Winning the Fantasy Football Draft with Game Theory
I always remember that time of the year when all my guy friends are raving about the Fantasy Football draft. My dinner conversations would be filled with who got the first draft and the updated scores after each day. Even though I never participated in this draft, I can see why so many people are invested in it.
Recently, a startup called DraftSmarts opened to specialize in helping fantasy players win their leagues as early as possible. For the next season, the DraftSmarts website added a new feature to help players pick the best starting line up each week. DraftSmarts uses custom algorithms that are based on game theory and advanced statistical modeling to optimize their player’s team. More specifically, this startup attempts to ensure players pick the right players at the right times based on the actions of their opponents. This method takes into consideration all the teams, all the starting positions, the scoring settings, and all the possible payoff matrices.
An example of a strategic move is provided: “For example, if Rob Gronkowski is projected to outscore tight ends by a larger margin than all other players at their respective positions while usually being selected in the first round, the algorithm will suggest for you to pick Gronk early”.
The results are actually astonishing. DraftSmarts consistently picked teams that received superb rankings from online scorers. Most of their users won at least one of their leagues during the season. This website has drastically increased in popularity, acquiring over 1,000 new users only a few hours its relaunch.
I immediately thought about our discussion of game theory in class when I read this article. This is a real life application of how the principles of game theory work. It is really impressive how powerful game theory can be as it can help players win games and earn money.
http://www.sporttechie.com/2015/08/23/startup-wants-hack-fantasy-football-draft-game-theory/