Right, so this week I finally decided to tackle FPL price changes head-on. Been burned too many times waiting to buy a player only to find he cost an extra 0.1 million the next morning. Super annoying, right? So I set out to figure when these price changes actually happen and how to react without stressing myself out.
Starting Totally Clueless
Honestly, my first move was pure panic mode. I’d just refresh the app randomly all day hoping to catch rises or falls. Obviously, that sucked. Wasted a bunch of time seeing nothing happen, then sometimes logged in late at night to find prices had already moved. Felt like chasing ghosts. So I knew I needed a proper plan.
Observing Like a Hawk for Two Weeks
I told myself, “Right, no transfers this week. Just watch.” Made notes like:
- Checked prices first thing when I woke up (around 7 AM)
- Logged in again at lunch (1 PM)
- Checked religiously between 8 PM and 11 PM, looking every 30 mins
- Peeked one last time just before midnight
And wow, patterns actually emerged! Here’s what I spotted consistently:
- The Dead Zone: Basically nothing happens overnight or early morning. Like, dead quiet until late afternoon.
- 7 PM Onwards is Wild: Things got busy around this time. Most changes hit between 7 PM and 10:30 PM UK time.
- Tuesday/Wednesday Chaos: Right after the gameweek deadline (usually Saturday 11 AM UK), prices are frozen. Then Tuesday and Wednesday evenings? Absolute madness. Players rising and falling constantly if they had a stinker or smashed it.
- Thursday Calm: Things usually slowed way down by Thursday evening.
Figuring Out How React Without Losing My Mind
Seeing the pattern was step one. Actually doing something about it? Different ball game. Here’s what I tried:
- Stop Panic-Buying: If I wanted a player everyone else wanted, waiting until Monday morning was stupid. Had to bite the bullet before Tuesday night craziness.
- Set Reminders: Put alerts on my phone for 7 PM and 9 PM UK time Tuesday/Wednesday. Just a quick check. Didn’t camp on the app.
- Use Site Features Wisely: Started looking closely at predicted price rise/fall sites. Not gospel, but seeing a player flagged as 90% likely to rise tomorrow told me, “Buddy, buy tonight.”
- Got Comfortable Losing Value Sometimes: This was hard. Saw a player I wanted start falling fast. Held off hoping for another drop, but he stopped falling. Cost me 0.1 million by waiting. Sometimes you gotta jump on a fall if it seems big enough, even if you miss the absolute bottom.
What I Actually Do Now
This ain’t perfect, but it works for me with way less stress:
- Sunday/Monday: Relax. Prices frozen. Plan transfers without rushing.
- Tuesday 7:00 PM UK time: Quick login. See what’s moving. If a target is rising fast, I pull the trigger.
- Wednesday 7:00 PM UK time: Same drill. Essential if I need to sell someone falling.
- If A Player Hits 90%+ Prediction to Rise Tonight: I buy them that evening if they fit my plan. Ain’t gambling on waking up to an extra cost.
- Accept 0.1 Losses Occasionally: If I wait too long and miss a drop? Oh well. Lesson learned. Won’t break my season.
So yeah, boils down to knowing the busy times (mostly evenings UK, especially Tuesday/Wednesday), using predictions as a guide, checking strategically, and accepting you won’t always time it perfectly. Still mess it up sometimes, but way less than before! That’s progress.