Making The Jump: Season Long Leagues to Daily Fantasy Sports

Good Afternoon Cafers,

My name is Marty and I go by some form of the name Mcfly on all daily fantasy sports sites. I haven't quite hunkered down on a universal name without consisting of useless underlines and numbers thus the reason for the variety of screennames I have but that's not really important. I am a novice DFS player making the transition from season long fantasy leagues, plagued by injuries, bye weeks, game plan changes, and draft hunch busts, to the exciting world of huge jackpots and unlimited potential earnings of the daily fantasy sports world.

I am a recent graduate of Kent State University, Go Golden Flashes! Side note: after four and a half years, I am still unsure of what a Golden Flash actually is, nor confident if it actually exists but that's a topic for another day. I am currently a free agent testing the open waters to where I should take my talents, I hear South Beach is nice this time of year, and I have become a full-time hobbyist with DFS taking up a chunk of that.

What I hope to bring to the table is a pair of fresh eyes and experiences that most players go through when switching from season long to daily fantasy. I will bring up mistakes that I have made and ones that occur as the season progresses as I try to navigate the trials and tribulations, peaks and valleys of fantasy sports. Most of my posts will consist of football both NFL and NCAA and maybe some baseball as the season comes to an end. I am not an expert by any sense but I do enjoy a good read and intellectual conversations so I will attempt to consolidate information that I find useful being a newly adapted player and try to get the ball rolling on some lineup strategies and theories that are a whole added dimension when playing daily sports.

With that being said, I pose this question with the hope of getting some useful information all in one thread.

What is the best advice you can give to someone starting in daily fantasy sports, that differs from season long leagues?

I remember being like you Marty making the transition from season long to daily. The best advice I can give someone starting out in DFS compared to season long is match ups matter more in daily. In season long if you have a stud running back you are going to play them no matter what their match up was because you likely had no other options. In daily you have every player at your disposal and are not forced to play your running back against a top run defense like the Dolphins. Deciding which players to pay up for and fade really comes down to the weekly match up as opposed to season long where you looked at the yearly schedule. I really look forward to reading about you endeavors in DFS.

Nicely done Marty! 50/50's are your friend and don't sleep on some of the smaller DFS sites. A number of these sites make it tougher for sharks to mass enter lineups and they don't have the bandwidth to cover every site. Finding the right game on the right site is an underrated aspect of DFS. Set yourself up to have a better chance at cashing. Looking forward to following your journey. Best of luck!

Sam brings up a good point. Another bit of advice I would give is to take advantage of every promo you possibly can. Take full advantage of the deposit bonus and reload bonuses any time they are open to you. Also play every free roll possible. Winning one is a fast way to boost your bankroll.

Thank you Zach and Sam for your review and early player advice!

Your comments already touched on two of my bigger mistakes that I have made, 1. not fully taking advantage of deposit bonuses and 2. not selecting the right contests. I plan on discussing those decisions more in depth in a later post.

Game selection is definitely something I feel early players fail at. Obviously the big money tournaments will attract more experienced players so no matter how well put together a line up is, it means nothing if the competition has better ones.

Are there any sites besides DraftKings that offer beginner tournaments? I have already used up my MLB entries without taking advantage of them however I did cash in some CFB slates last weekend.

Marty, I believe FantasyAces has beginner games as well. The best piece of advice I can give you aside from what the others said is to make sure you manage your bankroll. It seems enticing to add multiple entries, extra contests, etc., especially with overlay. Just make sure you stay true to your bankroll management strategy, even when you make a lineup that you love that seems like a "sure thing". Diversify your action as well, even if it is just a few dollars on each site. For instance, today I love Dallas Keuchel, who is 2K cheaper on FD than DK. If you find the players you like in your research, you can almost always find them at a solid price on at least one site. Any more questions just ask! We are here to help.

I'll echo everyone else's sentiments, tinker with game types and track your results. Remember, namely in GPPs, there isn't necessarily a target percentage of games you should be looking to cash in, but ROI is the best measure of success in those since the payouts are top heavy and you should be shooting for the top as opposed for squeaking out cashes.

As others have mentioned, Game Selection and Bankroll Management are vital aspects of becoming a profitable DFS player. For bankroll management, conservative limits are 10% of your total bankroll in any given week, while aggressive players can move the needle up to 20%. Balance your cash games to GPP's at a minimum 4:1 ratio.

I'll also echo note taking as a very important discipline. It is the only you way you truly know where you are succeeding, and what you need to work on. It will also help you understand when you should be moving up or down limits depending on where your bankroll is.

Joining a forum and collaborating will speed up the learning curve, so be active.

Good luck!

I a new to DFS as well and I have played a few NFL GPP's for the first time this week on Draftkings and I seem to be fairing better in those than cash games. I analyze data for a living so I am very adept at analysis and I seem to be in the money in each of the gpp leagues I am in but not in the cash games. I realize some of this can be attributed to luck but am I missing something with the cash games?

What kind of cash games are you playing? Are they H2H or 50/50? Do you have different line ups for cash compared to GPP?

I am playing 50/50 I didn't know about the lineup differences I was playing the same type of lineups as the gpp games. Also what are you guys thoughts on the specials like the Monday night one on dk tonight

Short slates can be tough. The lineups tend to be more similar and you have less room for error. As far as the 50/50 contest goes it could just be your getting unlucky. Most of the time if you cash in a GPP you will be able to cash in a 50/50 but I have seen some high scoring 50/50 contests. Keep at it.

Thanks I did ok I did a test with 25 on dk this week and came away with 32.37 not bad for a 1st timer this weekend 29% ROI I lost all my cash games though. I chose to handcuff AP with Teddy Bridgewater and missed out in the short slate game. The crazy part is I initially went with Bradford and Hyde which would have won me the tournament last night. I made the mistake of entering a satellite this weekend Dumb move!!!!!

I don't think satellites are a terrible investment after building a bankroll, but initially I would stick to the GPPs and cash games. I wouldn't overreact to one week of results, either. I'd track the next 2-3 weeks and see if the results remain the same for you in GPPs and cash games.

I agree I am 10 times smarter today than I was last week. Playing the 50/50 showed me chalk is key with a little deviation to maximize earn out potential I let myself get caught up in name hunting as the noob I am and got burned across the board instead of playing to the numbers then again who the hell knew SF would be so strong defensively last night

The more experience you have playing DFS, the more you will learn. I think the toughest thing with multiple lineups is diversifying your rosters. It is tough to get exposure to all the players you want, while limiting the amount you have to others. Finding the balance will help you big time in the long run.

@mcfly21 - how did you do week 1? Looking forward to the update.