I can’t believe the season is over.
All year, I would write about how this season was going to be different from the ones we just saw. And it was. We were careful in some areas because of this, and it actually turned out to be the right decision. I had dropped the number of confidence picks significantly in the waning weeks and, not only did they produce at one of the best rates we’ve had, but the winning weeks started to compile. I doubt they go hand-in-hand, but it was a nice trend to see.
Over the course of the year, the 2019 regular season was probably the best in the existence of this website. I know it didn’t feel like that, and that’s what’s odd. It felt average. But, it turned out to be the embodiment of something I preach every single year. That is, we don’t set out to go 12-4 every week. 9-7 will do just fine. Especially when we’re competing in an office pool. That’s essentially how 2019 went. The tortoise and the hare in which we chugged along until we won. In the end, I believe we had our best regular season since I started writing my picks publicly. If not, then the best for Sporfolio.
I think the lack of violent swings in either direction – we had maybe one really bad week and one really great one – is what made this season feel like a blur. It was just ‘business-as-usual’ from both sides – my writing and your reading. Emails were less frequent – more on that in a moment – and we all just went about our days. Again, I know people judge me on the results and, in that regard, this year could not have been better.
As for the emails, I have two thoughts to share. The first is that I have no idea what keeps happening with our email server, but I frequently don’t receive emails. I don’t know what to do and I’m considering making a separate Gmail account to which I will direct you if you haven’t gotten a response from me. I respond to all emails that aren’t flat-out complaints – know that I read them, but there is no acceptable answer so I refrain – so, if you didn’t get a response, it means I didn’t get an email. It’s frustrating from both sides and I’m sorry for it.
The second comment about the emails is in addressing the negative ones. Let me preface this by saying that I don’t mind getting an email bashing me or the picks. It’s not fun, but it’s the nature of the business. I can handle it. The only part I wanted to mention is the timing of it. Please, for the sake of my sanity, just wait until the end of the year before you judge my record. It almost always happens that we hit a lull in the middle weeks and people start to freak out, and then we start winning again and everyone is silent. Spare me the “I’ll never win again” emails because of a bad October or November. The goal is to make sure that September is good enough to handle any dip – as those who make the odds get a better read of the season – and that we aren’t buried by December. That’s it. With the exception of the one bad year, it almost always gets better. So, send me a disappointed email in January if we had a losing season. Not in November with six weeks to play.
If you are happy – and I would hope that most of you are after this season – I’m going to ask for a favor. If you can, please tweet at me and the website and let me know how you did with the picks or in your pools. I’m requesting this for the obvious reason that people hold more value in what you, my readers, have to say than anything I could explain. Also, I’ve noticed a bunch of negative things about me and this website that are upsetting. There’s nothing to do about it, so I’m hopeful that I can have some positive vibes sent out into the universe.
Finally, it is with great pleasure that I can share some exciting news with you. Over the past few months – obviously, around my football writing – I have been working with some of the best minds in the DFS community to develop some algorithms for picks in other sports. We have been testing it for quite awhile, had a few big wins mixed in, and are now ready to share it here. As always, this will simply be included in your membership at no additional cost.
Starting today, we will be able to provide NHL DFS top plays and picks. Most of the picks will be prop bets in the form of shots, points, goals, etc. – and we use FanDuel Sportsbook for the odds – but we’ll mix in whatever has value along-the-way.
One of our biggest goals has always been to offer different sports with their unique opportunities. For football, as you’ve seen, our best avenue for success has been with the against-the-spread picks. We’re starting to see different advantages in hockey.
And basketball.
As we roll-out our NHL service, we’ll also be putting some final touches on the NBA side of DFS and picks. It will almost certainly follow the same format as NHL, so stay tuned for that announcement once it launches.
Like always, be careful and limit your risk as much as possible. One thing I have seen over-and-over is that learning how to play a certain angle is just as important as finding said angle. We’ll work through it together, but I can’t stress enough that caution is more valuable than opportunity. There will always be opportunity.
On that note, I want to extend another heartfelt thanks to everyone who takes the time to read what I write. This is part of who I am, and I never take for granted that you make it possible.
-Mario