1.  The Best Player Isn't Always The Best Choice:  While this rule is covered in 10 Rules To Building A Successful Fantasy Team, it needs to be revisited here due to the larger impact in non-salary leagues. In a salary league, though not advisable, you could go without an Arod or Pedro and use the loads of money you'd save trying to make up for the lost production. This is possible when being able to choose from an entire pool, regardless of the rosters of your opponents.  But suppose you are selecting 9th in your fantasy draft and the players taken ahead of you are Arod, Pujols, Pedro, Nomar, Tejada, Helton, Prior, and Schilling.  You can already face the music at short and stand little chance of catching up to the owners of Prior, Pedro and  Schilling in regards to the strikeouts they will give you.  So do you take the next best shortstop (Jeter) to save face or snatch up a Mussina, Zito, or Hudson?  Remember back to the basic premise: the team with the best balance wins. It is up to you to find out where you can gain the same advantage as your predecessors.  While Jeter would be a justifiable choice, given there are about 12-15 pitchers just below the big 3, you could probably wait another round before taking a starter and the same can be said about outfielders. The bottom line- find the next biggest positional gap and jump on it.

2.  Draw From The Weakest Positions Early:  As stated in Rule #1, you should draft with gaps in mind to give yourself, not necessarily all of the best players but, a balance and advantage over your opponents.  Don't let yourself get caught without a chair, though.  While there is a definitive top 3 or 4 at every position, you will need to focus on the next 5-15, where you will more likely be choosing from, to create a well-rounded roster.  Therefore it is essential to determine which positions allow you more time and which should you focus on early.  Whatever positions take a drop off to nil production the quickest need to be the focus of your draft in the early rounds.  Obviously there are factors into how important this is.  In a league with 15 teams you can't be as patient (or greedy).  Who is the 15th ranked shortstop or two-bagger? Or 15th-worst catcher? Not very appealing.  But who is the 15th-best outfielder? If you have determined you are going to be stuck with a poor hitter just to fill a position, move on and consider it a lost cause (or a topic of trade talks).  It's not worth picking a lower-tier player here with the difference in production he'll give you. Take the best player elsewhere.

3.  Follow Trends:  As important as it is to have a pre-draft plan, it is just as important to know when to throw it out the window and go with the flow.  Even though we make 'want lists' and go in with visions of putting together the World's Best Roster, rarely does anything work out the way it was 'supposed' to.  As early as your first pick may be a good time to switch gears depending on how the draft is paring out.  While it pays to be patient, sometimes you don't have as long as you think as drafts tend to go in waves, ruled by panic and impatience.  It is not uncommon to watch a round or two go before a whole group of players falls off the board within 5-6 picks.  Just remember not to wait too long to grab your guy and don't be afraid to get the ball rolling or you could be left standing without a chair.

4.  Know Your Opponents:  With the advent of internet-based leagues and drafts, this rule is harder and harder to follow but when possible (in on-premise drafts) it can be the difference between boon-or-bust.  Going into a draft with knowledge of who you are competing against allows you to formulate a better draft-plan and put a more accurate weight on players and positions.  For example; if you are in a league with a bunch of start-ups who have not played before, you can be sure you have the definite advantage in the later rounds and can be a little more conservative early, opting for the best second-baseman rather than a top first baseman or outfielder.  You can also watch trends in regards to locating the 'Homies' (the guy who drafts all his favorite team's players), 'Gamblers' (the guy who thinks everyone is going to have a bust-out season) and 'Trailers' (the guy who takes up the rear on all of the 'trends'). Be mindful of each of their picks and patterns and alter your draft accordingly.  Knowing your opponents also lets you know who you may be able to deal or pick-up at the conclusion of the draft.  If you have Barry Bonds and know a guy wanted him at all costs, he may be willing to overpay for him.  Be interactive before, during and after the draft.

5.  Study, Study, Study:  Ultimately the victor of the battle will be the one who is the most prepared.  By the time you sit down for the draft, you should have a firm grip on the starters and backups for every team along with the rotations, closers and the set-up man.  While the pool can be aplenty when playing with only 5 or 6 teams, playing in a larger league (10 or more) leaves you little choice.  Suppose you have ten teams drafting 3 closers each (2 to be starters).  That would account for every starting closer in the bigs.  Here, it is important to realize why you need a taxi squad- to replace an injured or benched (unproductive) player.  In sticking with Rule #6 of 10 Rules To Building A Successful Fantasy Team, you will have at least one established closer and if possible a second 30-save performer, making your biggest enemy the injury bug. Protect yourself.  We'll assume your options at this point, considering 20 closers are off the board, are not very appealing.  Is it worth a draft pick selecting one of these lower tier closers knowing they are at best, risky bets? Probably not.  It would be wiser to look at the closers you have and go with one of their set-up men. It doesn't necessarily work the same way with position players because the role is different and if Arod goes down you can be assured his backup won't duplicate the production.  You may wish to draft a promising rookie waiting for playing time but you don't know if the door will ever open to more playing time so you may leave yourself with no viable backup at a position.