📺 My Ambitious (Crazy?) Streaming Idea

In this week's P.O. Box:

I don't know when I got the idea, or what made me think it was a good one, but I have committed to streaming all 150 of my Best Ball Mania 4 drafts by the end of the summer:

Last year I maxed Best Ball Mania 3 (150 entries), but I'd estimate that only around 30% of those were live streamed. In fact, I was getting so frustrated with my draft rooms being lovingly bum hunted by the sharpest drafters (the red badge brigade, the piss boys, etc.) that I started pre-recording some of my BBM3 drafts so I could have my cake (#content) and eat it too (a normal draft room).

I think a big allure to live streaming every draft—aside from providing people with a more tangible hook to follow along all summer—is the (extremely slim) chance of capturing a legendary team on stream.

In 2021, Erik Beimfohr and I drafted a team that went on to finish 8th overall in Best Ball Mania II. Many people have enjoyed watching that stream back to see how things unfolded, including a few decision points worth thousands of dollars (Kendrick Bourne or Sony Michel??!) and Week 17 correlation talk before it went mainstream...

Since announcing my 150-stream challenge. I've received a lot of questions. I'll try to answer them here with this FAQ...

Are you seriously doing this?

Yes, I can't put the toothpaste back in the tube now. 150 drafts, all recorded for the world to see.

What if the contest fills before you've had a chance to max enter?

I simply won't let that happen. If the contest—which is already amazingly 4% filled with over 27k entries as I write this on May 4th—is speeding toward an early close, I will be forced to cram in more streams. Multi-tabling? A marathon stream? Anything is in play, but I refuse to fall short of this arbitrary goal.

But aren't you sacrificing a ton of EV, bro?

Sure, probably a little. But this is a massive contest with 677,376 entries. I could be the Magnus Carlsen of best ball and still be a huge dog to even make the finals with 150 bullets, let alone win first place in Week 17 in a field of 441 teams. And this hypothetical doesn't even account for my best ball opponents using sex toys to cheat.

Hell, I'll push it further, I could have the first 18 picks of the draft, like Alex asks here, and I still would be a dog to traverse through the playoff gauntlet and finish in first.

Being a successful best ball drafter is about stacking a ton of micro edges and then praying you run hotter than the goddamn sun. What does it ultimately matter if I sacrifice a little from that stack? Go ahead and take my WRs and please snipe my QB while you are at it, I DGAF.

Will every draft be on your YouTube channel?

No, a large percentage will be (I'll be expanding my Best Ball Breakfasts beyond Monday mornings within the next couple weeks), but others will be on Ship Chasing, Splash Play, Fantasy Life, Swolecast, and any other channels where I do a guest spot.

Do you plan to split winnings with anyone you draft with on stream?

Yes, if I draft a team with my co-hosts or a guest, I will free roll them a share of the team's winnings with no Venmo requests needed. Well, almost everyone...

What's the deal with the giveaway you keep yapping about?

Yes. I want to get to 15k subs on my YouTube channel. If I get there by the end of hot best ball summer (Sept. 7th), I'll give $1500 in cash prizes to 3 different commenters ($500 each, aka 20 BBM4 entries).

Every time you leave a real comment (no 'first' bullshit) on a stream where I draft a BBM4 team, you'll receive an entry into the drawing. If I end up drafting 150 teams on, say, 100 different streams, the max amount of possible entries would be 100. The more comments (max 1 per video), the better your chances. Godspeed.

How are you going to do Underdog Cardio Club drafts on stream?

I'll admit, I maybe forgot to think through the Underdog Cardio Club element of this bit before shooting it off from the hip...

But we will make it happen. Treadmill desk? Recumbent bike? 10 burpees after every pick?? We'll find a way. I'm open to suggestions...

What's the easiest way to follow along?

I made a playlist on my YouTube channel where I will add every single video that features one of my BBM4 drafts:

I'll also be posting a full schedule of regular streams over the coming weeks.

With 7 drafts under your belt, how would you say it's going?

It's going great. Absolutely great.

Do you wish you added a death clause to your challenge?

Yes, big oversight on my part.

Welp, good luck!

Thanks.

Are you having a conversation with yourself under the guise of an FAQ?

Yes.

📺 BBM4 Drafts: #1 & #2 BBM4 Opening night w/ Kerrane, #3 & #4 Best Ball Breakfast, #4 Splash Play, #6 Club, & #7 with Ship Chasing crew.

✍️ Underdog's Best Ball Mania 4 Structure Strategy. Wrote up a 10,000 foot overview of the contest for Fantasy Life. Good place to start.

🦅 The backfield I'm loading up on. Very similar to the Seahawks set up last year.

☣️ Has the toxicity in poker gone too far? Broke down the latest drama with Bric on LOLz.

🤝 I dreamed up a trade the Titans should do. Need this for my Kyle Pitts bags.

🤩 My favorite team so far. Pretty clean build.

💪 Would you rather get $1,000,000 under the table or win $750k as a best ball champ? A classic Swolecast hypothetical.

BBM4 draft #8 with Spags on tap at noon...

Then tonight at 9pm ET the Best Ball After Dark streams roll on with John Daigle. Join us for some drinks, discussion around John's marathon training, and, let's be honest, a draft. Become a YouTube member here for access.

Someone asked for a Value Hound hat, so I dropped it in the store. Bunch of different color options too:

I'm now five episodes deep on the show Jury Duty after a handful of recommendations and it is as great as advertised. The show follows the inner workings of a trial jury in a mockumentary that is very reminiscent of The Office. The catch, though, is that it’s not a real case, trial or jury. Everyone is an actor except for one juror, Ronald (the man with his hands up in the photo above).

A lot of times "prank" shows like this can feel vaguely mean (even Nathan For You veers into this territory at times), but there's something wonderfully wholesome about how the punchline of Jury Duty isn't Ronald but all of the flawed characters doing over-the-top shit. With different casting, this could have gone wrong, but Ronald exhibits patience and kindness with the actors that is not only hilarious, but legitimately uplifting. Can't wait to finish it.

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