Whether you’re a newbie or a seasoned veteran, fantasy football mistakes are bound to be committed by all sorts of fantasy owners. Often, the owner doesn’t even realize what he is doing is wrong.

In order to help make sure your fantasy team doesn’t suck, below is a list of some of the most commonly committed fantasy football mistakes. Topics include: league and operational, roster management, preparation, and draft and auction.

League/Operational Playing in a league with too many owners

You may get lucky and be one of the only teams in the history of fantasy football to never make a single roster move, but it’s not likely. And when it comes time to pick up a player from the waiver wire, you’ll be shocked at the bums on the street if your league has too many owners taking up too many roster spots. (What is the best number of teams for fantasy football?) Playing in a league with a shyster (or two)

You may have all the will power in the world to spot a shyster and ignore his chicanery, but he’ll surely dupe one of your more gullible league owners and tilt the competitive balance away from you. Playing in a league with children

If you want to participate in a league ripe with fantasy football mistakes, invite children to play. If not, keep them out. Allowing naïve and ignorant children to play in your league might benefit your team if you’re a shyster, but if you’re too honest to take advantage of them, someone else will and cause your team harm in the process. In general, don’t ever play fantasy football with children. Not collecting intel on league opponents

Know thy enemy! Talk to them. Find out who they like and dislike. Gauge their interest in various players. Beware the smoke screens that intelligent owners will give off, but do your best to know your opponents’ tendencies, especially in the draft process. And perhaps most importantly, learn from the fantasy football mistakes that they make. Employing too many obscure scoring rules

I’m a fan of the Keep It Simple, Stupid method of scoring. The more rules you throw into a fantasy league, the more convoluted it gets and the less likely you’ll be able to draft a team that takes advantage of all the different ways of scoring. Leaving too much to luck in scoring system

Similar to the obscure rules mistake, playing in a league whose rules leave too much to luck and don’t allow you to use your skills and knowledge in drafting a winner is a recipe for disaster. Not conducting an offline draft

There are two schools of thought here. Those in favor of online drafts like the speed and convenience. On the other hand, I don’t like being rushed and I like being actively involved in what’s going on. Thus, offline drafts are the best way to avoid fantasy football mistakes. Short time limit for draft picks

What the hell is the rush? Why do you have to schedule a 1:00 tee time? Why are you trying to go out on that hot date after the draft? There shouldn’t be any need to have short timers on draft picks because that causes too many fantasy football mistakes. Enjoy the single best day of the fantasy football calendar.

Roster Management Worrying too much about matchups

If you’re deciding between two very similarly skilled players, go ahead and start the one with the better matchup. But if you bench one of your studs in lieu of a bum facing an easy opponent, don’t be surprised if your stud goes off for 3 TDs and a boatload of yards. Don’t be gullible

If you’re easily persuadable or influenced, your team will suck. Period. Stand your ground and fact check everything you hear. Don’t make any emotional, irrational moves

I know it’s awfully easy to want to jump ship, send a message, or generally shake up your roster when you start the season 0-3. It’s frustrating. But if those three games were close and your team has loads of talent, don’t go trading away valuable assets for next to nothing out of desperation. The worst thing I’ve heard from owners in these situations is, “I’ve gotta do something!” Don’t give up early

Don’t compound your fantasy football mistakes by throwing in the towel early. Too many owners give up and stop trying to improve their roster when they get off to poor starts. It hurts the integrity of the league and of course will ensure your team sucks. Being complacent with success

You jump out to a 3-0 record and have scored the most points in the league. Lean back, put your feet up, and pat yourself on the back, right? Heck no. Get out there on the waiver wire and continue to find ways to improve. Being the scorned ex-girlfriend

I know how you feel. We’ve all been there. It happened to me with Todd Gurley in 2016. You waste a high pick on a player and he ruins your season. But you can’t completely ignore a player just because you got burned in the past. Too much loyalty to “your guys”

Maybe you have a favorite player or two. Maybe you have a special fondness for a guy who has succeeded in the past. But if that guy isn’t cutting it anymore, don’t cling to him and allow him to drain your team. Not having an insurance policy

You had a successful draft by all accounts. Your team is projected to finish first place and score the most points. You get to Week 1 and your first-round pick tears his ACL. Now what? Not having a contingency plan will lead to ultimate suckage. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it

Make sure you realize that there is a difference between tinkering and fixing. Tinkering — which you always should do — involves subtle upgrades to fringe players on your roster. If, however, you have studs that other owners are trying to poach from you, don’t ditch those studs if you’re winning. Waiting too long to upgrade

You don’t want to push the panic button too soon, but at the same time, you don’t want to wait until you’re 1-6 and likely out of the playoff race before trying to shake up your roster. Dropping a contributor for a streamer

Streaming fantasy football players certainly can be an effective strategy — especially with kickers and defenses — but don’t even think about dropping a solid contributor in favor of a one-week fill-in with a good matchup. Ignoring weather reports

It’s not just the sports channel you need to be watching each week. You need to pay attention to where your guys are playing and if there is heavy rain in the forecast, you might want to consider other options. Ignoring injury reports

Unless the injury is reported on game day within minutes of kickoff, you need to keep tabs on the injury reports and gameday inactives to ensure you don’t start a guy who is out for the week. Being a bad negotiator

You may not be good at negotiating a better price on your house, car or TV purchase, but you damn well better learn the art of trading with your fellow fantasy owners. If done properly, you can land an advantageous deal. Setting your lineup too early in the week

If you’re a casual fantasy football owner, chances are you’re not paying attention to what goes on during the week, so you set your lineup prior to Thursday night’s game and that’s it. But you could wind up missing information on your players that could hurt you by Sunday. Neglecting the waiver wire

One of the best ways to correct your fantasy football mistakes is to hit your league’s waiver wire. If you’re not making a claim on a player during a given week, it’s tempting to ignore what the rest of your owners are doing. But by ignoring the waiver wire, you’re going to miss the opportunity to scoop up who someone else cuts. One man’s trash is another’s treasure. Focusing on need vs. wants in free agency

When you’re looking to upgrade your team via free agency or the waiver wire, don’t just look at positions of need. You may think you’re stacked or set at a given position, but by ignoring that position, you might miss an even greater upgrade. Starting players on Thursday night

With few exceptions, starting players in Thursday night games is a recipe for losing. Obviously, don’t bench a Top 25 player. But beware the Thursday night offensive duds because Thursday nights are the black hole for scoring. Why? Because teams are coming off a short week. It’s difficult to get your bodies ready for a collision sport on short rest. Overvaluing the flash-in-the-pan weekly performers

How many times has a player or two (or twelve) gone undrafted, had a few big scoring weeks early, drawn a lot of raves from fantasy owners, and then done squat the rest of the season? Often. So don’t abandon contributors for those flashes in the pan. Stashing too many developmental players

If you’re in a dynasty league, stashing developmental players is part of a greater strategy. However, if you’re in a redraft league, stashing too many developmental players on your roster, hoping they soon produce, cuts down your depth and chances to succeed. Keeping more than one kicker or defense

Why anybody would ever draft or pick up more than one kicker or defense at a time is beyond me. Waste of space. Holding on to a kicker or defense in lieu of a skill player upgrade

I get it. You have the highest scoring kicker or defense in the league. You don’t want to get rid of him (or them) because of the ranking. So what? You’re going to pass on upgrading a skill position because you don’t want to cut a kicker or defense? Keeping an injured player on the roster for too long

How many owners wasted a roster spot on Adrian Peterson in 2016, hoping he’d return for their fantasy playoffs? Too many, likely. If a player is out for the majority of your fantasy regular season … just cut him.

Preparation Treating fantasy magazines like the Bible

When I first started playing fantasy football, the Internet was a toddler, struggling to find its footing. So buying fantasy magazines and reading them cover to cover was the norm. Today, print is aging and magazine information becomes outdated instantly. The second you pull it off the shelf, it becomes old news. Not doing your homework

Is it impossible for a fantasy owner to win his league without studying? No. But it’s highly unlikely, even for the smartest among them. You need to read news, rank players, and form a strategy. Put in the effort if you want to succeed. So, study a cheat cheat, review a mock draft, and get yourself prepared. Not knowing league’s scoring rules

Why would you draft a receiving back in a non-PPR league? Or, why would you place high emphasis on wide receivers in non-PPR leagues? What sense does it make to ignore quarterbacks in 6-point passing touchdown leagues? Know your league’s scoring rules and draft accordingly. Showing up to the draft — or becoming — drunk

Yeah, it’s fun. Pound a few drinks with the guys, swap some stories, share some laughs. But all you’re really doing is toasting to your own failure and to the success of a sober owner. Being a homer

I’ve heard countless owners say they draft players from their favorite teams because it’s extra fun to root for them on Sunday. Okay, if that’s your prerogative, you better hope you favorite team is a Super Bowl contender with high-scoring players. Relish the opportunity to play fantasy football against homers; but don’t be one yourself. Holding a “cram session” before the draft

Have you ever seen a fellow owner show up at the draft with a Barnes & Noble bag and a receipt stuck inside a crisp new magazine like a bookmark? Yeah, I have. And that owner is ill-prepared and likely to struggle. Make sure you study well in advance of draft day. Being late to the draft

Showing up late to your league’s draft is one surefire way to commit all sorts of fantasy football mistakes. Similar to the cram session, showing up late to the draft ensures that you are rushed and in a tizzy and are not fully focused on the task at hand. Looking too far ahead

I know it’s tempting to look forward to your league’s fantasy playoffs when preparing your draft strategy and circling guys with easy matchups, but isn’t that a little presumptuous? You’ve got to get to the playoffs first, so don’t pass up on better talent. Assuming success validates your strategy

I’ve had success in fantasy football not because I’ve stuck to one script in these past 25 years but because my strategies and awareness have evolved as the game has. Don’t rest on your laurels and assume since you struck gold one year, your strategy is flawless. Using someone else’s info exclusively

As much as I’d like to say you can get all your fantasy football needs met at FantasyOwner.com, I’d advise you to research as much as possible from a variety of sources in order to formulate your own opinions on players. Valuing opportunity more than talent

Who doesn’t like a player who was drafted high in the first round of the NFL draft and looks like he’s the clear-cut starter of his team? But if that player isn’t as talented and he plays for a lousy NFL team, suddenly his opportunity looks far less intriguing. Not making a sleeper list

You need to have a sleeper list. Period. There are guys who add great value late in the draft because your fellow owners are sleeping on them. And if you don’t have those names handy, you’re going to forget about them and kick yourself later. Not ranking players

Is there anything more common sense than this? Print out a list of rankings, or save them in a spreadsheet and make your own changes to them. Ignoring offseason player movement

Yay! You drafted a guy who has been moderately successful the past several years with a great quarterback throwing to him. Except, he signed a free agent deal with a terrible team and you didn’t know it. And now he sucks. And so does your team. Not paying attention to depth charts

You should have a constant state of attention on all 32 NFL depth charts so you know who is in contention to get playing time on whatever team. Don’t show up to a draft without knowing all 32 NFL depth charts. No, I’m not suggesting that you memorize them all. But you need a basic familiarity with them, and then you can bring printouts of each team’s depth chart to your draft day. It doesn’t help you to draft what you consider a sleeper if he’s actually fifth on the depth chart and on the fringe of being cut. Not recognizing offensive line strength

Offensive line strength plays a much bigger role in fantasy football success than many fantasy owners realize. An average football player can be a great fantasy player behind a strong NFL offensive line. Or a great player can suck behind a terrible offensive line. Failing to distinguish between real and fantasy football

Fantasy football mistakes are frequently made when the line between fantasy and reality is blurred. A lot of newbies will see a player’s name on their cheat sheets and instantly recognize that player as a stud, not realizing that the player is a good NFL prospect but only a so-so fantasy producer. Putting too much emphasis on mean over median

What does that even mean, Poindexter? Math 101: The “mean” is the average of all numbers. The “median” is the middle number of a sequence. So, if a player has 5 carries for 100 yards, the “mean” is 20. But what if that player had carries of 0, 1, 2, 5, and 92 yards? The “median” or “middle” number there is 2. That’s awful. If not for that 92-yard broken play, this guy is terrible. Falling for smoke screens

I encourage you to gather as much intel and information as possible, but beware of smoke screens. A smoke screen is when a coach (or fellow fantasy owner) puts out deliberately false information to try to deceive you. Weed that stuff out with cross references. Forgetting ages of players

It’s easy for fantasy owners to see a player they recognize because he’s had a history of success. But what if that player’s history reads like a chronology or obituary because you didn’t realize he’s 36 and entering his 14th season in the league? Ignoring healthy games played

Or, to put it another way, taking too many chances on injury-prone players. Sooner or later, that injury-prone player is going to suffer a big injury that will cost him too many games and will hurt your team in the long run. Place too much emphasis on preseason

We actually had a fantasy draft while watching a preseason game in the background one year. And I kid you not, an owner drafted a third-string player because he was tearing up the competition. Yikes. That player got the boot on final cutdown day and that fantasy owner wasted a draft pick. Sharing too much information

You don’t have to guard your fantasy materials like the CIA, but just keep your mouth shut about sleepers, strategies, and other information you discovered while studying for your draft. Not keeping up with player news

Know your players inside and out by tracking them in the news. We’ve all played in a league with a guy (or maybe it was you?) who drafted a player he didn’t realize suffered an injury, fell into legal trouble, was cut by his team, had gone AWOL, or maybe was abducted by aliens and was MIA. Just pay attention.