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Bullpen Bracket Skill

This is a live example of the AI agent skill format. For the full format specification, see AI Agent Skill Format Specification.

Instructions

Step 1: Identify What the User Wants to Do

Route to the right section based on intent:

User Intent Go To
Find bracket contests List Contests
See the full tournament bracket Display Tournament Bracket
Submit picks (one or many) Submit a Single Pick
Fill entire bracket automatically Auto-Fill Bracket
Fill from a JSON file Fill from File
See bracket summary View Bracket Summary
Set tiebreaker score Submit Tiebreaker
See standings / my rank View Leaderboard / View Your Status
Check game outcomes View Game Results
See Polymarket market mappings View Polymarket Market Mappings
Strategy help Strategy Templates

Read references/bracket-contest.md for full command reference, slot ID format, scoring rules, strategy templates, and the automated fill script.

Step 2: Key Rules

  • Authentication required for all write operations (picks, tiebreaker). Run bullpen login first.
  • Slot IDs follow the format R{round}_{region}_{game}. Get exact slot IDs from bullpen polymarket bracket bracket-view <id>.
  • Team names support fuzzy matching — you can use short names like "Duke", "Illinois", "Michigan St" instead of full university names. The CLI resolves against the server's team list.
  • R2+ picks work — for later-round matchups where opponents are TBD, the CLI resolves team names against all tournament entries.
  • Round-by-round submission — fill-chalk and fill submit picks round by round (R1 first, then R2-R6) with automatic fallback to individual submission if a batch fails.
  • Dry-run mode — use --dry-run on fill-chalk or fill to preview picks without submitting.
  • Consistency warnings — picking a team in R2+ that you didn't pick to advance from the previous round triggers a warning (non-blocking).
  • Tiebreaker is the predicted total points in the championship game. Submit after filling all 63 picks.
  • All commands support --output json for scripting and automation.

Step 3: Execute

Run commands via bullpen CLI. Bracket commands are all under bullpen polymarket bracket.

Quick Command Map

Intent Command
List open contests bullpen polymarket bracket contests --status open
View contest details bullpen polymarket bracket view <CONTEST_ID>
Display bracket tree bullpen polymarket bracket bracket-view <CONTEST_ID>
View my picks bullpen polymarket bracket picks <CONTEST_ID>
View picks for one round bullpen polymarket bracket picks <CONTEST_ID> --round 1
Submit one pick bullpen polymarket bracket pick <CONTEST_ID> --slot <SLOT> --winner "Duke"
Preview chalk bracket bullpen polymarket bracket fill-chalk <CONTEST_ID> --dry-run
Auto-fill chalk bracket bullpen polymarket bracket fill-chalk <CONTEST_ID> --tiebreaker 145
Fill from JSON file bullpen polymarket bracket fill <CONTEST_ID> --file picks.json
View bracket summary bullpen polymarket bracket summary <CONTEST_ID>
Submit tiebreaker bullpen polymarket bracket submit <CONTEST_ID> --tiebreaker <SCORE>
View leaderboard bullpen polymarket bracket leaderboard <CONTEST_ID>
My rank and score bullpen polymarket bracket status <CONTEST_ID>
Game results bullpen polymarket bracket results <CONTEST_ID>
Polymarket mappings bullpen polymarket bracket markets <CONTEST_ID>

Examples

Example 1: Fill a Full Bracket (Chalk Strategy)

User says: "Fill my March Madness bracket picking the higher seed every time"

Actions: 1. Find the active contest: bullpen polymarket bracket contests --status open --output json 2. Auto-fill all 63 picks with chalk (higher seed always wins): bullpen polymarket bracket fill-chalk <CONTEST_ID> --tiebreaker 145 3. Review the bracket summary: bullpen polymarket bracket summary <CONTEST_ID> 4. Override specific picks if desired: bullpen polymarket bracket pick <CONTEST_ID> --slot R1_E2 --winner "TCU" 5. Verify: bullpen polymarket bracket picks <CONTEST_ID>

Example 2: Fill a Bracket with a Specific Champion

User says: "Fill my bracket with Duke winning it all"

Actions: 1. Find contest: bullpen polymarket bracket contests --status open --output json 2. Start with chalk base: bullpen polymarket bracket fill-chalk <CONTEST_ID> --tiebreaker 152 3. Override Duke's path to the championship — work backwards from R6: - bullpen polymarket bracket pick <CONTEST_ID> --slot R6_CH1 --winner "Duke" - bullpen polymarket bracket pick <CONTEST_ID> --slot R5_FF1 --winner "Duke" - (continue for Elite 8, Sweet 16, etc.) 4. Review: bullpen polymarket bracket summary <CONTEST_ID> 5. Verify all 63 picks: bullpen polymarket bracket picks <CONTEST_ID>

Example 3: Check Standings Mid-Tournament

User says: "How am I doing in the bracket contest?"

Actions: 1. Quick overview: bullpen polymarket bracket summary <CONTEST_ID> 2. Check your rank: bullpen polymarket bracket status <CONTEST_ID> 3. View recent results: bullpen polymarket bracket results <CONTEST_ID> 4. See leaderboard: bullpen polymarket bracket leaderboard <CONTEST_ID> 5. Compare max possible points vs current leader to assess your path to winning

Example 4: Fill from a JSON File

User says: "I have my picks in a file, submit them all"

Actions: 1. Create a picks file (picks.json): 

{
  "picks": [
    {"slot": "R1_E1", "winner": "Duke"},
    {"slot": "R1_E2", "winner": "TCU"},
    {"slot": "R1_E3", "winner": "Illinois"}
  ],
  "tiebreaker": 148
}
2. Submit: bullpen polymarket bracket fill <CONTEST_ID> --file picks.json 3. Team names support fuzzy matching — "Duke", "Illinois", "Michigan St" all work. 4. Verify: bullpen polymarket bracket summary <CONTEST_ID>

March Madness Quick Reference

64 teams, 4 regions (East, West, South, Midwest), 63 total picks

Round Games Pts/Pick Max Pts
First Round 32 1 32
Second Round 16 2 32
Sweet 16 8 4 32
Elite 8 4 8 32
Final Four 2 16 32
Championship 1 32 32
Total 63 — 192

Historic upset rates (Round 1): - 12 over 5: ~35% - 11 over 6: ~37% - 10 over 7: ~40% - 13 over 4: ~21% - 14 over 3: ~15% - 15 over 2: ~6% - 16 over 1: ~1% (has happened once in history)

Troubleshooting

Error Fix
"Not authenticated" Run bullpen login
"Contest not found" Run bullpen polymarket bracket contests to get valid IDs
"Invalid slot ID" Use bracket-view --output json to get exact slot IDs
"No team matching..." Check team names with bracket-view. Fuzzy matching works for short names ("Duke", "UNC")
"Ambiguous team name..." Be more specific — the error lists matching candidates
"Warning: ... not picked to advance" Consistency warning — your later-round pick doesn't match an earlier pick. Non-blocking.
"Picks deadline passed" Contest is closed — check bracket-view for deadline field
Command not found Run bullpen upgrade to get the latest version

Full Reference

See references/bracket-contest.md for: - Complete command syntax and all flags - Full slot ID format specification - All strategy templates (chalk, upset-heavy, custom champion, contrarian) - Automated fill script - Polymarket market mapping usage

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