Here is a comparison chart for FanDuel & DraftKings football scoring.
2. Start with low cost buy-in’s and beginner contests. On DraftKings you get 50 entries into beginner contests. These will match you against others who have played less than 50 beginner contests already.
3. In big GPP leagues you need to score huge, yuuuuuuge, not just better than average.
Why? Because the money is at the top.
That’s where the huge life-changing money exists. To score big, one strategy is gambling on cheap guys who end up having big games combined with the right match of studs who also perform on your team. This strategy is risky but gives big payoff potential. Most refer to it as ‘Studs & Duds’.
4. To win smaller contests you need to pick the right mix of players that outscores most of your competition. Generally this is a more balanced approach with finding the right mix of value and match-ups that your opponents overlook. You gamble less on the really risky picks but make sure you squeeze value out of all of your players.
5. Stacking your team can payoff when it clicks. This means pairing your QB with his WR’s, RB or TE and the combo you choose has a huge night. You get points from the QB and from the other player when there is a passing TD.
6. Defense can break you. I like to buy the least expensive defense I can afford without risking getting clobbered on defense. Find a defense playing a weaker than average offense and that has a low over / under line in Vegas.
7. Weather matters. Check the weather reports at all the stadiums and tend to avoid certain players from games with bad weather. The exception to the rule is the RB if the offensive game plan seems to turn to pounding the ball during inclement weather.
8. Injury reports are your best friend. Find that injured RB and draft his replacement for a value play. Now you have a significant amount of cash left to spend on the rest of your line-up. A cool feature of DraftKings is that they offer late player swap abilities. You can change out a player up until the time their specific game starts (and you can find a replacement within budget). Opposed to FanDuel where your line-up’s lock whenever the 1st game starts.
9. Kickers suck. *Edit – DraftKings no longer has a KICKER slot, removed for 2014. Ok so this advise is a bit out dated since DK no longer has the kicker slot, but FanDuel does. The short answer is do not waste your $$ on kickers. Find the least expensive one you can get kicking inside or with fair weather on a team that sucks in the red-zone. That and hope is the best advice I can give on kickers.
10. Vegas oddsmakers can do the heavy lifting for you. Check the odds, these guys know what they are doing. Find high scoring matchups, player prop bets with high numbers and all sorts of variations. Your job is to use the odds to help you find value picks. See current Vegas lines here.
11. Keep it fun. (We over deliver!) When first starting out with the one week style fantasy football, start small. Do not risk more than you can afford to lose.
Join me in the $2 buy-in, $100k guaranteed prize pool tournament every week.
Play in the small buy-in, large field tournaments and see how you do compared to the general playing population. You never know, if you time everything just right and your players have great games you might just win some serious money. Just know that if you are risking big money you are probably playing against very sharp, very skilled players who have way more experience than you. This is a skill game with elements of luck.
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