Yahoo Bankroll Challenge, Week 9: The First “Big” Win

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

In my last edition of this column in Week 7, I was down to a lowly $5.85 in my Yahoo account. Now that’s not bad when you started from $0, but it’s depressing when your account was once at $16.85. 

Well, just how in that edition I discussed the probability of losing streaks, we also need to recognize the opposite end of the spectrum actually occurs, too. Since Week 7, I’ve cashed two “huge” NHL lineups for $10 and $14 profit respectively, skyrocketing my bankroll to $28.85 nine weeks into the challenge. 

Week 9 starting $ balance: $5.85
Week 9 ending $ balance: $28.85
Week 9 starting YSRP balance: 80
Week 9 ending YSRP balance: 99

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

Strategy #1: Creating simple spreadsheets for smaller DFS sites

One of the major advantages -- and disadvantages -- of playing on smaller DFS sites is that there isn’t a ton of content available to give out top plays and lineup strategies. It’s a blessing in the sense that most of your opponents will be flying blindly, but if you rely on content or someone else’s models, you can miss out on easy opportunities if they don’t cover the site where you’re playing.

Fortunately, it’s easy to overcome this obstacle by creating a simple spreadsheet and comparing the projections or values of each player to the pricing on your smaller DFS site. For example, I can download (or copy/paste) the NHL Occupy Model for each slate, put it in a spreadsheet, grab the Yahoo salaries for each player, and see where pricing is off on Yahoo compared to FanDuel & DraftKings. 

If you’re not savvy with spreadsheets or data mining, it may be a manual process, but it’s worth the effort to help you find players who are exclusively good plays on smaller sites. 

Because Yahoo rarely changes prices and the salary structure is different, each slate I’m able to identify under-the-radar stacks and players because they’re not deemed good plays by most projection systems on major content sites. 

How to implement this on FanDuel or DraftKings: The key takeaway here is knowing how pricing impacts lineup construction and player selection for each slate on different sites. Be cognizant of how a player is priced on FD vs DK and understand that just because they’re a good play on one site doesn’t mean they’re a good play on another.

Week 9’s Pivotal Moment

Doubling my bankroll twice was pretty pivotal, so easy choice here. 

Although, I somehow made the mistake of forgetting to set my PGA lineups AGAIN. It wasn’t so bad the first time since it was a freeroll, but this time it was for a paid $1 league. Absolute cause for cancelation. 

I was incredibly busy Wednesday and knew I’d be spending deep into the night making PGA lineups for my actual income-producing contests on FD and DK. As a result, I completely forgot about my Yahoo PGA lineup.

The takeaway? If your schedule isn’t ideal, do not enter contests -- a rushed lineup (or no lineup at all fml) is usually never a good thing.

Next Steps

Despite the big bankroll increase, I won’t be changing my play much. I’m now much more comfortable in playing the $1 and $2 NHL leagues I’ve been playing, and any increase in bankroll allocation could quickly revert my bankroll to where it was two weeks ago. Once I cross the $50 threshold, I’ll begin to evaluate expanding my play.

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.