I have been an HBD Mentor in the past and I had a blog post designed to especially help HBD newbies. Well, it's been about a decade and I figured it needed updating, lol.

Here you go: https://hbd-stickball.blogspot.com/p/mrstickballs-advice-for-hbd-newbies.html

Mr_Stickball's Advice for HBD Newbies .

Check it out and please feel free to chime in.

Lots of good stuff here. Only thing I'll add is a reiteration of patience -- new owners should realize it's a Dynasty game where a whole lot of nothing is happening. Also, reiterate that one needs to find long term owners that they want to emulate. Be careful who you choose as well. Just because they have a good record does not mean they're respected in the HBD community. Use your best judgement (I.e. if your style is more build-from-within, find a user that does the same as opposed to users that use free agency, trading, etc.).

I'll triple down on it, and I'll tell you why, because IMO these things are related:

1/ Don't feel like you have to do something. Unless you take over a team that's got something broken (say midseason and the prev owner hasn't logged in for awhile) your main job as a new owner is to learn. And you can learn a lot from having a bad team and understanding why it's bad. From my old mentor: Nothing in this game needs to be done immediately.

2/ It's a budget management game. You have to maximize return for every dollar. How do you do that when you can't just get yourself all the best players? IMO the critical beating heart of this game is Correctly valuing players - developing your own understanding of how player ratings translate to game performance.

3/ Play in a world with like minded owners. If you're the one guy who thinks a trade or a deal is shady and no one else cares, your fun's gonna run out fast.

Posted by damag on 5/26/2022 4:49:00 PM (view original):
I'll triple down on it, and I'll tell you why, because IMO these things are related:

1/ Don't feel like you have to do something. Unless you take over a team that's got something broken (say midseason and the prev owner hasn't logged in for awhile) your main job as a new owner is to learn. And you can learn a lot from having a bad team and understanding why it's bad. From my old mentor: Nothing in this game needs to be done immediately.

2/ It's a budget management game. You have to maximize return for every dollar. How do you do that when you can't just get yourself all the best players? IMO the critical beating heart of this game is Correctly valuing players - developing your own understanding of how player ratings translate to game performance.

3/ Play in a world with like minded owners. If you're the one guy who thinks a trade or a deal is shady and no one else cares, your fun's gonna run out fast.

+++ to #3 above

Posted by damag on 5/26/2022 4:49:00 PM (view original):
I'll triple down on it, and I'll tell you why, because IMO these things are related:

1/ Don't feel like you have to do something. Unless you take over a team that's got something broken (say midseason and the prev owner hasn't logged in for awhile) your main job as a new owner is to learn. And you can learn a lot from having a bad team and understanding why it's bad. From my old mentor: Nothing in this game needs to be done immediately.

2/ It's a budget management game. You have to maximize return for every dollar. How do you do that when you can't just get yourself all the best players? IMO the critical beating heart of this game is Correctly valuing players - developing your own understanding of how player ratings translate to game performance.

3/ Play in a world with like minded owners. If you're the one guy who thinks a trade or a deal is shady and no one else cares, your fun's gonna run out fast.

Well said.