Bleeding To Death

After my record Sunday on the 26th, I am on a huge downswing.

I have recorded losses 6 of the last 7 days, including yesterday - my first loser in football this season.

It seemed everyone had lower scores this week. I did OK, cashing in 29 of 62 contests overall, but I performed worst in the 950 cap, which is the BFFB2 and SWDP area. No gains there for sure.

As the season progresses it is obvious to see that the rosters between users become similar, often making winning margins small.

I did manage a winning day in NASCAR contests. I finished 2nd in the Chase contest. The winner put up a score of 1000+, which is almost impossible to beat. I'm sure to be the overall leader there as I had about a 300+ point lead on the field.

I have stunk up the joint in hockey. I haven't won in a week, mostly because my goalies haven't won at all. On two separate nights my goalies lost their shootouts, which cost me a winning night both times.

All in all, I gave back about 75% of the winnings I made on that record Sunday. However, two things come to mind as I reflect on this:

1) I always take some profit after a big surge. I have learned this through many swings in poker and fantasy. Turning that digital balance into tangible cash is key to keeping a positive mind frame. Enjoying that "twice as sweet" money is important motivation to go get some more.

2) The downswings are, very slowly, getting easier to endure. It still sucks, but I know what happened and why it happened. I am not disillusioned, disgusted or depressed. I'm just a little poorer.

In retrospect, this is nothing compared to what I experienced with fantasy baseball. I worked my bankroll from $20 up to well into 4 figures, then back down below $100 again. So much variance. Football and hockey come nowhere near that.

I find basketball has that kind of variance too, although not as much. I'll play a little bit each day as I'm still searching for an edge.