On Saturday, I helped my sister throw a surprise 30th birthday party for my brother-in-law Brad, and it was a rousing success. He was completely surprised, a whole bunch of people showed up and consumed a whole bunch of adult beverages, and all had a good time. On top of that the Blackhawks beat the Predators to advance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and make the day that much better. Even though my sister did all of the planning and most of the work, I am still proud of the part I played in making the day a success. I give myself 12 percent of the credit.

The biggest surprise of the entire day may have been that I had such a good time. Brad and his family and friends are awesome, but I’m not usually much for big parties. If given the choice I will usually choose a game night with a few close friends over a loud party with a bunch of people I do not know that well. In fact, in most social settings I prefer a small group to a large group, but that is the exact opposite of my preferred strategy in MLB DFS games.

In DFS games, I prefer to play slates with as many games as possible. It is one of the reasons I have not played much NBA DFS during the playoffs. I love fantasy NBA—especially DFS—but given the choice between four NBA games and 16 MLB games, I feel there really isn’t any choice at all.

To be clear, I do still play some games with smaller slates. I haven’t avoided NBA and NHL DFS completely during the playoffs, and just today I played some afternoon-only MLB lineups that are on track to win me some money. Still, I know where my bread is buttered, and that usually means big games. The important takeaway is this: find what types of games work for you and play those games.

I know a lot of people prefer smaller slates, and there are some very good reasons to play smaller slates. In smaller slates, the choices tend to be much clearer. Sunday’s late slate was a great example. Francisco Liriano was by far the best starting pitcher available. If you played the full slate you would have had to choose between several very good pitchers, including Liriano, Carlos Carrasco, Jake Arrieta, Chris Archer, Gio Gonzalez and others. I wouldn’t have faulted anyone who played Carrasco or Gonzalez, but obviously those picks did not work out great.

When you play in smaller slates there is also less of a chance of being blindsided by a fluky huge game. It sucks to lose money because Brandon Guyer had a career day in somebody else’s lineup. The more games there are, the greater chance there will be some huge performances by guys who weren’t even on your radar.

There is also a practical purpose for playing smaller slates. On sites where the lineups lock at the start of the first game, playing a full slate of games can be risky. Why would you put somebody in your lineup when you don’t even know if he will play that day? In that case, it makes sense to play a smaller slate of just afternoon games or just 7:00 games.

I prefer big games because I trust my knowledge, my research and FantasyAlarm to help me find the best plays every day. I like having more options because that increases the chances I will find some hidden gem most fantasy players have overlooked. I don’t like playing any slate where I feel like I have to play Francisco Liriano.

I think part of the reason I prefer large slates comes from my PGA DFS experience. Most PGA Tournaments have a field of 156 players to choose from. In those DFS games, it is possible to find guys who are used in less than five percent of lineups who go on to have huge weeks. I love the possibility of finding those gems, and that is one of the reasons I gravitate towards big slates.

Of course, the biggest reason I gravitate towards big slates is because I tend to have better results in those contests. If you have been struggling lately, try looking at the types of games you have been playing. If you only play small slates, maybe it is time to switch to bigger slates. Maybe you play both, but by reviewing your results you find you do better with small slates.

The bottom line is if something is working for you there is no need to change it. Just do not be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and try a different game everyone so often. You never know when you will be pleasantly surprised.