The Manager Box
The Manager box is where the magic happens. This tool allows drafters to keep an eye on 3 manager’s drafts at one time (and can quickly hop between any manager in any box). In addition to tracking the typical stats, such as the manager’s acquisitions, balances, player details, etc., the real poker power of the Manager Box (and the overall value of this database to me) is the display of the following Manager Stats that I “invented” for the purpose of screwing with my opponents’ drafts.
1) Tilt. A manager’s Tilt and Tilt Rank are the simplest of stats in the lineup. Tilt is simply the number of transactions out of the last 12 that a manager has owned. This is helpful in a draft to judge the “sincerity” of a manager’s bids. Tilt Rank is simply how this manager compares to the other managers in the league.
The master tilt bar, however, displays how many transactions a manager has owned out of the TOTAL draft. This shows “progression” at a glance, to how far along a manager is in their draft.
2) FPC and MVC. These are value comparison averages and ranks for both Fantasy Pros values as well as My Values. These stats are INCREDIBLE during a draft, and if I use them right, it’s *almost* cheating.
The golden goose of the auction draft is VALUE: what is a player worth to you and to others. Managers go to great lengths to guard their valuation secrets and algorithms. Essentially, the FPC and MVC stats allow me to have a very good statistical hunch about my opponents’ values for a given player on the block. This gives me the edge, not only on defense (getting good deals in my own lineup) but on offense (price enforcing to the MAX, catered specifically to piss off one bidding manager at a time!).
3) Degree of Desperation. Of all the opponents’ stats I’m tracking, this one is the most fun. It’s certainly the most epically named. The Degree of Desperation is an algorithm that calculates a given manager’s need by position, based on the availability of top-ranked players for that position. For instance, if you only have 2 wide receivers, but there are only 3 of the top 36 WRs available, you, my friend, are pretty desperate.
The Degree of Desperation, when combined with the FPC/MVC stats, are incredibly helpful and very “offensive” in nature. By looking at a manager’s DoD, I can assess not only their hunger/seriousness for a player on the block, but what they’re willing to (over)pay for that player. Evil? Maybe. Effective? You betcha.
In addition to being a big help statistically, the Degree of Desperation also provides a key poker element to the draft: intimidation. In my league, everyone who can travels to Dallas to be in the same room for the draft. With this tool, I love getting to inform my opponents how desperate they are, mathematically by position, at any given point.