By Ryan Bologna Contributor
Updated 9/22/22 1:00pm ET
You do not need anyone to tell you that fantasy sports are super popular. Daily fantasy sports have a similar premise, but they take a very different mindset to succeed. If you want to enjoy your daily fantasy experience and potentially make some money, follow these tips.
Know What To Play
There are two different kinds of competitions in daily fantasy — tournaments and cash games. If you are a beginner, start by allocating most of your money to the cash games, which means you’ll be predominantly entering into 50/50 plays. Cash games have 100 entries and you only have to finish in the top 50. This is a good way to dip your toes in the water with daily fantasy.
Tournaments are where you have to come up with a unique strategy because they are “winner-takes-all” kind of stakes. So, you’ll want to target good value plays for tournaments. Guaranteed prize pool tournaments are a good way to raise your odds because that means the winnings are the same even if there are fewer entries than usual. Knowing how to pick your spots is the most important part of playing tournaments.
Cash Games Strategy
For 50/50 cash games, there is no need to try to outsmart anyone. Constructing your roster with proven players is the way to go. Many other people will choose the players you’ve chosen too, but there is no benefit to finishing first or 47th. It’s the same prize.
High-floor and dependable players should be prioritized. Those kind of players are often the obvious stars like Patrick Mahomes or Giannis Antetokounmpo. Both of these athletes are capable of putting up a lot of points and can usually still produce decent numbers on off nights. Stay away from the boom or bust types of players for cash games.
The bottom line is that teams that are formed of the obvious star players will get in the top 50 most of the time. So there is no need to try to outsmart people in this category because you will just end up outsmarting yourself.
Tournament Strategy
Now that you know about 50/50 cashs games, do the exact opposite of what you would do in cash games because it’s the best strategy for tournaments. Translation: eliminate the stars. Half of those you are playing against are going to choose star players so if you follow the herd, you will severely limit your chances of beating out those people.
A unique lineup is needed, so you are going to have to take some shots in the dark. Look into mid-tier quarterbacks facing off against bad defenses and pair that quarterback with their number one receiver. If those players have huge days then you will have a chance to win because not many other people will have picked those types of players. Looking into games with high over/under numbers is a good way to go as well.
Another good strategy is to look into pitching matchups for a sport like baseball. For example, maybe a lesser-known player has a good track record against the opposing starting pitcher. The more research you do, the more you will be able to make some calculated longshot picks.
These tournaments should not be relied on because of how hard they are to win. That does not mean that they should be avoided completely — tournaments are fun. Be on the lookout for some tournaments with low entry fees to make it a low-risk, high reward experience.
Picture Credit: Tada Images
