Ronald R. Aniel II Fantasy Football Writer

If you don’t like gambling don’t play fantasy football, period! End of Story! With that said, fantasy football is much like your friendly poker game. There are novice levels and advanced levels. All are fun, but as you become a seasoned fantasy football league commissioner I urge you to consider doing auction style drafts. You won’t regret it.

In Poker, No Limit Texas Hold ‘em Tournaments separate the men from the boys. It forces you to not only play your cards, but also properly read your competition. One false move can kill you. One skilled bluff or “slow playing” a good hand can win the tournament. I feel strongly that fantasy football auction style drafts are the equivalent No Limit Texas Hold ‘em.

The up and down the ladder, round by round draft is probably the most widely used fantasy draft. This is because it’s easy to use and everyone from the new guy to the league’s founder can use and grasp the concept. This is the same reason many poker nights feature simple games where cards play themselves. Basically, any idiot can play. Skill is taken out of the equation in both of the above scenarios to allow the weaker player to thrive.

Many will argue with me that in a round by round draft the skill is in the later round draft picks. I say whatever dude! I don’t agree! Later rounds are luck. The skill resides in garnering as many top tier and second tier players as possible. This can’t necessarily be done in a round by round draft. Everyone gets picks in a given order. Take a look at any round by round fantasy league. Generally the teams with the first few picks (some times the last few) win. There are exceptions to this rule…but they are not the norm.

In an auction draft you’re afforded the opportunity to raise the stakes by bidding up players you may not want simply because others do. You can also try to hide your interests in a key player, hoping he slips to later in the draft when others have foolishly spent too much on lesser stars. If you love Texas Hold ‘Em Poker you should definitely consider changing their league to auction style. Also, anyone who has ran a league in a round by round style for several years with the same guys should make the switch. I promise you won’t be disappointed once you make the change. In fact, it’ll probably make it hard for you to ever consider doing a round by round draft again.