let the game dictate what matters, not any preconceived notion
do that and you are bound to do well, in time. most things from RL do translate to a similar game environment, but most have some poorly preconceived notions too
when something doesn't work or you have long stretches of poor teams, change how you do things. change how you value various attributes (ratings, or if off, stats that are directly related to said raitings). even with the most restrictive rules and settings vs humans, no less, you can sustain 100+wins. (in the worst situation it does require a suitable budget size to consistently win 100+)
there's not one right way... just compare someone's strategies who plays early 1871-to-early-1900's real historical players Vs. someone who plays 2017 real players... neither strategy will work "as well" in the other environment as they did in their more natural environment.