagues in which the division winners receive a playoff berth automatically, select the number of wildcard spots. For multi-conference leagues, this is per conference. For non-division leagues, this is the total number of playoff spots. Note this can be adjusted for some specific analysis, such as Top X that receive a bye, or avoidance of last place punishment, etc.
• Points Spots: If applicable, the number of additional wildcard spots awarded to leftover teams after record-based calculations.
• Bad / Good Score: If any points-related tiebreakers are used, select what would be horrible and exceptional scores. These will be used to determine whether any teams have unsurmountable leads or deficits for such tiebreakers. For most fantasy football leagues, these will not be relevant early in the season. These can be adjusted to show calculations with more realistic numbers or miracle needing ones.
• Manual Paths: Optional. Applicable if the league has bye weeks, plays doubleheaders, or a mid-week update is being calculated. Choose the X number of upcoming games to determine paths for. 
• Median Scoring: For leagues utilizing Median scoring, see below for limitations and more info.
• Show Paths-to-Tie: For leagues that utilize Median scoring or have points-related tiebreakers, it may be desirable to set this to Off as there may be so many different ways teams could end up in a yet-unresolved points tiebreaker making the 'Paths' reports overly complex.
• Deep Analysis: Required to display 'Paths'. Increases calculation time.
• Only Show Paths For X: If the Focus feature is activated, this option will only show 'Paths' for the specified team.
• Quick Calculations: For a quick estimation of odds, suitable for early in the season.
• Once all options and tiebreakers are set correctly, click the Analyze button. The process can be stopped by clicking the Home button if it has not progressed to the 'Paths' calculations. Note it may take a moment for the process to stop after clicking the Home button, and in the iOS version it is necessary to wait for confirmation that the process has stopped before proceeding.
• If SOV or SOS tiebreakers were used in calculations, depending on the exact scenario given at the time of calculations, a message may appear stating that the Analyze button has to be clicked again to complete calculations.

Analysis Results

Note that many of the features described only apply to Premium users.

Note that for points-based leagues (e.g. soccer) the use of the term 'wins' below refers to 'league-points'.

• There are two display options. The Team View shows interactive data for each team, and the League View shows overall data for all teams. The following descriptions apply to the League View but are relevant to both.
• For Premium users, if the App was unable to make calculations with certainty a note explaining that randomization methods were applied due to the number of remaining games will appear. 
• Division and Playoff Status: 'Clinched' & 'Eliminated' mean a team's status is certain. 'Poss. Clinched' & 'Poss. Eliminated' mean a team's status may not be completely certain due to the number of remaining games left to play where some randomization methods were applied to the calculations. Use of the Focus and/or 'what-if' features may verify their status.
• C: % and T: % indicate the mathematical odds for a team, 'C' shows the odds of clinching a spot either by record or by winning a tiebreaker, 'T' shows the odds of ending in a yet-unresolved points-related tiebreaker. A trailing asterisk indicates that the team can do no worse than end in such a tiebreak situation.
• MinIn: The minimum number of wins needed to have any chance. If randomization methods were applied, to have a realistically miniscule chance.
• GurIn: The number of wins that would guarantee a spot regardless of what else happens. If randomization methods were applied, to be all but certain to be in.
• MWO: Whether a team must win out to have any chance. If randomization methods were applied, extremely likely that they need to win out. In the iOS version, if a team's MinIn number is in red, this means they must win out.
• COD: Whether a team controls their own destiny. If randomization methods were applied, that they most likely control their own destiny. In the iOS version, if a team has a number in the GurIn column they control their own destiny.
• Targets: A projected win range likely necessary to make the playoffs and/or win their division. Teams without any targets are considered unlikely to achieve such. These are most relevant during the middle to latter part of the season, but become moot during the last round or two.
• Points-Based Wildcard Results: If applicable, additional calculations for leftover points-based spots are provided. These calculations are based on the Bad/Good scores selected in the Analysis Options section.

Paths

Note this is a Premium feature.

Note that depending on league size, number of remaining games, and exact scenario presented at time of calculations, if randomization methods were applied the 'Paths' may need verification with the Focus or 'what-if' features.

Note that only a limited number of 'Paths' for each team are displayed in the UI. A complete list is provided in the PDF report.

Note that for leagues utilizing Median scoring, the 'Paths' section can become quite complex quickly. The App attempts some simplification by displaying some similar paths with phrasing such as '... and gets favorable median results' so as not to list hundreds of very similar 'paths' separately.

PDF Report

• android: The default location is Internal Storage -> Documents -> playoff_computer.
• iOS: If multiple reports are generated the document file may need to be closed and re-opened for new reports to be displayed.

Additional Tiebreaker Info

The following tiebreakers are available. Note that, since those that involve points scored, which are non-firmable (i.e. don't directly correlate to winning or losing), the App stops calculations at the first such tiebreaker.

Tiebreakers prefaced with 'BID' refer to those used for wildcard selections in leagues using 'best-in-division' methods.

• H2HALL: Head-to-head applied regardless of whether all teams tied have played each other evenly.
• H2HEVEN: Head-to-head applied only if all teams tied have played each other evenly.
• H2HTWO: Head-to-head applied only if two teams are tied in a given scenario.
• H2HSWEEP: Head-to-head applied only if one team has swept the others, or been swept.
• CONFRECORD: Conference record.
• DIV RECORD: Division record.
• ALLPLAY: All-play wins.
• POINTS: Points for.
• POINTSAGHIGH: Points against (higher is better, used as a strength-of-schedule barometer by some hosting sites).
• PTSDIFF: Difference between points-for and points-against.
• GOALSDIFF: Difference between goals-for and goals-against, designed for soccer / hockey where actual scores of 3-2, 4-1, etc. are common.
• SOV: Strength of Victory. Note for large multi-conference leagues this tiebreaker causes the App to have to work through many more remaining games than would otherwise be needed.
• SOS: Strength of Schedule. Note for large multi-conference leagues this tiebreaker causes the App to have to work through many more remaining games than would otherwise be needed.
• FORCE: This is an internal tiebreaker used to go through scenarios for division winners in which a yet-unresolved points tiebreaker is encountered.
• RANDOM: This is an internal tiebreaker used if none are selected for the calculations.

Hosting Sites & Tiebreakers

The following is latest known information on how hosting sites apply certain tiebreakers:

• MFL: Uses a 'best-in-division' wildcard selection process. The default head-to-head tiebreaker is applied regardless whether or not the tied teams have played each other (H2HALL). Some commissioners use custom sorting to employ other head-to-head methods. Ensure the tiebreakers selected in the App for head-to-head matches the league rules.
• ESPN: Uses a 'standard' wildcard selection process. The head-to-head tiebreaker is only applied if all tied teams have played each other evenly (H2HEVEN).
• Sleeper: Uses a 'standard' wildcard selection process. The default tiebreakers are points-for and points-against. If custom sorting is used ensure the tiebreakers selected in the App match league rules.
• Fleaflicker: States they use a 'best-in-division' wildcard selection process. The Fleaflicker head-to-head tiebreaker is unique, as in the event of a tie between 3 or more teams, the H2H tiebreaker is only employed if one team would win or lose such over every other tied team individually. This method does not have an exact match in the App, H2HSWEEP will likely provide the closest match possible.
• Yahoo: Believed that a 'standard' wildcard selection process is used.
• Fantrax: Believed that a 'standard' wildcard selection process is used. Note that while Fantrax offers head-to-head as a tiebreaker, the Fantrax API does not provide any past game results data that would be needed by the App to calculate such.

FAQ / TMI

• Median Scoring. Due to the complexity of Median scoring calculations, the Premium subscription is required. League requirements are maximum of 12 teams in a non-division set-up, no bye-weeks or doubleheaders allowed unless those have already passed at time of calculations, tie-games cannot be considered, 'what-ifs' cannot be done, and a manual 'paths' number cannot be selected.
• Yahoo. Note users with multiple Yahoo accounts or that use a Google account to sign in to Yahoo often experience issues if the Yahoo account currently in use on the decice is not the smae as used for Yahoo Fantasy. Due Yahoo requires users to authorize the App to access their own league's data, troubleshooting is all but impossible for the developer. 
• FPL. Accessing data for FPL is relatively untested. The IOS version only support 'Draft' leagues.
• Sleeper: Note the App may only be able to import Sleeper league data after the draft has been conducted.
• Fantrax. The Fantrax API used to access league data is very limited in scope and data may be incomplete. It does not provide past results for the App to consider for head-to-head tiebreaker calculations, if applicable.
• MFL. Due to the vast customization and nuances of the MFL API, there is almost certainly a league set-up that hasn't been encountered by the App before. Please advise of any issues, fixes are usually simple.
• Reality Sports Online. RSO data import is only available on the android version. RSO requires log-in for a user to access their own leagues' data, making troubleshooting by the developer a near impossibility.

Google Sheets

To use the Google Sheets companion and import league data from it, follow these instructions:

• Get the Template here.
• Make a copy of the Sheet (File -> Make a Copy). This likely requires a Google account.
• Enter data as necessary following the guidance on the Sheet.
• Via 'Share' change view access to the sheet (File -> Share -> Share With Others -> General Access -> 'Anyone with the link..').
• Optional, Publish the Sheet (File -> Publish to the Web or File -> Share -> Publish to the Web). This allows import to Excel or for a website link.
• Close the Sheet by going to the Sheets Home page, then re-open the Sheet.
• Using the URL link shown in the browser, cut and copy the Sheet KEY, which is the characters inside the full URL between the slash after 'spreadsheets/d/' and the following slash. Do not include the slashes.
• Paste this KEY into the App under the Sheets option.
• Recommend saving this KEY as the Saved League ID for future use.

Pro Tips

The following may increase the functionality and enjoyment of the App.

• The 'Paths' readability will be significantly improved when team names are either abbreviations or brief.
• As a general guide for fantasy football leagues, there is no need to select 'Deep Analysis' for the first 6-7 weeks of the season, as it is unlikely any team will be close to clinching or being eliminated. 
• If the primary tiebreaker is points-related, it is not near the end of season, and it is desired to have simplified odds display (without the 'T'), manually set the tiebreakers and click 'Done' without selecting any tiebreakers. Generally speaking the calculations of the points-related tiebreakers only come into play for the last 3-4 weeks of the season.
• The subreddit r/playoffcomputer has additional tips & tricks for doing analysis on professional leagues.