The RotoRounder: The Bankroll's Back!

by Mike T (rototrain) Last Updated 2011-03-23 21:19:12

The RotoRounder

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._

The Bankroll’s Back

1/30/11 – 11:56 P.M.

It’s been a little while since the last blog, so for anyone that actually reads this; I apologize for keeping you in suspense. Although, if you are actually waiting with bated breath for my blog, then you probably have some other issues to deal with besides fantasy sports.

Last entry I told you about a trip to Atlantic City, and my beloved Steelers. Well, the trip was a success (I won a poker tourney) and the Steelers beat the Jets (sorry K-dogg and Stretch). In addition, I focused on the difficulty of “RotoGrinding” and the management of a bankroll.

Well, forget about the nervous uncertainty that surrounded the bottom-line in my last bankroll entry…the bankroll is back! After a successful week of NBA grinding, the magic number currently sits at $224…after a $249 withdrawal! Included in said results, is an 18th place finish in the Wednesday NBA Slam with 318 points.

I have been putting the time in, I’ve been doing the research, and it is starting to pay off. I normally would not withdraw any money while on such a mission…but unfortunately the fiance’ got wind of my victory on Wednesday, and put the pressure on to drop some of the winnings into the wedding fund. With $100 invested in Sunday games, I am all the way down to $114, and have to be sure to conserve enough for Wednesday’s Slam. Although, the issues that Fanduel has been having with major tournaments lately is scaring me away a little bit…

I have now had issues two weeks in a row! And while Fanduel has been good in the past with righting their wrongs, they have missed the boat a bit recently. Like a fool, I sat up and rooted for my team to win a $225 match the other night until the final game of the night, only to find out the next morning that the scores were all wrong, and that in fact, I had lost. Now, losing was not the issue; My issue was that I went ahead and withdrew money based upon what I saw (which was a victorious team) and made plans for that $225 (give it to the future wifey) only to find out that my account would not be credited. Fanduel is the main game in town right now, but if they don’t clean up the website, it could cost them if a better product comes along. Perhaps a website that has less technical issues and takes a smaller rake per match.

Now that I am done venting, I would really like to focus on how I have managed my bankroll. Similar to poker, there is a strategy to playing with a short stack as opposed to a huge roll like some of the top grinders, like GeneralV, Ohmsy, and newcomer Iwasoncelost.

With a short bankroll, bang for your buck is very important. I play the $5, 10 man matches and the $10, 10 man matches. These contests provide for low-risk with a decent reward. Once you start to build the bankroll up a little bit, then you can start taking shots in the $25 10 man where a victory will give you a lot of wiggle room…which is exactly what I was able to do. My bankroll is now up over $500 for the first time in a long while.

I got lucky in the Wednesday Slam, and was able to parlay a strong Wednesday into a few $25 multi-player matches. Now, the key of course, is to put together a winning team at the right time. I am pretty confident that this probably won’t help you at all, because without a winning team, advice is useless. You have to do the research and get a little lucky. Just like poker!

Bankroll As of Week of 1/24: