Run the book. Mom takes the rake.

Create a pool, name it, set the due date, pick a currency. Add a cover image if you want the pool to feel like yours.

Drop in your Venmo handle so guests get a one-tap pay link with the right amount and a matching note prefilled. Set Mom’s rake (most pools run 5–10%; the wizard warns you if you pick 100%). Set a close window so late ultrasounds don’t hand inside info to nearby family — the default auto-locks the pool 6 weeks before due. You can also set a suggested default bet, a stake min/max, and a per-gambler cap if you want guardrails.

Default markets cover the staples: gender, weight, length, hair color, eye color, labor duration, delivery type, time of day, days from due date. Add custom markets for inside jokes (“will Dad faint?”).

Outcomes need probabilities that sum to 100% per market. PushPool refuses to lock a half-configured pool — no surprises at settle time. You can edit markets, outcomes, and priors any time before the pool locks from the Markets tab.

Optional, but worth the two minutes. Drop in Mom and Dad’s hair color, eye color, height, and previous baby weights if any. PushPool uses this to tune the prior probabilities on the relevant markets — “both parents are brown-eyed” shifts Eye Color’s prior away from a flat 50/50.

You can also leave Mom and Dad’s personal picks per market — those render as a small heart next to the outcome. Decorative only; they don’t move the odds. Want a co-parent to edit picks alongside you? Invite them as a partner from Settings — they get to manage picks and nothing else.

Every pool gets a six-character join code and a share link. Drop it in the family group chat. Guests don’t need accounts — they enter a name and they’re in.

Your pool overview shows the live pot, bet count, and a running list of who’s in. Anchor it to the top of the chat — and reshare often. Pools thin out without ten-plus bettors; the share button is the quiet hero of every pool.

Every bet gets a four-character code like A7K2. The bettor’s receipt fires a Venmo link prefilled with the stake and a note that reads PushPool A7K2. They send the money, tap “I sent it,” and the bet lands in your “Payments to confirm” queue.

Open Venmo, find the matching transfer, tap Confirm received. Your check is what makes the bet count.

By default the pool auto-locks 6 weeks before the due date — set the window in the wizard or in Settings. Want to freeze the line earlier (the ultrasound came back too informative)? Tap Lock betting on the pool overview any time. Locked = no new bets, no edits, odds frozen for everyone.

Late payments are fine after lock. Anything still unpaid at settle gets surfaced for you to either confirm or void per bet.

When you’re ready — could be hours after the birth, could be a week — tap each market and mark the actual outcome. Do it all in one sitting; partial settlement isn’t a thing. The pool sits quietly in “Locked” until you’re ready. PushPool computes payouts.

If any bets are still unpaid when you settle, you’ll get an unpaid-resolution queue first. Per bet: mark it paid (you got the money offline) or void it. Only paid bets count toward the pot.

Each winning bet shows the exact payout owed with a one-tap Venmo deeplink. Pay each, check it off. The pool stays open afterward — drop in baby photos above the leaderboard, watch reactions stack up. Download a CSV or JSON of the whole book for record-keeping, or grab the shareable PNG to post the final results in the group chat.

Mom’s rake comes off the top. PushPool never takes a cut — that line stays uncrossed.