Grow Your Bankroll Wisely
You obviously want to have fun while competing in daily fantasy sports contests. If you’re not having fun, why bother? But you also want to make a profit. That’s one of the major appeals of sites like FanDuel and DraftKings. If you finish a contest in the top rankings, a piece of the cash prize pool is immediately funneled into your account.
But you’re not going to end up in the top rankings every time you compete. You’re going to lose some contests. In fact, you’ll probably lose more than you win. Over time, however, the amount you win should be greater than the amount you lose.
That means making a consistent profit is all about managing your bankroll. It doesn’t matter if you have $20 or $2,000 in your account. The important thing is that you know how to keep a tight rein on it.
We’re going to cover bankroll management below. Let’s start by figuring out the type of daily fantasy sports bettor you are.
What Type Of Daily Fantasy Sports Bettor Are You?
Most people fit into one of the following 3 profiles:
1. the “Go For Broke” bettor
Don’t Bet It All At Once
This guy (or gal) wants to cash in as quickly as possible. He may not care much about sports or even enjoy watching them. He’s in it for the money, and he has little interest in grinding out a profit.
A lot of these guys hear about other people making money at FanDuel or DraftKings, and want to get in on the action. They take bigger risks, put more of their bankroll in play, and often burn through it before they can find their footing.
2. the “Big Name” bettor
This guy fills his lineups – as much as his salary cap will let him anyway – with household names. For example, if he’s competing in a daily fantasy basketball league, you can be sure he’ll draft Lebron. If he’s in a golf contest, he’ll pick up Tiger. He loves the celebrities and is willing to pay big bucks to draft them.
Of course, that means he often ends up with lopsided lineups since he doesn’t have enough money to draft productive players in other positions.
3. the “Slowly But Surely” bettor
This guy is the one who is most likely to grind out a profit over time. He’s the tortoise to Aesop’s hare. He doesn’t mind competing in lots of contests each week, and actually enjoys the challenge. He also typically manages his bankroll well.
You’ll see a lot of these bettors on the poker circuit. They may not be household names, but they earn a respectable sum of money month after month.
Once you’ve figured out your betting profile, it’s time to identify how much money you can lose without your kids going hungry. I don’t mean to suggest that you’re going to lose your entire bankroll. If you learn to manage your money, you could end up making a tidy profit each month. But you should know that there is risk involved. This isn’t the stock market in the 1980s.
Decide how much money you can lose without the loss affecting your current lifestyle or your ability to pay your monthly bills. It’s a bad idea to play with any cash above that amount.
Establish A Nightly Dollar Limit (And Stick To It!)
Don’t Burn Your Cash Too Quickly
You should never have too much of your bankroll on the line during the course of a single evening. The question is, how much is “too much”?
A lot will depend on your experience. Most of the folks who visit this site are beginners. They want to learn how to play daily fantasy sports contests, and get some tips on how to do it well. Many of them are also looking for reviews of the top daily fantasy sports sites. Here are my rules of thumb:
- Do not risk more than 5% of your bankroll on any one night or session.
- Never deposit more than you can afford to lose.
- Drop down in stakes if necessary to tread water while you build your bankroll.
More Great Reads
- Football salary cap strategy by player position
- DFS Bankroll Building Guide
- Establishing Bankroll Metrics – Advanced Strategy
- More Tips and Strategies