Auction Nomination Strategies (1 Viewer)

[u999spf]

I'm in a few auction leagues each year and I am wondering if there are any solid strategies out there regarding nominations and when it comes around to your turn. I know there are some basics such as nominate people early that may go for big money that you have no interest in. Or once you get your top RB or WR or QB continue to nominate the big name guys from that position to flush out more money from other owners.

Also at the end of the draft you should nominate guys you actually want since most of the money is gone and it kind of turns into a draft.

I guess I am trying to figure out when/how to nominate guys that are everyone's trendy picks....guys like Kolb, Nicks, Maclin, Shon Greene, etc. Do you try to fire these guys out early to try and get them for a deep discount while everyone is a little tight with their money waiting to see how much the big name guys go for....Or do you wait on them for as long as you can and hope the people interested in those guys have over spent in the earlier rounds?

Can you get a deal early on by nominating a few boring picks, like a Portis, Benson, Boldin, Ward, Eli?

 

[Novice2]

Whatever i do doesn't work out. If i want to put someone out there early with the hope of getting him on the cheap he goes for more than i wanted to pay. If i put a stud i want out there with a high bid he still gets outbid.

So whatever you decide to do do the opposite. Thats what im trying next season anyway.

 

[jerseydevil20]

Auctions are better than more conventional snake drafts. Having said that, I am not a great auction drafter; not terrible, just average. I've tried being the guy that refuses to overpay early, and I end up with mediocre starters and great depth. I've tried being the guy who blows the budget on 3 studs and filling out the roster with fliers and sleepers. I've tried nominating people you don't want to spend other people's money. None of these approaches alone will be successful. There are too many other dynamics in play with 9 or 11 other people involved.

This year I plan to put aside the bargain hunting and target the players I want. I will have a short list of elite players and will get at least x of those players. I'm also going to try to exploit a phenomenon I've noticed before but never used. Sometimes the first couple players in a tier go for slightly less than their value, especially at the start of the draft. Instead of nominating players I don't want (which I almost exclusively do) I plan to nominate my highest ranked guy in a tier and hope for a discount. We'll see how it goes...

In-season management is as important as the draft, so getting the core players you want is IMHO the best way the draft can go.

 

[roadkill1292]

With only one nomination every 10, 12,14 or 16 players, the effects of your own nominations are limited. Everybody else is gonna get Adrian Peterson and Andre Johnson out there pretty early, regardless of what you do.

That said, I like to nominate valuable players at positions I don't need, in the hopes of draining my opponents' budgets for when it's time to compete for the players I do want. But, as jerseydevil alluded, in a league of knowledgeable owners, it seems that it's almost impossible not to have to overpay at some point in time. If somebody has sat on their wallet in the early going in an attempt to control the board later, chances are good that he's gonna be controlling the purchases of players who won't win him the league.

 

[fightingillini]

I'm in a few auction leagues each year and I am wondering if there are any solid strategies out there regarding nominations and when it comes around to your turn. I know there are some basics such as nominate people early that may go for big money that you have no interest in. Or once you get your top RB or WR or QB continue to nominate the big name guys from that position to flush out more money from other owners. Also at the end of the draft you should nominate guys you actually want since most of the money is gone and it kind of turns into a draft.I guess I am trying to figure out when/how to nominate guys that are everyone's trendy picks....guys like Kolb, Nicks, Maclin, Shon Greene, etc. Do you try to fire these guys out early to try and get them for a deep discount while everyone is a little tight with their money waiting to see how much the big name guys go for....Or do you wait on them for as long as you can and hope the people interested in those guys have over spent in the earlier rounds?Can you get a deal early on by nominating a few boring picks, like a Portis, Benson, Boldin, Ward, Eli?

Depends on your league's tendencies. Do they like to spend big early, or do they horde cash for later in the draft. If it's the latter, nominate a stud that you want out there and see if you can get him cheaper than market value. If they spend like crazy early.....nominate a stud player that you don't want and see them bid the player up to at least market value.Yes I think you can get a deal if you nominate a 2nd or 3rd tier player early. If you happen to like Eli, so if he got nominated early, there's a good chance that you can get him cheaper than market value.Just make sure that you mix it up and sometimes nominate players you don't want as well as players you do want. Always keep your leaguemates guessing. It's like poker.

 

[ATC1]

There is usually a large group of guys I like that are RB3-4 value that I would not mind as a RB2 for cheap allowing me to get the studs. I will put one out early and see if I get him on the cheap, but don't overspend.

Also like to put guys out with question marks that I may think will be cheaper than he will later. Like right now you may be able to get Farve really cheap. Also, H. Nicks, J. Maclin or other guys that have reported injured.

 

[ukshane]

Our drafts started taking too long so a couple of years ago we began distributing an auction order with starting bids prior to the draft. That way we don't waste time waiting for someone to come up with a nominee. Rather than using a completely random order we weight the lineup so better players are more likely to be near the top of the draft.

Here is how I create the auction order:

Step 1: Begin with the top 24 QB's, 48 RB's and 64 WR's accoring to our league website;

Step 2: Assign a random number to each player;

Step 3: Multiply the random number times each players position rank to calculate a weighted draft order number; and

Step 4: Sort the column from smallest weighted draft order number to the largest.

 

[Maik Jeaunz]

my basic nomination strategy:

early rounds - I nominate high priced, overvalued players that I don't want

middle rounds - I nominate undervalued players that I might get at a good price

late rounds - I nominate cheap roster fillers, or super sleepers that I might get for the minimum bid

this is subject to change based on how the draft is unfolding, though. for instance, if it's the middle rounds and I already have a QB, and there are 3-4 other owners with a lot of money who don't have a QB, I'll nominate the highest valued QB left on the board and let them bid each other up and spend their money.

you have to keep track of not only who's available, but what the other teams' needs are. if you need a RB badly, and there are 5 other teams that need a RB, then you need to expect that you're going to have to battle with those teams and won't get your RB cheaply.

 

[inca911]

There's one nomination strategy that I believe has the greatest impact:

Nominate high risk/reward players that you don't want as early as possible (i.e., players with a wide variation in how people are ranking them).

This way there is a greater liklihood that there will be at least a couple owners who still have money to get in a bidding war over the player, which is good for you. If you want the player yourself, then nominate the player later on so that there are hopefully fewer owners with both interest and money to bid against you. A player like Steven Jackson will likely cost a lot more if nominated early than late. He's ranked just outside the Top 5 to some, and others have him outside the Top 30. If you don't want him, make sure those two or three owners ranking him as nearly Top 5 have money to burn. Then make sure they have an opportunity to burn it. Same thing goes with someone like Fitzgerald. If you want him, you should wait some. Other candidates? Miles Austin, Shonn Greene, Moreno, Stewart. That said, waiting until very very late means that player will likely be one of the few good ones left, so you don't want to wait too long either. Wait for a time when players have been overbought and there is less money, then make your move by nominating those key players you have identified.

 

[Winky the tunnel ferret]

If you're in an auction with rookies to this format there's a lot of value to be had on the big names early on. Seriously - Peterson, Chris Johnson, etc. New folk tend to wait to get a feel of things and you'll notice the big names only go for a few bucks more than the next tier.

If there is a certain player I MUST have I nominate them early instead of trying to sneak them through later. If I have to overpay I'd like to do it when I have lots of money to play with and can adjust the rest of my strategy.

I love nominating kickers or other low level options early on. A kicker should never go for the minimum yet you'll often find if you toss out a kicker or defense they'll go for more than they should as everyone still has lots of money and some people don't think ahead too well.

As far as spending your load on a few big names or loading up on depth, that's a personal choice. I prefer to go for the big players then load up on the minimum guys and hope I hit on enough quality they can be serviceable. Some folk get solid players all around. Nothing wrong with either strategy - like anything else if you have more hits than misses you'll be fine. But think of it this way - in a regular draft would you rather have several first round picks and nothing until the 8th round? Or would you rather have a roster full of rounds 2-5?

 

[Winky the tunnel ferret]

You'll notice the last player of a tier goes for much higher than they should. Everyone notices they don't have a rb of such and such quality so that last player goes into a bidding war. Avoid chasing the last player in a tier as people will pay extra out of sheer desperation.

 

[The Ref]

I love nominating kickers or other low level options early on. A kicker should never go for the minimum yet you'll often find if you toss out a kicker or defense they'll go for more than they should as everyone still has lots of money and some people don't think ahead too well.

Good Post here. I always put up a kicker with my first nomination. 4/5 times I'll get the kicker I want. 1/5 times you made someone pay double for a kicker then everyone esle. Thats a win win.Round two it's team D. for the same reasons as above.Round three - five - Draw out as much money as posible. Rookie WR or Old Veterans of any posisiton.Round six on - Evaluate where you are in the draft. If you have a lot of your team filled out and are cash poor put every player you want but know you can't get up to make sure they go for as much money as posible. If you have cash and are holding it for players that havent been called up yet don't ever put one of them out to bid. The more dollars that are off the board when one of your guys gets called up, the better off you will be.

 

[The Ref]

Guys I'm looking forward to puting out to bid...

D Bryant - Unquestioned #1 on this list.

R Mathews

P Garcon

P Harvin

Jets ST/D

J Finley

H Nicks

I'd love to have every one of these guys on my team. The thing is, I know there will be at least three others in my leauge that will want every one of these guys more then I will.

 

[renesauz]

I've found that stud players at non-premier positions can often be had at a discount if you get them out there early. I snagged Gates in an auction this year (against studly FBG competition) for less then the next 4 TE's.

Early in auctions, I like to throw out second and third tier players that I know SOME people are high on, but aren't necesarily studs. This year, a players like Mike Wallace fits this bill. By getting people to commit to second/third tier players early, they are not only more likely to overpay for them, but they're also more likely to bow out when the second/third tier players I really want go up for bid.

One thing I don't like to do is follow the crowd. Everyone nominates studs early. Mix it up...and have a better chance to trip them up.

 

[Defending Champs]

I thought I knew most strategies in auction drafting, but I'll tell you what, there are some good ideas in here. There are some strong strategies I hadn't thought of. Some of them I practice, though I really didn't have a reason for, I just kind of did them.