Auction Draft Strategies

[b1e9a8r5s]

So my league is finally taking the plunge and going to an auction. I've never done one before, although I'm pretty comfortable in my understanding of how they actually work, so I don't need it explained or anything, but I'm wondering about what strategies people use. I'd appreciate any advise you might have.

A couple of questions that come to mind...

With regards to nominating guys, do you like to nominate guys you are interested in? Or nominated guys you have no interest to get money spent before the guys you are targeting come up?

In terms of budgeting. How much over the suggested retail price are you willing to go over to get a guy you really want? Where do you draw the line in terms of how much is too much?

Any other tips?

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[rangerssharks414]

It's been a few years since I've done an auction draft.

Early on, I tend to nominate players that I have no interest in to drain budgets. But it's also smart to occasionally nominate a sleeper of yours early on to throw everyone off guard. Obviously, spend only a dollar on a kicker, and maybe two on a defense. Spend all of your money if possible.

It comes down to what your budget is and how many roster spots you have. Is it a free agent budget league as well? Is it an auction keeper?

I know that in my former auction baseball league, all of the money left over from the draft went into your allotted free agent pool money.

 

[b1e9a8r5s]

It's been a few years since I've done an auction draft.

Early on, I tend to nominate players that I have no interest in to drain budgets. But it's also smart to occasionally nominate a sleeper of yours early on to throw everyone off guard. Obviously, spend only a dollar on a kicker, and maybe two on a defense. Spend all of your money if possible.

It comes down to what your budget is and how many roster spots you have. Is it a free agent budget league as well? Is it an auction keeper?

I know that in my former auction baseball league, all of the money left over from the draft went into your allotted free agent pool money.

Single season. There's a FAAB budget but there's no carryover from the draft.

 

[rangerssharks414]

Single season. There's a FAAB budget but there's no carryover from the draft.

Yeah, definitely use all of your allotted budget during the draft, then.

How big is your budget, and how many roster spots are there?

 

[Morozov]

As above, especially early, nominate guys you don't want.

Particularly if there's a big name that you aren't high on. Put him out there, let others blow their money on him, means when the guys you want come up people have less money.

Sometimes it's actually better to overpay a bit on a top guy in a position at the beginning, because what happens is that several people relax off and think it's fine I'll get one of the other top two or three backs, but then the competition for them heats up while you're already sitting pretty with your pick. Then the second guy goes off the board and everyone who missed that boat are heating up more because suddenly the stock of tier 1 RB's is disappearing and they're wanting to make sure they get one. Next thing you know, they're going for the same price you paid for the top RB anyway. Depending on what your draft is like though, you may find that everyone is blowing their load early on all the big names, sometimes it's beneficial to sit back, let them all throw away their cash, suddenly you've got all the money and maybe not a big star but a deep team across every position.

As the draft progresses, you can start to determine how much money other people in the draft have left, you can then use that to your advantage particularly if you start to nominate guys you want.

If you've filled a position, nominate that position. If you've already got your QB or TE, throw other QB's and TE's up to force others who don't to part with their money on them now while you bid on the other positions.

Depending what the people in your league are like, and how well you know them, you can also benefit from nominating people on certain teams to bait the fans of that team into bidding for them early.

Be less fixated on getting certain players and more so finding what the best a

Go do some mocks so you get a feel for it because it is a bit different.

 

[rangerssharks414]

The thing with mock auctions is that people tend to quit after a few turns of nominations... at least from my experiences.

 

[b1e9a8r5s]

Yeah, definitely use all of your allotted budget during the draft, then.

How big is your budget, and how many roster spots are there?

$200 14 spots. Start 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, TE, Flex, Def, K

 

[b1e9a8r5s]

As above, especially early, nominate guys you don't want.

Particularly if there's a big name that you aren't high on. Put him out there, let others blow their money on him, means when the guys you want come up people have less money.

Sometimes it's actually better to overpay a bit on a top guy in a position at the beginning, because what happens is that several people relax off and think it's fine I'll get one of the other top two or three backs, but then the competition for them heats up while you're already sitting pretty with your pick. Then the second guy goes off the board and everyone who missed that boat are heating up more because suddenly the stock of tier 1 RB's is disappearing and they're wanting to make sure they get one. Next thing you know, they're going for the same price you paid for the top RB anyway. Depending on what your draft is like though, you may find that everyone is blowing their load early on all the big names, sometimes it's beneficial to sit back, let them all throw away their cash, suddenly you've got all the money and maybe not a big star but a deep team across every position.

As the draft progresses, you can start to determine how much money other people in the draft have left, you can then use that to your advantage particularly if you start to nominate guys you want.

If you've filled a position, nominate that position. If you've already got your QB or TE, throw other QB's and TE's up to force others who don't to part with their money on them now while you bid on the other positions.

Depending what the people in your league are like, and how well you know them, you can also benefit from nominating people on certain teams to bait the fans of that team into bidding for them early.

Be less fixated on getting certain players and more so finding what the best a

Go do some mocks so you get a feel for it because it is a bit different.

Appreciate the insight.

In terms of the bottom of the roster, the only way to get a player for a $1 is to nominate him yourself. Do you usually save the last couple rounds to be able to get someone for a buck? Or is it better to budget for at least $2 a spot for everyone except K?

 

[rangerssharks414]

$200 14 spots. Start 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, Flex, Def, K

No TE? Or are they flex only?

 

[b1e9a8r5s]

No TE? Or are they flex only?

Sorry, just missed it. Fixed

 

[rangerssharks414]

Appreciate the insight.

In terms of the bottom of the roster, the only way to get a player for a $1 is to nominate him yourself. Do you usually save the last couple rounds to be able to get someone for a buck? Or is it better to budget for at least $2 a spot for everyone except K?

Yup, that's how it usually goes.

It depends on who is left, to be honest. I'm usually one of the last people with money left in an auction.

 

[rangerssharks414]

Sorry, just missed it. Fixed

Okay, thought so.

So, only five bench... hmmm... I wouldn't take a backup QB, TE, K or DEF. Load up on RB and WR.

I'd spend $15 max on a QB, probably even less than that. I'm avoiding the top tier TEs like I always do unless it's a 10 team league (where the top TEs are even more valuable). Obviously only 1 on a kicker and maybe 2 on a defense (I'd nominate Seattle's D early, tbh... playing Cincy at home in Week 1, and then you could just play the stream game after that.). The rest goes towards RBs and WRs.

 

[stempniaksen]

Tried an auction mock last night. Surprisingly active, seemed like a group of guys that knew each other or something.

Wow is it ever different. Ended up waiting a long time (too long arguably) to start spending my money and ended up left with ~$20 bucks to spend. Also only ended up with 2-3 value picks despite waiting, since I got to a point where I kind of panicked and threw money at guys I liked.

Certainly a lesson learned moving forward. If I had to do it again I'd be more aggressive grabbing one of the top RB options early in the process before reverting back to money saving mode. Having money to spend near the end of the draft is nice, but not at the expense of missing out on all the top talent at RB specifically (since I still managed to patch together a real nice WR core).

 

[b1e9a8r5s]

@Morozov
Just to follow up on what you said. Aside from 1 new guy, I know everyone and have been in leagues with them for years. The wild card in this is that for all but maybe 2 guys, no one else has ever done an auction. So I'm not sure how everyone's going to play it. It feels like it could be a bit like playing poker with bad players. There lack of strategy can make it hard to read or anticipate their moves.

More than anything it sounds like I have to just pay attention to everyone and everything and adjust on the fly. While that's a lot more involved than traditional snake drafts, it sounds fun to me. Looking forward to it.

 

[rangerssharks414]

@Morozov
Just to follow up on what you said. Aside from 1 new guy, I know everyone and have been in leagues with them for years. The wild card in this is that for all but maybe 2 guys, no one else has ever done an auction. So I'm not sure how everyone's going to play it. It feels like it could be a bit like playing poker with bad players. There lack of strategy can make it hard to read or anticipate their moves.

More than anything it sounds like I have to just pay attention to everyone and everything and adjust on the fly. While that's a lot more involved than traditional snake drafts, it sounds fun to me. Looking forward to it.

I hope it's an in person auction draft, then. That would probably ruin some friendships, though.

 

[b1e9a8r5s]

I hope it's an in person auction draft, then. That would probably ruin some friendships, though.

So it's in person but through yahoo. We felt it would take 10 hours if we tried to do it ourselves and there would just be arguments the whole time. Hopefully the wifi holds up lol. Another wild car is that this group likes to get after it in terms of drinking. Seems like getting hammered could hurt you a lot more in this format.

 

[rangerssharks414]

So it's in person but through yahoo. We felt it would take 10 hours if we tried to do it ourselves and there would just be arguments the whole time. Hopefully the wifi holds up lol. Another wild car is that this group likes to get after it in terms of drinking. Seems like getting hammered could hurt you a lot more in this format.

So there will be a bunch of you guys in a room on laptops?

 

[b1e9a8r5s]

So there will be a bunch of you guys in a room on laptops?

Yeah. Maybe one guy will be remote.

 

[rangerssharks414]

Yeah. Maybe one guy will be remote.

Cool, have fun!

But yeah, adjusting during an auction is important.

 

[Morozov]

You definitely want to read the draft and then reconsider your strategies from that as you go.

Odds are if everyone is new to auctions, and everyone is drunk, people are going to be like omg Barkley, get into a mass bidding war and then there's going to be a couple of guys with a team of two superstars and waiver level guys to fill out their roster. But if you find that isn't the case and everyone is sheepish, you start taking the charge and spend a bit of money to lock some names in before everyone freaks out and realises all the elite backs are dropping off the board.

If you've played poker though as it sounds, you'll have a better understanding of the importance of reading the actions of the others on the table and how you can manipulate people's choices based on where you are. If you start to figure out other teams money left and their positional needs you can start to strong arm them a bit. If a name comes up that you have no interest in bidding for, use that time to be looking into this stuff. Fortunately, unlike Poker, everything is face value.

 

[chicagoskycam]

I've been doing an auction league for 10 years with keepers, ect. It's quite complex. I would want to know what your budget is and how many players you are getting in the auction or if you do a split with a draft. Auctions are so much more strategic in what you do and it's typically about value. For instance, if it's a Chicago league and D Montgomery (rookies are not available in my league for auction) he's going to go for a premium and probably not worth it.

I throw out guys that I know will go for a high value that I know I'm not interested in, however, sometimes you can steal a mid-tier guy early by throwing him out while everyone is waiting on their guy. In every auction, there will be guys near the end that go for nearly nothing or much less than they should have because guys run out of money.

I have this quandary about keeping David Johnson. He's had a couple of off years but still ranked very high and most of the top 10 RB's will be kept this year. That increases his value.

Auctions on average take about 3-4 hours straight through

 

[b1e9a8r5s]

I've been doing an auction league for 10 years with keepers, ect. It's quite complex. I would want to know what your budget is and how many players you are getting in the auction or if you do a split with a draft. Auctions are so much more strategic in what you do and it's typically about value. For instance, if it's a Chicago league and D Montgomery (rookies are not available in my league for auction) he's going to go for a premium and probably not worth it.

I throw out guys that I know will go for a high value that I know I'm not interested in, however, sometimes you can steal a mid-tier guy early by throwing him out while everyone is waiting on their guy. In every auction, there will be guys near the end that go for nearly nothing or much less than they should have because guys run out of money.

I have this quandary about keeping David Johnson. He's had a couple of off years but still ranked very high and most of the top 10 RB's will be kept this year. That increases his value.

Auctions on average take about 3-4 hours straight through

Not a keeper. $200, 14 roster spots. Start QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, TE, Flex, D, K. Full auction. No carry over from draft budget to FAAB.

 

[chicagoskycam]

Not a keeper. $200, 14 roster spots. Start QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, TE, Flex, D, K. Full auction. No carry over from draft budget to FAAB.

I bet you a Barkley goes for $80's to $100. We do the 1st 11 spots with $100, then draft the rest. The highest I've seen guys go for, AP in his prime or LT is $60's. You also need to pay attention to who has money left and what spots are open. You can steal guys if there is nobody left to bid against you at a certain position.

Certain guys are afraid to spend their money too and then get left with nowhere to put it. Don't be that guy! If it's not a keeper league stealing guys is not as important later in the auction. Just make sure you identify top tier talent you want because sometimes there is a significant drop off at RB, QB, ect.

 

[stempniaksen]

Burton was last pick, can't take the money with you. Just big 7 because that's what I had left. $1 is more accurate for what he cost, although I guess that means I mismanaged my funds.

On the flip side Cooper was either my 1st or 2nd guy that I actually got. I think I was the last guy to actually win a bid and got a little frustrated and over aggressive.

I get the logic for Burton for sure, but "having" to spend that much on a mediocre (at best, imo) TE does mean there was a bit of money mismanagement. It's nitpicking though, since you obviously still came out of it with a great team.

It's (much) easier to MMQB a draft after the fact (especially an auction draft) but given the fact you ended up with Allen, Thielen, Godwin, Lockett, Jeffrey that $43 would have been better served shoring up RB/TE which seem like weak spots for you (eve though I'm VERY high on Connor/Carson this season). Again, I'm just nitpicking here because the Amari bid jumps out, but I really like what you did the rest of the way.

 

[b1e9a8r5s]

I get the logic for Burton for sure, but "having" to spend that much on a mediocre (at best, imo) TE does mean there was a bit of money mismanagement. It's nitpicking though, since you obviously still came out of it with a great team.

It's (much) easier to MMQB a draft after the fact (especially an auction draft) but given the fact you ended up with Allen, Thielen, Godwin, Lockett, Jeffrey that $43 would have been better served shoring up RB/TE which seem like weak spots for you (eve though I'm VERY high on Connor/Carson this season). Again, I'm just nitpicking here because the Amari bid jumps out, but I really like what you did the rest of the way.

Yeah that was my take away as well. Wish I would have gotten 1 more RB2 type of guy instead. Of course, at the time, you have no idea how everything will play out, which is pretty cool. I really think auction might have ruined snake drafts for me, lol. I've got one coming up next week and I'm not really excited for it.