Yahoo Bankroll Challenge, Week 22: Treading Water Between Wins

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

Apologies for the lack of updates over the last couple of weeks, as I was out of town and I’m just getting back into the swing of things. 

We’re directly in the heart of the MLB grind, but like the first six months of this challenge, time is flying by and NFL will be here before we know it. 

The Yahoo bankroll is at a season-high of $138 after a handful of losing slates preceding a big day yesterday. The question remains -- at what point do we press the action to accelerate the progress towards $10K?  

Here’s where we sit after 22 weeks:

Week 19 starting $ balance: $105.72
Week 21 ending $ balance: $138.22
Week 19 starting YSRP balance: 323
Week 21 ending YSRP balance: 444

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

Strategy #1: Having a long-term outlook in a daily environment

Almost as important as building good lineups or selecting the right contests, having a realistic and unassailable mindset is vital to being a winning long-term DFS player. In the Week 7 update, I discussed having realistic expectations for how often you should be winning when playing mostly high-risk contests. Knowing the probabilities and actually dealing with the losses are two completely different skills, though. 

In fact, most DFS players go broke or quit the game because they have a couple of bad nights in a row. They either say “fuck this shit” and stop playing or they enter larger contests to try to get their money back. Yeah good luck with that.

I’m not going to lie -- when the inevitable “here we go, it feels like I’m never going to win another contest ever again” streak hits, it can be tough not to spiral into thinking you’ve lost your edge in DFS. This is especially true when you’re playing for larger amounts than this Yahoo bankroll challenge. 

But seriously, it always turns around as long as you stick to your long-term gameplan. You hear the phrases “just stay alive” or “tread water” as advice to hold steady through a rough patch, but DFS isn’t a competition with live decisions or some physical activity where you can mentally will your way through to the light at the end of the tunnel. Once the games lock, it’s completely out of your control and you can’t “will” anything. 

So how do we tread water during our downswings? Focus on the process, review your lineup strategies, study your contests post-lock, and continue to monitor your contest selection. 

I say all of this because I was stuck at or below the $100 for weeks (since the last update) wondering if I’ll ever break through to get to the next bankroll tier. It just so happens...

How to implement this on FanDuel or DraftKings: If you’ve read our Ultimate Guide or any previous bankroll challenge updates, you know the importance of developing a long-term DFS plan that caters to your goals. Do not beat yourself up during losing streaks. Continue to tie every decision you make back to your long-term plan. If you have to, write a sticky note next to your desk or computer that says, “A win is coming.” Because it is.

Week 22’s Pivotal Moment

That breakthrough occurred yesterday when I won a contest on pretty much every slate I entered, good for a $30+ return. When you’re playing multiple slates and some of your lineups overlap, you’re going to have some huge days when everything goes right. That day was yesterday, thank you Miami Marlins.

Next Steps

We’re still two months from the start of the NFL season, so no new sports to tackle. I’m considering adding a $5 single entry contest to my daily exposures, but I have no clue what it takes to win those contests. I’ll monitor the lineup constructions of similar (cheaper) contests to know if I need to modify my current lineup building approach.

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.