The Emotional Bankroll Podcast: Recent Episodes

Brian Jester

Have you ever wondered about the lifestyles of daily fantasy sports professionals? I sit down with interesting and high-profile DFS pros to discuss the highs and lows of playing fantasy sports for a living.

You may have the financial means to go pro, but do you have the emotional bankroll to withstand the swings and isolated lifestyle?

I'm the guest this week!

I’m Brian Jester -- courtjesters on DK and @BrianJesterFF on Twitter -- the Emotional Bankroll Podcast creator, co-founder of Occupy Fantasy, DraftKings Millionaire winner, 2019 Fanduel World Fantasy Football Championship runner up, and I have more than $600,000 in UFC winnings in the last 18 months.

I brought on Niromada, a top PGA DFS player and the PGA writer at Occupy Fantasy, to interview me.

I chatted with Niromada about:

How growing up in a horse racing family impacted my career path
The freedom and fears after winning $1 million
My transition from corporate life to full-time fantasy sports
Handling long and significant financial downswings
The pros and cons of this lifestyle
Coming down from the dopamine hits of big wins
and more!

Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and leave a rating/review to let us know what you think of the show!

Daniel Hutchings -- nerdytenor on DraftKings and @nerdytenor on Twitter -- is the the 27th ranked player in the RotoGrinders rankings who is known for his simulations and NFL/PGA DFS prowess.

I chatted with Daniel about:

The partnership that kickstarted his DFS career
Balancing curiosity vs anxiety when evaluating your play/results
How it feels to run UNDER expectation
His singing career as a self-described introvert
Why sweating games sucks
How we would get back into the workforce if we needed to
and more!

Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and leave a rating/review to let us know what you think of the show!

JJ Zachariason - @LateRoundQB on Twitter -- is the former Editor-in-Chief at NumberFire and current owner of LateRound.com.

I chatted with JJ about:

Why he decided to make the leap and start his own site
Why differentiation is the key for both content AND DFS
What a balanced lifestyle means to him and why it's so important
Why he DOESN'T play DFS or season-long fantasy football at high stakes
Does an analyst have to be a winning player - or even play at all! - to be a good resource?
Explaining your career to outsiders
and more!

Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and leave a rating/review to let us know what you think of the show!

Braeden Greseth - @BraedenGreseth on Twitter and bgreseth on FanDuel/DraftKings -- has won ELEVEN Single Game GPPs during the 2022 NBA Playoffs.

I chatted with Braeden about:

What it's like to be on such an insane heater
Why he has such a huge edge in NBA Showdwon
Graduating college A MONTH AGO and becoming a full-time DFS pro
Which courses and topics from college helped him build his own simulation and lineup creation software
Pros / cons of simulations
How to evaluate your play during a downswing
and more!

Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and leave a rating/review to let us know what you think of the show!

Eric Thiel - @et_stats on Twitter and etphonehome on DraftKings -- is primarily a college football and college basketball specialist who has multiple six figure wins under his belt as a full-time DFS player.

I chatted with Eric about:

Graduating from university and immediately becoming a full-time DFS pro
Explaining that decision to his friends and family
Why he focuses on college sports and where the edges lie in niche areas
His decision to stay off the RotoGrinders leaderboards
What it's like to work all day every Saturday in the fall while you're young and your friends are going out
The feeling of being burnt out and how there's likely an expiration date on this career
and more!

Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and leave a rating/review to let us know what you think of the show!

Ken Lin - @swaglordken on Twitter and swaglordken on DraftKings/FanDuel -- is primarily a small-field DFS player with countless five-figure GPP wins, but he also focuses much of his time on sports betting. I had to talk to Ken after his recent decision to bet HIS ENTIRE BANKROLL on the NFL draft.

I chatted with Ken about:

His decision to risk it all on the NFL draft
The importance of taking shots with your bankroll when you're younger
Why he plays small-field DFS contests
The amount of time and grind required to intelligently take a bankroll shot
Deciphering good information
The lifestyle of a gambler while in college, especially during COVID
and more!

Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and leave a rating/review to let us know what you think of the show!

Coby DuBose - @DuBoseDefense on Twitter and TigerPawsSC on DraftKings -- is a criminal defense lawyer who self-excluded from DFS from 2016 to 2021. Since his return late last year, he's won more than $500,000 playing PGA DFS.

I talked with Coby about:

Why he walked away from DFS for so long
The process of getting back into DFS
His unusual way of growing his bankroll
Why his ultra-aggressive approach works for PGA DFS
What it's like to win $500K in such a short stretch
The mental roller coaster of being a criminal defense lawyer
and more!

Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and leave a rating/review to let us know what you think of the show!

jayk123 is a retired DFS pro with huge DraftKings scores, including a Millionaire Maker win. Unfortunately, Jay was forced to abruptly stop playing DFS when DraftKings left Australia last year.

I talked with Jay about:

The DFS landscape in Australia
The crazy time difference and his routines for each sport
The exhaustive, yet pleasurable, grinding lifestyle
His preference to keep his DFS success private
The mental aspect of huge downswings
His future without DFS
and more!

Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and leave a rating/review to let us know what you think of the show!

Ian Johns - @IanJ300 on Twitter and ianj300 on FanDuel/DraftKings -- is a top-50 ranked player in RotoGrinders rankings AND a 3-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner. I talked with Ian about:

How he got started in poker and DFS
The mentality of winning 3 WSOP bracelets
The importance of capitalizing on your strengths
How playing aggressively when you're winning is an overlooked aspect of bankroll management
Dealing with a $320K sweat, handling a $250K downswing
Importance of work/family balance
and more!

Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and leave a rating/review to let us know what you think of the show!

Michael Cohen - @TwoGunFF on Twitter and TwoGun on FanDuel/DraftKings -- is exclusively an NFL DFS player and the first person to win THREE DraftKings Millionaire Makers.

I talked with Michael about:

What it's like to win 3 Millys
The benefits of focusing on just one DFS sport
How edges have evolved in NFL DFS
Importance of multiple income streams, especially when playing DFS
Playing within your bankroll and how it leads to "not being scared" in DFS
and more!

Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and leave a rating/review to let us know what you think of the show!

Justin MacMahan - @JustinMacmahan on Twitter and TheHumanCespedes on DraftKings -- is the co-founder of Daily Fantasy Insider and a top-50 ranked player in RotoGrinders rankings.

I talked with Justin about:

How he built his current bankroll from an initial deposit
Why he focuses on high-stakes, small field contests instead of large field mass-multi entry tournaments
The mental health of Twitter
Creating a balanced lifestyle
Financial transparency with your partner
Trusting others to do work correctly

Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and leave a rating/review to let us know what you think of the show!

Kristi Metzger - @krayton12 on Twitter and krayton on FanDuel -- is a senior vice president in the wealth management sector, yet she has found time to score a $400K finish in the FanDuel Fan Championship in 2018 to go along with her ELEVEN DFS live final appearances.

I talked with Kristi about:

What it's like to lose a million dollar pay day on a stat correction
What to do (financially) after a big DFS score
The ups and downs of chasing live finals
Creating a DFS process that supplements your full-time job
Your work identity after co-workers find out you're a successful DFS player
A female perspective on the fantasy industry

Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and leave a rating/review to let us know what you think of the show!

Gio DeMers - @rbx88_ on Twitter and rbx88 on DraftKings -- has won THREE DraftKings Milionaire Makers PLUS a World Series of Poker bracelet.

I talked with Gio about:

How he views his 3-milly stretch now that it's had time to set in
The pros and cons of having an unorthodox approach in DFS and poker
How to press edges when you're on a heater
Minimizing losses during a cold stretch and how to handle a downswing
Frequently resetting your mindset
The lifestyle of playing both poker and DFS for a living

Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and leave a rating/review to let us know what you think of the show!

Steve Buzzard - @SteveBuzzard on Twitter and dacoltz on DraftKings -- is a top-20 ranked player in the RotoGrinders rankings and is mostly known for famously winning both the FanDuel Million AND the FanDuel World Fantasy Football Championship during the same NFL season.

I talked with Steve about:

Growing his current bankroll from just an initial $500 deposit
The stress of maintaining a high profile, full-time day job while playing DFS seriously, then the decision to eventually leave that job
The highs of his crazy 2018 NFL season
How he handled the worst downswing of his career last year
Mental health challenges of high stakes DFS + the pandemic

Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and leave a rating/review to let us know what you think of the show!

Neil Orfield - @playerqDFS on Twitter and ncorfield8k on DraftKings -- has a law degree, but he left his day job last year to pursue a full-time career in DFS.

I talked with Neil about:

His decision to jump into DFS full-time NOW
How his background helps (or doesn't help) his DFS process
Sunk cost fallacy
What it's like to sweat six AND seven figure wins
Why doubt about your ability and edges surface so quickly, even after a big victory

Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and leave a rating/review to let us know what you think of the show!

Alex Baker - @AwesemoDFS on Twitter and Awesemo on DraftKings -- has been the #1 ranked DFS player for years. With more than 75 (!!) six-figure tournament wins, plus his first DraftKings Millionaire Maker win earlier this year, Alex sat down to discuss:

The pressure and responsibility of being the top-ranked DFS player
His future in DFS and why he's scaling back his play
Starting a relationship AND getting married while being at the top of his DFS game
How much money you need to be comfortable losing if you have a high risk tolerance and play in high stakes contests (it's a lot)

Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and leave a rating/review to let us know what you think of the show!

Brian Hooper - @BrianHooper__ on Twitter and bric75 on DraftKings -- is a top 10 ranked DFS player in RotoGrinders rankings with tons of six-figure tournament wins. Brian isn't one to pat himself on the back for his successes, but we dove deep on topics such as:

Why it's important to have a community of people who understand the specific highs & lows of your lifestyle
Competition (or lack thereof) in DFS
Balancing the DFS work
Powering through a $600,000 downswing and the mental aspect of losses piling up
Advice for listeners who want to be a pro DFS player AND specific tips on how to beat DFS pros

Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and leave a rating/review to let us know what you think of the show!

Colin Drew - @drewby417 on Twitter and dfsteams on DraftKings -- has nearly $1M in lifetime DFS profits, he's binked six separate NFL Showdown large-field GPPs, and he's the 2020 DraftKings Fantasy Hockey World Champion. Yet, despite all of this success, Colin recently left the DFS industry to pursue a job at a tech startup. I chatted with Colin about the transition, covering topics like: - Mindsets before / during / after his massive DFS wins - Balancing DFS while raising a family with two young daughters - Being humbled after a losing DFS year

Decision-making during a bankroll downswing
What went into the decision to leave his full-time DFS job
Advice for listeners who want to be a pro DFS player

Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and leave a rating/review to let us know what you think of the show!