OTH Gambling: DFS For Beginners

When John Fogerty sang that line in his classic 1985 song "Centerfield" he was referring to a lifelong fan of baseball who felt he was finally ready to play the game. If you are reading this article and considering getting into the "game" of Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) you can probably relate.

For all of us DFS players there was that first time. The trepidation, excitement, curiosity and nervousness were present in droves for me. So many questions, so much uncertainty. Wanting to be a successful DFS player I watched all of the TV shows about fantasy football. I listened to the podcasts, I read the online articles and I was READY to kick butt and take names as the new King of DFS! Next up, I downloaded DraftKings, deposited my money and quickly realized that none of my preparation actually addressed HOW to play DFS. I was lost in the app. Hopefully, this article can help you avoid the same fate!

DFS STEP ONE

The first thing you will need to do is download a DFS app. The two major players in the space are DraftKings and FanDuel. However, there are other, smaller, companies that provide DFS platforms for us to use. I’m going to focus on the two that are, by a wide margin, the leaders of the industry: DraftKings and FanDuel.

STEP TWO

Once you’ve downloaded the app I STRONGLY advise you to take advantage of the "How To Play" tutorials that these apps offer. Not every function within the app(s) is intuitive, these guides are extremely helpful in understanding the functionality of the app and can save you from some headaches and frustration down the road. Each app has it’s own minutiae to become accustomed to.

Now you’re ready to make your first deposit! Most sites have a minimum deposit. DraftKings requires a minimum $5 deposit and FanDuel will not let you deposit less than $10. Prior to doing this, do yourself a favour and perform a quick internet search for any available promo codes or first-time signup bonuses. I did this on DraftKings and received a $20 account credit for depositing $5. That’s free money folks, don’t miss out! Unless you are a DFS unicorn, you’ll probably be losing some money here and there on occasion. It’s better to lose money they gave you rather than the money you work hard for!

STEP THREE

It’s time to pick your sport and then your games! My DFS focus is the NFL. Select "NFL" and it will bring you to a few different "game styles" to choose from. Once you choose your style a myriad of games will appear for you to choose from. Each game will have a clever name, the cost of entry and total prize pool listed. Some games will also share how much 1st Place receives e.g.: "NFL $2M Play Action [$200k to 1st]". Once you’ve decided your risk tolerance and found a game that catches your eye you will select the game by clicking on it.

This is where it’s time to finally pick your players! All of your studying, listening, watching and fandom comes down to this moment! Exciting! Both DraftKings and FanDuel have you pick the following positions: QB, RB1, RB2, WR1, WR2, TE, a "Flex" position and a team defense.

As you click on each position it will bring up all available players for the position. Each player has a picture, the game they are playing in, their "salary" (price), their average fantasy points per game (FPPG) and the rank of the defense they are playing. DraftKings gives you $50,000 of salary to build your lineup with and FanDuel has a $60,000 total lineup salary. As you are selecting your players it is important to balance who you want with what money you have left. Like an NFL GM, you may have to sacrifice certain desired players due to financial constraints. Once you have your team selected hit submit and your lineup is now in that game!

We all know that things like injury, suspension, personal time off can impact the players. Fortunately, both DraftKings and FanDuel offer you the option of changing your submitted lineup right up until kickoff. You’ll need to pay attention to injury reports and league news. You can also review your lineup at any time and both apps are very good at marking players as "out" when they are not available to play.

Once the game starts you can see your standing within the game in real-time. It will show you what place you are in as well as any money you may be winning at the moment. A word of caution: The first time I ever played DFS I checked my standing and it told me I was winning $2000. I was over the moon, already planning my next home electronics purchase! You can imagine my dismay when, by the end of the game, I won exactly $0. Don’t get too excited or too discouraged by what you are or are not winning at any given moment. Points can happen in a hurry and standings change rapidly.

That’s the basics of NFL DFS folks! This is the first in a series of articles about DFS. Coming soon will be deep dives into subjects like player research, game styles, budgeting your draft, app functionality and more!

Study hard, draft smart, have fun

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