Yahoo Bankroll Challenge, Week 19: Always Check Your Phone Before Lock

For more information on the Yahoo Bankroll Challenge and to read the recap from each week, click here.

Last week, I discussed how MLB is one of my favorite daily fantasy sports because of my historical return on investment. Usually, the fantasy gods hit you with some negative variance after such a statement, but not this week! 

I had two massive MLB days in Week 19, pushing my bankroll -- which started at $0, again as a reminder -- over the $100 mark for the first time. We’re still $9900 away from the ultimate goal, but it’s admittedly the first time I’ve actually thought, “Hey, I can do this.”

Here’s where we sit after 19 weeks:

Week 18 starting $ balance: $67.05
Week 19 ending $ balance: $105.72
Week 18 starting YSRP balance: 284
Week 19 ending YSRP balance: 323

Here are some of the strategies I used this week with advice on how to implement them on other DFS sites:

Strategy #1: No matter which sport it is, just check your phone before lock

You always hear about how important it is to be on your phone or at your computer before NBA locks. With all of the last minute injury reporting, you simply cannot be a profitable NBA DFS player if you aren’t reacting to pre-lock news. 

But you don’t hear how important it is to just *check* your phone before lock in other sports, even if your lineups are already finished. Usually, there isn’t any news or changes. But sometimes a bomb drops out of nowhere and changes the entire slate. Maybe a player is scratched from the lineup, a UFC fighter drops out of a fight, or a player withdraws from a tournament (hopefully before lock!! @PGA @FBI) 

Last night, PHI pitcher Vince Velasquez was scratched from his start about 10 minutes before lock. It was an absolutely garbage slate for pitching, and this news just made it even worse. But if you checked your phone and just swapped to literally any random starting pitcher on the slate, you would drastically increase your chances of cashing. In my $1 leagues last night, Velasquez was rostered in 35% of lineups. 

When late news hits in non-NBA sports -- especially on small slates! -- your potential ROI skyrockets if you’re able to make a simple adjustment. 

How to implement this on FanDuel or DraftKings: Somehow find the time to check your phone or computer briefly a couple times before a slate locks. Have Twitter alerts set up for your most trusted news sources so you’re notified whenever the unexpected happens.

Week 19’s Pivotal Moment

On Tuesday, I entered 9 lineups (all $1 No Veteran 3-max 114-player leagues) across three MLB slates. I cashed every single one, resulting in a ridiculous $23 profit -- roughly 35% of my pre-Tuesday bankroll. 

This is why we play high-risk contests, and this is why we prioritize leagues in the early stages of bankroll building. A couple attainable first place finishes single handedly boost your bankroll to the next tier.

Next Steps

I wasn’t anticipating getting to the next bankroll level so quickly, so I’ll need to analyze how I want to proceed. I’ll continue hammering the $1 3-max No Veteran contests for all reasonably-sized MLB slates, but I need to determine if a bigger risk/reward is needed in addition to those contests to accelerate my bankroll. Stay tuned.

For any questions about the bankroll challenge, hit up Brian on Twitter. For more information on bankroll management, contest selection, and long-term DFS strategy, read our flagship e-book, The Ultimate Guide.