Right now we are closing in on our goal of 70 full leagues between the $150 and $375 formats, which is exactly how many leagues we had last year. Once we go over 70 leagues, we'll start adding to the overall prize pool, including the grand prize. Right now the guarantee is at $10,000 and that could grow, depending on the number of additional leagues. Great job everyone and thanks for all your support in this very cool format.
I think this year's drafts have gone very well so far as the majority of them have been finishing in about three weeks. I can see a lot of leagues being completed in 20-21 days; some up to 24 days. The 4-Hour DCs have been done in 6-7 days, and no more than 10 days. The DC Expresses have been completed in 4 1/2 hours to 4 hours. WOW.
But we have a lot of new members jumping into this format now, so I thought I'd re-run a post I ran in November when we first started these drafts. Please read below so that you are ready to rock 'n roll when you jump into a DC. The key to making these work is COMMUNICATION, COMMUNICATION, COMMUNICATION. Just let the other owners know when you'll be able to draft and that will help everyone plan their days and nights accordingly. If everyone is on the same page, you should get through 2-3 rounds per day and not really have too much time spent at the computer. Thanks all.
Here you go:
Okay, here are some tips to prepare for the upcoming Draft Champions season and some etiquette tips. These can be fun if you follow three simple rules: PREPAREDNESS, COMMUNICATION and RESPECT.
First, please realize that the reason these have 8 hours per pick is that we want everyone to sleep well at night and not fret about holding up the draft. We also want you to work during the day and not worry about holding up the draft if you can't get to a computer. But that doesn't mean you should take 8 hours to ANALYZE a pick. Since every pick is being emailed to you, it shouldn't be so tough to know 3 or 4 picks before you who is next up on your wish list and if needed take a little time to analyze the pros and cons of those available players and then make a pick. Waiting for more information is legal, but at some point we all just have to make a decision and make that pick.
These leagues usually take around 21-23 days to complete. You should get through at least 2 rounds per day. If we're slower than that after several rounds, please contact me and I'll push some participants a little. I can tell you from experience that making fun of an owner or calling certain owners names in the draft room to get them moving NEVER works. A phone call from me usually works a little better.
And you know what? Sometimes even that doesn't work, but all of you should know that I will step in and contact any owner if it helps move things along a little bit at the least. So reach out to me before the insults ruin the drafting experience.As Todd and others have said before, the best part of these "slow drafts" is the camaraderie in the Chat Room. This is like a mini-social network where you have three weeks to talk about certain players, ask for feedback on your picks, talk about certain teams, and get to know like-minded baseball die-hards in a unique setting. It really is fun and these leagues are a blast to manage during the season. ENJOY the entire experience.
Now, that being said, there are easy ways to make solid picks in a timely fashion. Let's start with PREPAREDNESS.
PREPAREDNESS
** Once your league is set up, go to Draft and pull down to Draft Prep. That is the player default listing that will show up in your draft room. If you leave it as is, it will remain as the NFBC's player default list. But if you'd like to customize this based on your rankings, you can set this up so that the player default list comes up with YOUR rankings. And the best thing is that each time you enter a new NFBC online league, your Draft Prep list will load into the draft software. It does take a little while to move players around the way you want them, but each time you enter a new league you can tweak your lists and YOUR players will always be ranked the way you want them. Please take the time to do this and trust me you will never have to Search for players when it's time to make a crucial pick.
** Que List: This is very important for these Draft Champions Leagues. If you have players you want in the upcoming round, feel free to put them in your Que list. Just highlight the player and click the Que button and they will move over there. If I had the 4th overall pick in today's draft, I'd set my list up with Mike Trout, Ryan Braun, Miguel Cabrera and Matt Kemp in that order in my Que. I'd then click on Round 1 Auto and when my turn came up the computer would automatically pick the highest available player. It would take seconds to make my selection and I'd get the top player on my list. The Round 1 Auto would then turn off after my pick and the next time up I'd be back on an 8-hour clock. This is just one great example of how it can work. If I was at work and I was three picks away, again I'd set my 3 most desired players aside in my Que and wait until it's my turn to pick. Not using Round 1 Auto this time, I'd get emails of the next picks and when it was my turn to pick I'd have an easy decision between the players still left in my Que. Heck, I could take an hour to think that one over, but at the end of the day the top players would be right there for me and I could make my pick in a timely fashion. The Que IS YOUR FRIEND!! Use it. I promise you can't be hurt by putting players in your Que because they also remain in the Player Default List.
** Round 1 Auto: There are two boxes you can check under the Que List: Round 1 Auto and Auto. Round 1 Auto allows you to pick JUST ONE PLAYER automatically based on the players in your Que. It takes the top player there. If all of your players in your Que are gone, it would take the top player from the default list, but the goal is to have enough players in your default list. When your turn comes up, the computer automatically takes the top player in your Que and then it goes off Round 1 Auto. It just picks once. If you click on Auto, it will automatically make every pick immediately when you're on the clock. It will first take players from your Que and if there are no players in your Que it will take the top player from the player default list. I'd only check that if you are in the final rounds of your draft and you don't have a preference for your final picks or if you load your Que up and let's say you have the 15th pick and you want two of the top players from the Que that you set up. Then it works quickly, you get the players you want and the draft keeps moving. In that instance, it would pick both players in seconds.
COMMUNICATION
This is the key to a successful Draft Champions league. The league Message Board IS YOUR FRIEND in these DC formats. A lot of guys like to jump into the draft room at night and bang out a few rounds of picks if possible. If you are out of town that night or busy at work and taking the family out to eat, just post in the league message board that you're unavailable that night but will be back at so-and-so time to make your pick. This way everyone can stay in the draft room until they know it's your pick and then return when you say and keep things flowing after that. The league members aren't wasting a lot of time and yet the picks are still moving at a nice pace. It also helps if one person takes charge and provides a phone number so that if anyone needs help with a pick or wants to communicate what their schedule is this person can be the voice for the league. I can even make picks if needed sometimes if you just want to email me. Remember, every pick is emailed to you, so it's not hard to keep up with the picks. Also, click on DRAFT BOARD to follow each pick and to see the colored stickers of each position being selected. The tools are in place for you to really follow this league without sitting in front of a computer all day.
RESPECT
Again, communication is key. We have PLENTY of time to finish these drafts, so we don't need to rush them. But just communicate your schedule in the league message boards if you can and realize that folks still want a few picks per day. I really don't think anyone should take 8 hours to ANALYZE a pick. I can understand why all of us would like to do that, but I don't think it leads to more success. Sometimes we can overanalyze something, too, so set some desirable players aside and be ready to pick when it's your turn and when you can comfortably get to a computer to do so.
I hope this helps. I'll add more tips as they come to mind, but these are key. Good luck everyone and have fun.
