You can try catching domains on your own by following the daily drop lists & chasing your custom lists.
There's plenty of domains that are still good & not worth the $60 backorder fee. So you can try to handreg domains and / or use programs & scripts to try & grab the domains for you.
It won't get you the best domains, all of the above (pool, snap, NJ & godaddy) will jump at any domain that has a backorder on it & beat everyone out. But it will give you an advantage & put you at the taster's level.
Plus sometimes a domain you like that didn't get eaten up by snap or pool - if tasted will be dropped again in 4 days. So you can try to snag it then.