So, You Had a Bad Day
You may or may not believe it, but sooner or later, this daily fantasy game is going to smack you around a little. Take a look at that glorious table to the right. Yeah, that’s my league summary on Draftstreet from Monday night. It’s ugly. Not a single cash in the bunch. Oh sure, the 3/10 on row two looks like a cash, until you see that it was my free league where I was testing a different lineup. It sure was nice of that team to produce a few StreetCreds. It almost makes up for the $253 in lost entry fees. Almost.
A lot is written about winning and keeping your emotions in check after a big score. Those concepts are magnified when viewed from the losing side. I employ a single lineup strategy. I build the best one I can and enter it across all contests, assuming variability in my opponents will lead to some ups and downs, but when I’m right, it pays well. That said, when I’m wrong it looks a little something like this.
Now what?
That’s the real question. After a successful evening, the inclination is to go hard again the next day. If that’s the route you choose, at least you have a freshly-padded bankroll with which to do so. When you have a washout day, how you attack the subsequent day(s) can determine whether you have to visit the deposit window or not. From my perspective, here are the options:
1)Go Home
Yeah, you could quit. Cash out what’s left of your bankroll and go buy some Skittles and a 40 of Schlitz. You could do that, but quitting is for, well, quitters…and not nearly as fun.
2) Double Down
Daily Fantasy is a game of ups and downs. Regardless of how well or poorly you did yesterday, you have a chance to do just the opposite the next day. So, if you have a washout day, you could double your normal amount of play and get it all back…or wash out again. Let me tell you a story. I have a buddy that likes to play the roulette wheel. He actually believes he can predict the red/black result (he can’t, but he thinks he can). He actually did pretty well last month…until he didn’t. He was up about $1,700 over a weekend and then lost two consecutive spins, then he double down again…and again, until he had played back $900. Don’t be that guy.
3) Take it Easy
Confidence shaken and bankroll damaged, perhaps it’s best to play lightly for a day. Guard your bankroll a bit and try to earn back some self-respect. Of course, what if the day you choose to take it easy you post a monster number? Then you’ll beat yourself up for not playing that lineup hard. There’s really no upside here as either way you’re going to question yourself at day’s end.
4) Take a Break
Yesterday just wasn’t your day. Take a day off and regroup, then hit ‘em hard tomorrow. That’s a useful option, but especially in a daily game, like baseball, taking a day off can remove your finger from the pulse of the league. Who’s hot? Who’s cold? You get to know these things by playing everyday. Is one day off going to leave you completely disconnected? No, but it’s not going to help you either.
5) Keep on Grinding
You take the ups with the downs in this game. Long-term success requires confident lineup selection and sound bankroll management. Provided that what you’ve been doing has been working, there’s no reason to take the previous day’s results as anything other than a bump in the road.
You have to know yourself, but this is the best path in my opinion. In fact, that’s the best part of the daily fantasy game – tomorrow’s a new season. Everyone starts at zero. So, dust yourself off, put your cap back on and get out there. That’s what I’m doing. Today has to be better than yesterday…it can’t get much worse.
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RotoKevin is a Top 100 Ranked Grinder, who started climbing the rankings during MLB season of 2011. Rotokevin’s been playing fantasy sports long enough to have owned two generations of Griffeys, Barfields and Fielders. He’s captured seasonal league glory in all four major sports, though claims no particular knowledge of the NHL. He’s dabbled in non-mainstream fantasy sports such as soccer and golf and once attempted NASCAR with spectacular failure. He’s a man of the people and you’ll frequently find him in the $5 and $11-level games at your favorite daily sports site…you know, provided your favorite site is DraftStreet.