Remember the first time you ventured into the world of DFS play?

Unfortunately, I remember all too well. It wasn’t pretty, I’ll say that right now, but it was a learning lesson and one that I’ll hold tight for the rest of my DFS life. I was cocky, arrogant and thought my 20-plus years of playing seasonal fantasy sports would give me an easy push and edge into the DFS world. Wrong.

Not only have I devoted half my life to fantasy sports, but I’m a professional fantasy football, baseball and basketball analyst, dating back to 2004, working for the likes of ESPN, TalentedMrRoto.com and many other content sites.

So, I should’ve raked in the dough right away, eh? Nope.

Instead of preparing myself for my first NFL DFS lineup, and studying matchups, projections, trends, Vegas lines, etc., I randomly snagged playerss at each skill position based on current seasonal output, without preparing myself for the current week at hand. The biggest mistake a DFS players can make is NO PREPARATION. Of course, experienced DFS’ers love new playerss, or, for a lack of a better term, Fresh Fish! I was the biggest fish there was, offering my inexperienced DFS ways up to the world. Shameful, really, but without my early struggles I wouldn’t be the DFS players I am today.

It’s nice to look back on past failures, and to learn what it takes to field a winning lineup. I’m sure you’re chomping at the bit by now, with your question being: What does it take to win regularly in DFS play? I’m glad you asked.

These are my own personal keys to DFS success in NFL play, although I do have some trade secrets I’m keeping to myself:

• Believe that you will be successful, even when you fail.
• Study Vegas lines for heavy offensive output games.
• Look at weekly projections.
• Analyze players stats, i.e. – Targets, TD, Yards-After-Catch, Red Zone TD, Yards-after-Contact, Yards-Per-Carry and more.
• Look for mismatch defensive matchups.

Over the upcoming NFL Weeks, I’ll give you a comprehensive stat-studied piece where you’ll receive salary range value suggestions at each position (QB, RB, WR, and TE). So, what does that mean exactly? It means I’m not just going to slap something up for you to read. You’ll get more than one low-priced value or one superstar stud each week. You’ll get values at varying ranges at each position, which is huge in putting together any DFS lineup. Sometimes you need to know if a higher-priced QB is a value, even though you’ve got to drop bigger bucks to lock him in.

Know this: I will give my best effort each week to help you WIN!

With that in mind, I’m happy to introduce to FooballDieHards.com readers that I will be participating in a season-long salary cap contest on FantasyFeud.com, a contest where you, the reader, are encouraged to join and “Beat the Expert”. Exciting, huh?

Each week I will build a team in salary cap format and it will be entered into a season long contest on FantasyFeud.com, tallying weekly totals throughout the season capping one, big final winner. With each weekly write-up I post to FootballDieHards.com, you’ll get a hint of how my lineup will be set with the range of playerss I’ll suggest. The kicker? There will also be a WEEKLY winner as well, for each of the 17 NFL weeks. So, not only can you win the cumulative season-long salary cap contest, you also have the chance at cashing out each week. Or, you can just build that bankroll if you want.

(Side note: You don’t have to have a bankroll that’s thousands of dollars deep in order to win and have fun. Most of us aren’t millionaires, right? The key is setting a bankroll budget and sticking to it. Who cares if you’re a low-dollar guy – I sure don’t. In fact, I’m one myself.)

How fun is this going to be? Of course, I expect to win every single week and run away with the season-long contest since I’m the best there ever is/was (ahem). Seriously, though, I’m excited about the challenge in beating you, so make sure you join and take advantage of the opportunity to beat me on FantasyFeud.com. It’ll be a blast – I promise you.

Until next time, study those stats! And, if you feel like it, give me a follow on Twitter: @TheRolyPolyBoy.