5 Tips for Sustained NFL Daily Fantasy Success

Daily fantasy sports has experienced an unprecedented growth rate since it burst onto the scene in the late 2010s. It makes sense. Fans and bettors get all the fun of the typical fantasy sports experience but don’t have to wait around until next season if their team isn’t in the running for the top spot.

For this reason, these contests have captured the attention of the sports bettor in a way that traditional fantasy sports did not. In this article, I’ll go over five tips for getting the best NFL daily fantasy results.

1. Your Bankroll Matters

The concept of keeping your bankroll in mind at all times is familiar in traditional sports betting circles, but it applies to daily fantasy as well. That means before researching which sleeper picks are going to carry you to victory, you need to set aside an amount of money that you’ll use exclusively for betting.

First and foremost, make sure the bankroll you put in place is an amount of money that you feel comfortable losing. Nobody wants to think of their bankroll as “money lost,” but if you don’t have this mindset, you could end up in a compromising situation that just isn’t worth the risk.

It’s worth mentioning that your 10% number can be fluid based on your performance. If you string together a couple of wining weeks, it’s okay to increase your wager accordingly.

The bottom line is that if you care about being profitable, you need to set yourself up for success before you start playing the games themselves. A little preparation goes a long way, especially when you’re talking about a season that spans several months.

2. Double Check the Scoring System for Your Site

Just like regular fantasy football, the scoring settings can vary from game to game and especially platform to platform.

The most common example of this is the PPR rule.

• Some leagues count all receptions as a point.
• Some count them as a half-point.
• Some others only take total yards and touchdowns into account.

The reason it’s so important to understand these rules is because it will impact the way you draft your team. Most notably, running backs.

While some receivers definitely have more receptions than others, the disparity is much more significant when it comes to running backs. For example, Derrick Henry and Alvin Kamara might be the two top scoring backs in the league, but in a PPR league, the high volume of targets and receptions might give Kamara the edge.

The main takeaway here should be that it’s important to look over the specifics of how scoring and roster construction works before entering a contest. It only takes a minute to look it over, and it could be the difference between winning and losing.

3. Don’t Forget About Vegas

Many bettors have been playing daily fantasy in addition to betting on games in the traditional sense. With that being said, some have made the transition completely and now only focus on daily fantasy.

Even if you’re only playing daily fantasy and have given up on spreads, totals, and moneylines, there is still value in knowing the numbers—the over/under in particular.

Although the oddsmakers in Vegas don’t have a crystal ball to help them predict the future, they’re still putting up consistently accurate numbers by and large. If you’re trying to determine which players you’re going to draft for your upcoming week, it’s a good idea to check out the over/under on the games that feature players you’re deciding between.

Additionally, if you really want to use oddsmakers to help you choose the best fantasy team, look at the prop bets offered on individual players. Most online sportsbooks will offer over/unders for yards, touchdowns, or receptions for all starting players.

I don’t want to make it sound like you’ll become the daily fantasy champion of the world simply by following the expectations of oddsmakers, but they’re as good of a guide as any to use during the draft process.

4. Don’t Be Afraid to Play Beginner Contests

One of the aspects of daily fantasy that players love is that there are different types of contests that cater to all skill levels. As you start to accumulate wins, you’ll “graduate” from the beginner games (okay, you won’t actually graduate, they just won’t let you enter them any more) and can start chasing the big bucks.

The majority of daily fantasy players get their feet wet by first playing these beginner contests but then quickly abandon them as they feel they’re no longer a novice.

Not only do these games provide good odds to players, you’re also competing against those with less experience and therefore, you’re at an advantage. Obviously, nothing is guaranteed, but would you rather compete with the best players on the platform or the least experienced players on the platform? The choice is easy.

The beginner contests exists to keep you around.

5. Utilize the Late Swap

First and foremost, this particular tip is specific to DraftKings. With that being said, it’s not out of the realm of possibility the other sites, most notably FanDuel, could implement something similar in the future.

If you aren’t familiar with what I’m referring to when I say “late swap,” not to worry. It’s easy to understand. Here is an example: Let’s say you have Justin Jefferson, who is playing in the Sunday night game, in the flex position. If you decide that too many others in your contest have Jefferson playing, DraftKings allows you to swap him out for another player.

Many daily fantasy players, regardless of platform preference, don’t even realize the late game swap is an option to be utilized when necessary. Keep this tool in mind and you might be able to gain an advantage in those Sunday and Monday night NFL games.

Conclusion

Daily fantasy is a growing industry because the games combine everything fans love about betting and fantasy and combine them all into one.

Because it’s so new, there are very few daily fantasy experts which means the opportunity to make money is as good as it’ll ever be. If you’ve never played, take advantage of the sign-up bonuses and test your skills.