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DFS Strategy - Getting A Handle On The Daily Game
Daily Fantasy Sports, also known as DFS, has grown tremendously over the last couple of years. And the best part is that it should continue to grow -- many players are just now getting into it and are competing for a lot of money on a weekly basis. Last season DraftKings offered a $20 tournament that paid out $1 million each week, and it sold out just about every week. I mean, think about that for a second. As the industry continues to grow, so will the fields and prize pools.
I first began playing daily fantasy in 2014 after listening to an advertisement on the radio. At first I was skeptical, like many people are, but I decided to give it a shot. After all, I would consistently win or at least have a competitive team in my regular fantasy leagues, so chances were I’d be pretty good at the daily thing, right? Well. ...It wasn’t as easy as I initially thought it would be. At first I won, but then I lost. However, I’m very competitive and tend to be a perfectionist. So I did what most in my shoes would do: I read Jonathan Bales' books on DFS strategy, I listened to podcasts, read a lot of DFS websites, picked the brains of some of the greatest minds in the industry, and last but not least, I studied the winning lineups every week and tried to figure out the thought process behind building those lineups. The way I see it, if you want to be good at DFS, you have to invest your time and you must always be willing to learn.
One of the first things that you have to be aware of are the scoring rules and roster requirements for the DFS site you’re playing on. For example, I play mainly on DraftKings. The scoring rules there are different than on FanDuel. This is straight-forward but very important, as it determines what players you should be targeting. For instance, on DraftKings a player like Danny Woodhead is more valuable than on a site like FanDuel, because on DraftKings it’s a full point per reception -- whereas on Fan Duel it’s half a point. You’d be surprised at how many people are not aware of that when they first start playing.
Game Selection
Stacking happens when you pair a quarterback with a tight end or a receiver from the same team. There are times where you can stack multiple pass-catchers with their quarterback. For example, if you start Tom Brady, you may want to own both Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman. Gronk will usually get the touchdown catches, and Edelman is usually peppered with targets. Stacking a quarterback with a receiver (or tight end) allows you to maximize your points each time they connect for a touchdown.
Another form of stacking is using a quarterback and a pass-catching back. This is not as popular of a strategy, but guys like Danny Woodhead usually catch a handful of passes and tend to score on some of them. This is another way to be contrarian since not many people consider this approach.
A final stacking strategy is pairing a defense with a kick returner. This is what people in the industry call “double-dipping”. If the return man runs one back for a touchdown, he gets the six points for the score but so does your defense. An example of this is Tyler Lockett, who is a wide receiver for the Seahawks and also returns punts. This isn’t that popular, but there are instances when it might make sense.
Cash Games
Stacking happens when you pair a quarterback with a tight end or a receiver from the same team. There are times where you can stack multiple pass-catchers with their quarterback. For example, if you start Tom Brady, you may want to own both Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman. Gronk will usually get the touchdown catches, and Edelman is usually peppered with targets. Stacking a quarterback with a receiver (or tight end) allows you to maximize your points each time they connect for a touchdown.
Another form of stacking is using a quarterback and a pass-catching back. This is not as popular of a strategy, but guys like Danny Woodhead usually catch a handful of passes and tend to score on some of them. This is another way to be contrarian since not many people consider this approach.
A final stacking strategy is pairing a defense with a kick returner. This is what people in the industry call “double-dipping”. If the return man runs one back for a touchdown, he gets the six points for the score but so does your defense. An example of this is Tyler Lockett, who is a wide receiver for the Seahawks and also returns punts. This isn’t that popular, but there are instances when it might make sense.
GPP/Tournaments
Stacking happens when you pair a quarterback with a tight end or a receiver from the same team. There are times where you can stack multiple pass-catchers with their quarterback. For example, if you start Tom Brady, you may want to own both Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman. Gronk will usually get the touchdown catches, and Edelman is usually peppered with targets. Stacking a quarterback with a receiver (or tight end) allows you to maximize your points each time they connect for a touchdown.
Another form of stacking is using a quarterback and a pass-catching back. This is not as popular of a strategy, but guys like Danny Woodhead usually catch a handful of passes and tend to score on some of them. This is another way to be contrarian since not many people consider this approach.
A final stacking strategy is pairing a defense with a kick returner. This is what people in the industry call “double-dipping”. If the return man runs one back for a touchdown, he gets the six points for the score but so does your defense. An example of this is Tyler Lockett, who is a wide receiver for the Seahawks and also returns punts. This isn’t that popular, but there are instances when it might make sense.
Using Vegas
Stacking happens when you pair a quarterback with a tight end or a receiver from the same team. There are times where you can stack multiple pass-catchers with their quarterback. For example, if you start Tom Brady, you may want to own both Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman. Gronk will usually get the touchdown catches, and Edelman is usually peppered with targets. Stacking a quarterback with a receiver (or tight end) allows you to maximize your points each time they connect for a touchdown.
Another form of stacking is using a quarterback and a pass-catching back. This is not as popular of a strategy, but guys like Danny Woodhead usually catch a handful of passes and tend to score on some of them. This is another way to be contrarian since not many people consider this approach.
A final stacking strategy is pairing a defense with a kick returner. This is what people in the industry call “double-dipping”. If the return man runs one back for a touchdown, he gets the six points for the score but so does your defense. An example of this is Tyler Lockett, who is a wide receiver for the Seahawks and also returns punts. This isn’t that popular, but there are instances when it might make sense.
Stacking
Stacking happens when you pair a quarterback with a tight end or a receiver from the same team. There are times where you can stack multiple pass-catchers with their quarterback. For example, if you start Tom Brady, you may want to own both Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman. Gronk will usually get the touchdown catches, and Edelman is usually peppered with targets. Stacking a quarterback with a receiver (or tight end) allows you to maximize your points each time they connect for a touchdown.
Another form of stacking is using a quarterback and a pass-catching back. This is not as popular of a strategy, but guys like Danny Woodhead usually catch a handful of passes and tend to score on some of them. This is another way to be contrarian since not many people consider this approach.
A final stacking strategy is pairing a defense with a kick returner. This is what people in the industry call “double-dipping”. If the return man runs one back for a touchdown, he gets the six points for the score but so does your defense. An example of this is Tyler Lockett, who is a wide receiver for the Seahawks and also returns punts. This isn’t that popular, but there are instances when it might make sense.
Final Tips
Stacking happens when you pair a quarterback with a tight end or a receiver from the same team. There are times where you can stack multiple pass-catchers with their quarterback. For example, if you start Tom Brady, you may want to own both Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman. Gronk will usually get the touchdown catches, and Edelman is usually peppered with targets. Stacking a quarterback with a receiver (or tight end) allows you to maximize your points each time they connect for a touchdown.
Another form of stacking is using a quarterback and a pass-catching back. This is not as popular of a strategy, but guys like Danny Woodhead usually catch a handful of passes and tend to score on some of them. This is another way to be contrarian since not many people consider this approach.
A final stacking strategy is pairing a defense with a kick returner. This is what people in the industry call “double-dipping”. If the return man runs one back for a touchdown, he gets the six points for the score but so does your defense. An example of this is Tyler Lockett, who is a wide receiver for the Seahawks and also returns punts. This isn’t that popular, but there are instances when it might make sense.