Professional Fantasy BB Player?

Spyhunter · Post by **Spyhunter** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 8:05 am

Hi,

Looking at some of the emerging stars of the NFBC I have to wonder - is any one thinking of becoming a professional (i.e. Full time) fantasy player? Has anyone already done this in other formats?

Spy

Gordon Gekko · Post by **Gordon Gekko** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 8:46 am

not enough money out there to be won to support you through the bad years. if there were a couple contests that offered significant grand prizes, i'd consider it. even then, it would be a longshot. now if i get another top 5 finish next year, the shot is "less long"

Chest Rockwell · Post by **Chest Rockwell** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 8:59 am

I would assume 90% of all players are either retired and sitting well or make over or well over the 100k grand prize to play for this kind of money.

How could it make a lick of sense to quit work for the opportunity to be one of 375 guys to make close to what you used to make? Sure football could skew it a bit but still no where near enough to make it a real possibility.

I am going to assume you were still hung over from Vegas when you wrote that one.

751542 · Post by **751542** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 9:02 am

i agree with gg. there isnt a hobby i enjoy more and it truley is a labor of love BUT one would have to have a huge bankroll(obviously) to weather thru the bad seasons plus if you do football as well(which most do) there is a huge cashflow issue here. if you maximized the leagues in the nfbc(ultimate, main event, auction league or 2 and some sat. leagues online) you are looking at about 10k when all said and done(trip to las vegas etc) and "if" you are having a successful baseball season you have to fork out approx. the same amount for football(remember you are a proffesional). 20k tied up for for 7 months atleast just for 1 leagues potential return. a long time!!! i have asked greg to offer 1st half baseball leagues to recoup(potentially) some initial outlay in monies and some people seem to be interested but that angle is 1 way to get a quick return on your investment. all in all pretty risky and difficult for most folks. RT

Gordon Gekko · Post by **Gordon Gekko** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 9:06 am

Originally posted by Chest Rockwell:

I would assume 90% of all players are either retired and sitting well or make over or well over the 100k grand prize to play for this kind of money.

water delivery boys don't make close to 100K

DOUGHBOYS · Post by **DOUGHBOYS** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 9:18 am

That once a year paycheck would rule it out for most. It's not like poker with the every weekend tournaments.

Strange question though. Did you get a pop-up that said,"You can become a professional fantasy baseball player like me, Shawn Childs!!"?

[ October 15, 2007, 03:22 PM: Message edited by: DOUGHBOYS ]

Chest Rockwell · Post by **Chest Rockwell** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 9:23 am

Originally posted by Gordon Gekko:

quote:Originally posted by Chest Rockwell:

I would assume 90% of all players are either retired and sitting well or make over or well over the 100k grand prize to play for this kind of money.

water delivery boys don't make close to 100K [/QUOTE]Well there are exceptions to every rule and your return on investment even in with partners and investors is hard to argue with but still not good enough to put enough bacon the table for Mrs. Gekko.

[ October 15, 2007, 09:06 PM: Message edited by: Chest Rockwell ]

Spyhunter · Post by **Spyhunter** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 9:33 am

It does sound a bit crazy, but I was thinking that between Baseball, Football, and Basketball, there must be enough high stakes tournaments around to make it possible. Given that there are many for pay fantasy events outside of the Krause stuff, the multiple Ultimate leagues + the many various satellites just in BB alone, I figured someone must be getting close to thinking there is enough $.

There are tons of people in this country who survive on less than the $40k of winning 1 ultimate alone. Obviously your backroll would have to be pretty sizable....

and yes Chest, I am a bit hungover from Vegas... (which I have decided I really just don't like anymore). Too damn expensive for everything. We were at bars all weekend where the drink price was $12-17 for a drink. Worse than NYC these days

Gordon Gekko · Post by **Gordon Gekko** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 9:49 am

Originally posted by Spyhunter:

It does sound a bit crazy, but I was thinking that between Baseball, Football, and Basketball, there must be enough high stakes tournaments around to make it possible. That would be called "burnout in 2 years or less". Truth be told, if I'm in the hunt next year for the nfbc crown, I'll have to make a difficult decision as to whether I'd join the nffc. The time committment necessary to compete at a high level can be a substantial barrier. No BS

DOUGHBOYS · Post by **DOUGHBOYS** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 10:22 am

Being Realistic, there is no way you can be a "pro" in all three. You would have to pick one as the other sports would take needed time away.

Unless fantasy baseball changes and has formats for 26 weekend series tournaments I can't see that one payday enough for a living. Even if we had 26 different events during the year too much luck would come in to play for a "pro".

GOD Loves You · Post by **GOD Loves You** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 11:10 am

Originally posted by Chest Rockwell:

I would assume 90% of all players are either retired and sitting well or make over or well over the 100k grand prize to play for this kind of money.

I wish I was in EITHER category, but alas, I'm not even close to either.

BTW, if I won something substantial, I would attempt to parlay it into a career playing this game. If someone were to win the 100k and devoted their time, as Dan said, to one sport only, they could make a career out of it if they knew what they were doing.

CC's Desperados · Post by **CC's Desperados** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 11:12 am

Originally posted by Gordon Gekko:

quote:Originally posted by Spyhunter:

It does sound a bit crazy, but I was thinking that between Baseball, Football, and Basketball, there must be enough high stakes tournaments around to make it possible. That would be called "burnout in 2 years or less". Truth be told, if I'm in the hunt next year for the nfbc crown, I'll have to make a difficult decision as to whether I'd join the nffc. The time committment necessary to compete at a high level can be a substantial barrier. No BS [/QUOTE]Football requires a lot less time. You need to stay up the news more because the slightest of injury can ruin a player's value.

As I do think baseball does cut into football prep, I think you can half-ass football and still get lucky and win. You can't half-ass baseball and win.

CC's Desperados · Post by **CC's Desperados** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 11:18 am

Originally posted by Spyhunter:

Hi,

Looking at some of the emerging stars of the NFBC I have to wonder - is any one thinking of becoming a professional (i.e. Full time) fantasy player? Has anyone already done this in other formats?

Spy The last three years I have tried the CDM high roller. I haven't won anything in that game, but I did win a diamond challange league last year. It takes a different mind set. I don't do as well as a micro manager. Eric Peden is excellent at that game.

Gordon Gekko · Post by **Gordon Gekko** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 11:49 am

Originally posted by CC's Desperados:

Football requires a lot less time. You need to stay up the news more because the slightest of injury can ruin a player's value.

As I do think baseball does cut into football prep, I think you can half-ass football and still get lucky and win. You can't half-ass baseball and win. [/QB][/quote]

Yes, football does require a lot less time, but it does require time. Perhaps if I wasn't spending 90% of my free time on baseball, I woulda seen how belidick was going to use maroney. Lesson learned, you can't compete at a high level without going "all-out", at least I can't.

DOUGHBOYS · Post by **DOUGHBOYS** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 12:06 pm

Since we're living the dream with this pro fantasy sports guy stuff...

How about the NFBC Hall Of Fame?

Start it during the 10th anniversary of the NFBC and have one inductee each year after the initial class.

If I were voting now (each NFBC member would get one vote) the initial class would be

Greg- Founder and creator of the NFBC

Tom- Trusty sidekick who has been there every step of the way

Shawn- Charter member who has had the most success.

Mark aka Gordon Gekko- Charter member who has been the heartbeat of the message boards.

sportsbettingman · Post by **sportsbettingman** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 12:26 pm

Originally posted by DOUGHBOYS:

Since we're living the dream with this pro fantasy sports guy stuff...

How about the NFBC Hall Of Fame?

Start it during the 10th anniversary of the NFBC and have one inductee each year after the initial class.

If I were voting now (each NFBC member would get one vote) the initial class would be

Greg- Founder and creator of the NFBC

Tom- Trusty sidekick who has been there every step of the way

Shawn- Charter member who has had the most success.

Mark aka Gordon Gekko- Charter member who has been the heartbeat of the message boards. Being the modest guy you are...I'd nominate you, Dan! (and I agree with your list.)

Just the thought of managing my money well enough to stop working and just sportsbet, play poker, and fantasy sports would be quite fun.

Seed planted.

~Lance

Sack · Post by **Sack** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 6:26 pm

We will have to give Brady Tinker his own wing in the NFBC Hall - Auctioneers.

bluenose · Post by **bluenose** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 11:47 pm

I think it would be really hard to go pro at this because you're looking at a 10-20% takeout (minimum) in these contests. That means you need 2 dead fish in every league just to make it a breakeven prop for the rest. I would expect that as the entry fee rises, the competition ges tougher (but I could be wrong).

Contrast that to poker where the takeout is maybe 2% a hand or sportsbetting where the theoretical takeout is 4.54% at -110. When you realise how few pros there are in those areas, I think it would be really really tough to make a go of fantasy.

If somebody ever ran Fantasy games where they returned 95%+ of the pot, well, OK, a person might be able to take a crack at that -- but I wonder if we'll ever see it. People have to market their games, pay their stats sites, and earn a living. That all costs money, obviously.

Edwards Kings · Post by **Edwards Kings** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 12:04 am

Speaking personally, fantasy sports makes a great hobby for me. A number of careers can be made happily from supporting fantasy sports (columists, publishers, et al), but to take the competition to the "professional" level and turn it into....shudder...work would suck the fun right out of it for me. You might just end up looking like about half of the losers in the World Poker Tour (bad hair, sallow complexion, funny glasses, personality quirks that would give Freud a lifetime of material and enough garish bling to make you look like an reject from a '70's blackplotation movie).

No thanks. I'll keep my day job (which is pretty much a 100% payout) and keep this (high stakes competition) fun.

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 2:48 am

Originally posted by DOUGHBOYS:

Since we're living the dream with this pro fantasy sports guy stuff...

How about the NFBC Hall Of Fame?

Start it during the 10th anniversary of the NFBC and have one inductee each year after the initial class.

If I were voting now (each NFBC member would get one vote) the initial class would be

Greg- Founder and creator of the NFBC

Tom- Trusty sidekick who has been there every step of the way

Shawn- Charter member who has had the most success.

Mark aka Gordon Gekko- Charter member who has been the heartbeat of the message boards. At some point, the NFBC will create a Hall of Fame to recognize its top players. I agree we should wait a few more years to see how the competition all shakes out because a few good years don't make a Hall of Famer. If that were the case, Roger Maris would be in the Hall of Fame. Dale Murphy would be in the Hall of Fame. Don Mattingly would be in the Hall of Fame.

Let's see if Shawn can keep this up for awhile before we annoint him. Let's see if Gekko can keep typing before we give him any honor. Let's see if Tom or I can survive in this job for more than four years before we earn anything!

There's plenty of game to be played before we set up a special wing of the NFBC.

But that being said, we don't need a nice round number like 5 years or 10 years to do this. It's possible the time could be right after year 7 or 8 to create an honor like this and to recognize our top players with a selection or two per year. We'll all know when that time is right. At this point, it's time to keep putting up the numbers, if you know what I mean.

But good idea Dan. Down the road, this is a no-brainer idea.

Spyhunter · Post by **Spyhunter** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 3:31 am

Greg,

Cool that the HoF idea has some backing. Is stats or you keeping all finishes, records, etc... so we can have an official record?

Spy

Quahogs · Post by **Quahogs** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 3:48 am

And instead of ugly bust, how about a one of our favorite bust ?

..sorry

Gordon Gekko · Post by **Gordon Gekko** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 11:08 pm

Originally posted by DOUGHBOYS:

Since we're living the dream with this pro fantasy sports guy stuff...

How about the NFBC Hall Of Fame?

Start it during the 10th anniversary of the NFBC and have one inductee each year after the initial class.

If I were voting now (each NFBC member would get one vote) the initial class would be

Greg- Founder and creator of the NFBC

Tom- Trusty sidekick who has been there every step of the way

Shawn- Charter member who has had the most success.

Mark aka Gordon Gekko- Charter member who has been the heartbeat of the message boards. thanks for the "heartbeat" comment Dan. i do try and make the boards entertaining and educational, in my own devious ways. thank you for noticing.

[ October 17, 2007, 05:08 AM: Message edited by: Gordon Gekko ]

JEagle · Post by **JEagle** » Fri Oct 19, 2007 1:06 pm

mattingly should be in the Hall...

CC's Desperados · Post by **CC's Desperados** » Fri Oct 19, 2007 3:18 pm

Originally posted by JEagle:

mattingly should be in the Hall... over Jim Rice?