Drafting to Win: The Ultimate Guide to Fantasy Football [Paperback]

Robert Zarzycki (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 15, 2005

Fantasy Football has quickly become a multi-billion dollar industry!Finally, for the millions of fantasy footballers who play for fun and/or money, here is a serious, comprehensive guide that teaches fantasy football from its basic terminology and fundamentals to the advanced strategies and systems needed to win consistently. In Drafting To Win: The Ultimate Guide To Fantasy Football, author Robert Zarzycki finally reveals how he uses his unmatched psychological, mathematical, and football knowledge to draft players and make a long-term profit in one of today's fastest growing hobbies. Learn How To: Select a league Rank Players Project Statistics Apply static and dynamic value-based drafting Strategize for every single round Handle being "on the clock" Significantly increase your overall chances of winningBook Quotes: "Robert''s indisputable record of success in high-stakes competition makes DRAFTING TO WIN a must-read for all serious Fantasy players." - Bob Harris, TFL Report "Robert''s accomplishments in the World Championship of Fantasy Football are unparalleled. His back-to-back finishes in the top three demonstrate his cunning understanding of how to win." -- Roger Craig, three-time Super Bowl Champion, San Francisco 49ers

Editorial Reviews

Review

Robert's accomplishments in the World Championship of FF are unparalleled. This book demonstrates his cunning understanding of how to win. -- Roger Craig, Three-time Super Bowl Champion, San Francisco 49ers

Robert's indisputable record of success in high-stakes competition makes DRAFTING TO WIN a must-read for all serious Fantasy players. -- Bob Harris, TFL Report

About the Author

Zarzycki started playing fantasy football in 1997. Not knowing much about the game, he finished dead last that year yet, amazingly, he was hooked to the hobby forever. He couldn't believe how much fun it could be to "own" NFL football players. Thus, his passion for fantasy football was born. After losing his second season Zarzycki soon realized that fantasy football was really a game that could be won with the use of math, statistics and probability - areas in which he was well versed after receiving his BSME and MBA from Rutgers University. He instantaneously advanced his level of competition to the point where he found himself in the fantasy playoffs every single year, and eventually made it to the league's championship game in 2001. Then life was really about to take a turn in 2002 when Zarzycki decided to enter the World Championship of Fantasy Football, a $1350 buy-in event held in Las Vegas. Zarzycki took his proven skills, strategies and theories from the local level and proved them worthy on the national stage. He grossed $22,000 in prize money after finishing in 2nd place among the 552 fantasy teams. One year wonder? Absolutely not. Zarzycki parlayed his earnings into another $15,000 in prize money the next year by taking 3rd place among 600 teams in the 2003 WCOFF. To put this two-year accomplishment into perspective, the odds of finishing 2nd and 3rd overall as Zarzycki did in 2002 and 2003 was 55,199 to 1! Today, Zarzycki is very involved in the industry. He writes for Footballdiehards.com and is a member of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association. Additionally, Zarzycki writes for various fantasy football publications such as Footballdiehards.com Magazine and Fantasy Pro Forecast. In fact, he was featured on the cover of the 2004 issue of Fantasy Pro Forecast for his groundbreaking article, "Projecting Statistics Using AVT." Zarzycki is not a stranger to television either. In November of 2004 he was featured on Comcast SportsNet's SPOTLIGHT: Fantasy Footba

Product Details

• Paperback: 348 pages
• Publisher: AuthorHouse (June 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1420859196
• ISBN-13: 978-1420859195
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,004,937 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars If you have trouble with math; avoid this book., September 9, 2005

By 

Rashaan Salaam "Bust" (Who knows?) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Drafting to Win: The Ultimate Guide to Fantasy Football (Paperback)

While I haven't finished the book as of yet; I can say the following...the book has a lot of somewhat complex formulas, essentially, it's econometrics for fantasy football. If you don't know what econometrics is, I won't explain it here, suffice to say that it uses a lot of math formulas to attain players values.

The writer's theory behind all these formulas is interesting, and may be useful in attaining values for established players in the NFL played for a few years. It does lack however in acertaining values of rookies and players who have yet to emerge (sleepers). Again, I haven't finished the book as of yet so he may address these topics in a later chapter. Again, if you don't think doing math as a recreation is fun, then avoid the book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My first book on Fantasy Football...and it is a Winner, January 6, 2008

By 

Sam Hendricks "Author of Fantasy Football Gui... (Virginia USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Drafting to Win: The Ultimate Guide to Fantasy Football (Paperback)

This is the first book on Fantasy Football and I am proud to include it in my fantasy football library. Sure, there may have been one or two before, but in my opinion, Rob Zarzycki's Drafting to Win: The Ultimate Guide to Fantasy Football is the first definitive book on fantasy football. Drafting to Win (DTW) goes beyond the basics and explains the "how" and "why" behind draft theory. For many readers it will be their first exposure to Value Based Drafting (VBD) and baselines. The introduction to these concepts is worth the price of this book ten times over. This book has the best explanation of Value Based Drafting that I have ever seen and as an added bonus; it explains how to apply VBD to your draft in a dynamic manner (i.e. reacting to other owners draft actions/needs). I find myself re-reading it ever year before the FF season starts. It is that good!

The chapter on ranking players is really an inside look at the strategies of a "top ranked fantasy football player" since Rob finished second in 2002 and third in 2003 at the World Championship of Fantasy Football (WCOFF). However, DTW also discusses fantasy football's history and the basics in detail, but the heart of this book is the extensive draft preparation knowledge and the demonstration of his techniques in how to draft a winning team based on your own rankings of players. Yes, there is math involved; but the good news is that it starts slowly and builds as the techniques become more advanced. I found myself using most of the techniques, but sidestepping some that are quite advanced mathematically.

If there is a downside to the great ranking system/draft advice he illustrates, it is that Rob does not provide as much of his wisdom into start/bench decisions or waiver wire pick-ups as many readers will have liked. Similarly, he does not discuss Auction drafts much but he hints at a future book devoted exclusively to that much-deserved subject. I am eagerly awaiting that book.

I highly recommend this as your first book in an ever-expanding fantasy football library.

Sam Hendricks, author of Fantasy Football Guidebook: Your Comprehensive Guide to Playing Fantasy Football

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Zarzycki's Drafting To Win = THE Fantasy Football Bible, September 17, 2005

By 

GigaRacer (FootballMecca: Philly) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Drafting to Win: The Ultimate Guide to Fantasy Football (Paperback)

I'm a poker player as well and Zarzycki's Drafting To Win (DTW) book reminds me of Doyle Brunson's Super System in that it gives you a complete understanding of what it takes to win consistently, only DTW teaches fantasy football instead of poker. I consider DTW to be the Fantasy Football Bible the same way poker players revere Doyle Brunson's Super System book as the Poker Bible. Whether you want to learn about beginner aspects such as how to find a league and choosing the league suited best for you or expert techniques such as how to rank players, project statistics and Zarzycki's bread and butter -- how to draft players -- Zarzycki covers it all. What I respect most is that the author himself has applied the methods in DTW to his own fantasy football play and has won thousands of dollars on all levels of fantasy football, from local leagues to the World Championship of Fantasy Football (WCOFF) in Las Vegas. DTW has taken my game to the next level and I can't wait to start benefiting monetarily at the end of each and every season. Reading "Rashaan Salaam" review might scare some people into thinking that the math is difficult. I'm not an engineer by any means and found the math to be laid out in a very simple manner, pretty-easily absorbed. If I can understand this stuff, anybody can. I find Zarzycki's drafting strategies amazing. I wish I would've originated the concepts found in DTW...oh well, at least now I can benefit from them. This book is a must for ALL levels.