The Playoff Best Ball Sidekick - Crushing Playoff Best Ball has Never Been Easier

Sackreligious

23 Nov 2024

The most wonderful time of the year is finally upon us. No, I'm not talking about Christmas, I'm talking about Playoff Best Ball. One of my favorite formats for fantasy, not only due to the requisite game theory understanding needed to be successful, but also because it is the most punishing format when drafters make an error. In traditional best ball, making a single roster construction error might cost you a small amount of EV, maybe only a couple percentage points. In playoff best ball a single roster construction error can quite literally render a team dead, with a 0% probability of winning first place in the contest. Because of this dynamic, the edge for a good player can be quite large.

If you're new to Playoff Best Ball and want to read more about the strategy, here is a piece of evergreen content that I published last year: The Sackreligious Approach to Playoff Best Ball

How Does the Sidekick Work?

Here's a 10,000 foot view of what goes in to the Sidekick:

Simulations of the remaining regular season games playoff matchups.
- This generates specific playoff scenarios that help power player recommendations.
Roster construction guidelines.
- These act as guardrails throughout the draft, preventing you from getting off track.
Scenario based drafting principles.
- Player recommendations dynamically adjust based on the picks you have made and the players remaining in the player pool.
Recommendation diversification.
- Helps to break ties between players that are close in value, so you don't always find yourself building the same teams over and over.

If you were with us last year, you're probably familiar with our Playoff Best Ball tool, which ultimately inspired us to create the Sidekick. The Sidekick built upon the foundation we laid with the tool last season, and based on the results, it's a pretty strong foundation:

Sidekick Makeover

The Sidekick looks quite a bit different from last year's playoff best ball tool and now includes the following tags:

Round 1 Bye
- Indicates if a player is above a 50% probability to have a bye in the first round of the playoffs.
C. Champ Opp
- Indicates if a player is on a team that is a viable Conference Championship opponent for the other team you've drafted from the same conference.
  - For example, for two teams facing off in Round 1, this tag would not be active.
Quarterback
- Indicates if this player stacks with the Quarterback you've drafted.
Teammate
- Indicates if this player is a teammate of any player that you've drafted.

At the top of the display, we also calculate the probabilities of the top four AFC and NFC conference championship teams.

Prior to drafting any players, the probabilities will show the four teams that are most likely to make their respective conference championships.

After you've drafted a player from one team, then the probabilities being displayed are conditional on that team making the conference championship. So, for example, if you select Amon-Ra St. Brown with the 1.01, the odds will shift to 100% for the Lions, with the remaining NFC odds shifting to which teams are most likely to face Detroit in the NFC championship game.

How do I get the Sidekick?

If you're already an active Sidekick subscriber, the Playoff Best Ball Sidekick is included in your membership.

If you'd like to sign up, there are yearly and monthly options. The yearly version includes the traditional best ball version of the Sidekick, which you can read more about here.

If you need to install or reinstall the Sidekick, click here for instructions and troubleshooting info.

Additional Playoff Best Ball Content

We'll have plenty of additional content coming out focused on Playoff Best Ball this year, so be sure to check out our YouTube channel for draft streams, strategy podcasts, and instructional videos on how to best leverage the Sidekick.

Happy drafting, I'll see you in the playoff best ball streets!