Last updated on July 29th, 2025
Fans of fantasy football may not realize it, but their favorite pastime has a lot in common with poker. Both of these activities require the ability to think strategically, as well as considerable background knowledge.
There are so many ways in which fantasy football and poker overlap; from the need to think on your feet to the willingness to take calculated risks. In poker, you are trying to build the strongest possible hand of cards, while with fantasy football you are attempting to assemble a winning team.
Neither of those tasks can be accomplished without strategy, patience and a solid grasp of the game. But if both demand strategic thought, which needs it the most?
The Importance of Analysis
One of the key similarities between fantasy football and poker is the need for analysis if you want to succeed. In fantasy football, you will have to analyze data concerning player performances, but also evaluate how players will fit together into a functioning team.
You can get so far by looking at stats, but the best fantasy players tend to have some interest in football. That is because they watch the players from week to week, so they can better understand fluctuations in form and who will work well together in a team.
Analysis is also needed in poker, and it can take many different forms. If you’re playing online poker games, you have the opportunity to check and analyze previous hands to see what you did right or wrong. You should also be analyzing the current state of play mid-game so you can make the correct decision when betting, raising or folding.
This demands the kind of mind that can sift through information and retain the most important parts of it. The qualities needed to be a great poker player have much in common with those necessary for a top class football manager.
Let us take a deeper look at what those qualities are and whether they are more vital in poker or fantasy football.
- Assessment of risk
The ability to assess and calculate risk is crucial in both poker and fantasy football. In a poker game, the player has to work out whether they should call, raise of fold during each game.
That means thinking long and hard about the value of their hand, but also trying to determine the value of those held by their opponents. This information cannot be known for sure, so some element of risk is always there. A good player is one who instinctively knows when that risk is worth taking.
Fantasy football involves risk assessment too, because you are taking on the role of team manager. You have to figure out whether it is worth gambling on a player who is in good form but who also has a niggling injury – knowing that if it is aggravated, that player could be out for months.
That is just one example, but it is all about weighing up your need for points against the risk of losing a top player.
- Making decisions
Poker is a game that rewards those able to be decisive in their chosen strategy. If you are unable to decide whether to play your hand or not, the best opportunities will simply pass you by.
Decisiveness is even more essential in Fantasy Football though – because there are so many decisions that have to be made. You have to choose which players to sign for your team; what line-up and formation to play and what your tactical approach will be.
Fantasy football also requires in-game decision-making, as does poker. In the former, you will have to respond to circumstances by making substitutions and tactical tweaks.
In the latter, you may have to adjust your approach if an opponent does something you were not expecting.
- Bankroll management
When you enter a poker game, you will have a bankroll behind you. How well you manage it will determine how long you stay in the game – and whether you have a chance of winning the pot or not.
Therefore, a good poker strategy is to go all-in only when you are really certain that your hand is strong. Most hands will be about folding or calling, while you wait for the killer moment.
Something similar is true when it comes to fantasy football. You are given a set transfer budget and must use it to build yourself a team.
That means you cannot blow the majority of the money on one star player. That will force you to surround them with budget buys, leaving your side unbalanced.
In fantasy football, bankroll management is about finding players with impressive stats at a price that you can afford.
It is hard to say whether poker or fantasy football demands more strategy, as it is central to success in both activities.
