RotoRounder Blog: Playoffs!? Playoffs?!
The RotoRounder Blog
January 8th, 2010
About the Writer: Mike T., AKA “rototrain” is a 33 year old fantasy fanatic from New York and plays both daily and yearly fantasy sports. He’s been playing fantasy sports since 1993 before the internet kept track of stats. Mike enjoys all fantasy sports, but focuses mainly on MLB, and NFL. He has recently delved into the world of fantasy basketball. “Rototrain” is a huge Steeler, Islander, and Yankee fan, and in his spare time plays poker. In addition to playing fantasy sports, Mike also loves to play competitive baseball and softball. Mike is currently engaged, and is planning a wedding with his fiance Ashly for this summer.
Playoffs!? Playoffs!?
That’s right, it is playoff time in the NFL, and I am going in with guarded optimism. Going into last weekend, the bankroll was way down, but after a “successful” Sunday we are looking pretty good going into the NFL playoffs! More so, I feel I am getting stronger in NBA by the day. I feel I have come a long way in just a few weeks. Would you believe that three weeks ago I didn’t know what team John Wall was on. And now, I know who the backup small forward is for the Charlotte Bobcats (Gerald Henderson). If I would have spent as much time studying when I was in school, as I do on fantasy sports, I could have been a doctor or doing something where I made enough money that I wouldn’t have to spend so much time studying sports. And if you were able to understand that last sentence after reading it only once, then you are probably pretty intelligent. Maybe I should be sleeping at 1:00 A.M. on a Sunday night, instead of writing a blog. Too be honest, I just got finished watching that “playoff” game between the Craphawks and the Rams and was feeling pretty excited.
Why am I excited? The bankroll is back! Well not exactly back, but I have some funds to play with now and I don’t have to make the dreaded trip to the PayPal website. There is nothing worse than losing your bankroll. It’s kinda like having to make that long walk to the ATM at the Borgata in Atlantic City after some drunk kid just called you down with a pair of Kings with an 8 kicker because he “was feeling it.” Poker, like fantasy sports is another passion of mine. And like fantasy sports, requires an element of luck, mixed in with skill. I actually used to be pretty good, but then the risk was outweighing the reward. I even took down a few big Borgata tournaments. Unfortunately, I started losing, lost confidence, didn’t play as much, and then realized I was the donkey at the table. So with the wedding coming up, my focus is squarely on fantasy sports.
Bankroll at 12/29/10
| Sport | Entry Fee | Won/Lost/Place | Date | $ Bankroll |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NBA | $25 (5) man | Lost | 28-Dec | $29 |
| NBA | $25 Heads Up | Lost | 28-Dec | $29 |
| NBA | $10 (20) man | Lost | 28-Dec | $29 |
| NBA | $10 Wed Slam | 145th 274 pts | 29-Dec | $29 |
| NBA | $10 Wed Slam | 12th 321 pts! | 29-Dec | $74 |
Bankroll at 01/10/2010
| Sport | Entry Fee | Won/Lost/Place | Date | $ Bankroll |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NHL | $10 New Years Tourney | Got Crushed (I don’t know hockey) | 1/1/11 | $64 |
| NFL | $50 Heads Up | Won | 1/2/11 | $154 |
| NBA | $10 5 player | Won | 1/4/11 | $199 |
| NBA | $10 5 player | Won | 1/4/11 | $244 |
| NBA | $10 Wed Slam | 3 entries-Lost | 1/5/11 | $214 |
Focus
As you can see above, I have been on a little bit of a roll. It’s about time! As of this writing, it is Wednesday night and I entered three teams in the NBA Slam, hoping to finish in the money. I did not have time to put a lot of research time into it, so I am hoping for the best. I have been putting up between 250-300 points in NBA over the past week, so I am starting to get the hang of it. It’s Thursday night as I write this, and just got home from work. I didn’t fare well in last night’s NBA Slam. I had a whopping 329 points, yet didn’t come close to sniffing the top ten money. Many players had big nights, so the scoring was plentiful.
My focus now is on this weekend’s NFL games. I play in a playoff fantasy pool that requires you to put a team together that will last throughout the playoffs. You get to choose one player per team, so that is where the strategy comes into. I am leaning heavily towards Drew Brees, as I see him playing a burnable Falcons secondary after this weekends cakewalk vs the Seahawks. I feel fairly confident in Brees. Running Back for me was the toughest decision. In my opinion, there is not a top eight running back in the whole bunch. I decided to go with the backs who should play at least two games and could provide big numbers; They are Ray Rice, and Benjarvis Green-Ellis. Wide Receiver was a position I felt very confident about. Mike Wallace was a no-brainer, as was Roddy White. The third wideout was where it became challenging. Ultimately, I went with Greg Jennings over a potentially slowed Marques Colston. Jennings has been extremely consistent recently and rounds out an awesome WR core. I didn’t have much choice at Tight End, as the only options were Tamme, Graham, and Heap. As I stated before, you can only have one player per team. It should be an exciting weekend of NFL football. I am a Steeler fan, so I am anxiously waiting to see who their opponent will be. I am thinking it will Peyton Manning and the Colts. Good luck to all of you in your playoff pools!
Until next week…