Head to Head and 50/50 leagues
When selecting your lineup for these contests, play it safe. All you have to do is score enough points to rank in the top 50% of the league to double your money. Draft a well rounded team of the most consistent performers that you can. Don’t be a hero and try to find a sleeper that will score low and keep you out of the top 50%. In my opinion, QB is one of the easiest positions to project each week, so in a 50/50 league I will not restrict my spending at this position.
I like to start each cash game lineup with a Blue Chip QB. Once I spend at the QB position I try to fill in the rest of my roster with consistent performers who have good matchups that week. You must show some patience when playing cash games – will they make you a millionaire? No. But if you play wisely, these cash games will allow you to remain profitable on the year, which should always be your goal.
Beginners tips:
- Draft a lot of players with high red zone targets or touches….pay the premium for people who score TD’s
- Stats – Look at NFL.com fantasy points against, is a defense giving up lots of fantasy points to WR’s? Or is it week against the run and giving up lots of points to RB’s? Find a defense’s weakness and draft the players that will take advantage of their defensive opponent’s weaknesses
- Vegas Over/Under for each team – Vegas over/under totals are very accurate indicators of how many points will be scored in a game, look at the over/under totals to find some projected high scoring matchups and get a couple of those players on your roster.
Multipliers (Triple Up, 10x)
The stakes are a little higher than H2H or 50/50 contests. Only 33% (or less in the case of multipliers) win the prize, so we need to increase our willingness to draft risky players. In my experience, most of my 50/50 (conservative lineups) landed just outside the top 33%. So you need to decide what substitutions to those lineups will put you over the top. Those substitutions should be made with two things in mind, variance -what we call “Bulls” (players trending upward that majority won’t select) and low salary-high ceiling players- what we call “Bargains”. We will be providing you Bull and Bargain selections each week, so make sure you include those players and your won favorite bulls and bargains for the wekk into your lineup.
Again, in most cases I start a multiplier lineup by selecting my QB. In order to save some $ and diversify my lineup, I will usually go for a mid-to-bottom tier QB who will likely be trailing in a game and forced to throw more often to stay in the game. I utilize my savings at the QB position to secure a blue chip WR or RB that has a favorable matchup that week.
Triple Ups and Multipliers tips:
- Project Game Scripts – Find a matchup where the QB and WR’s are likely to be trailing and throwing more than normal to tie the game. Conversely, find a RB that is sure to be ahead and will be utilized to run the clock in the 2nd half, creating more carries than normal.
- Injuries -I like to look at DEFENSIVE injuries. How does a certain player missing effect the D as a whole? (Ex. Haloti Ngata missed some action for Ravens in ’14 – RB’s facing Ravens would get a bump in my rankings and I would be much more likely to select those RB’s while Baltimore figured out how to adjust without their run stuffing star.)
- Vegas Over/Under for each team – Find a few matchups from a low projected over/under total from Vegas to ensure some slight variance to your lineup. (The higher the over/under total from vegas, the higher usage of players from that game you can anticipate in your contest)
GPP tournaments
This is where average Joes can become legends. While the size and entry fees vary greatly for GPP contests, this format usually pays out the top 20% of the entrants or less. The winnings increase the higher you place, with 1st place taking home the grand prize which can be over $1 million dollars. I only advise experienced daily fantasy players and our wolfpack members to join these contests.
This is where you really have to ask yourself how your lineup can be different than your competitors. Instead of trying to land in the top payout percentage, each point matters because every place we move up could mean hundreds or thousands of dollars. Be bold, find some bargains and get them in your lineups. Invest in players that may be overlooked by the majority of your competition. Use Vegas over/under lines as an indicator of player usage. Again, the higher the Vegas O/U total the higher you can expect player usage from that game.
GPP tips:
- Draft your favorite bargains first and build your team from there. My lineups usually start with an inexpensive QB and WR.
- Advanced Statistics – Use Profootballfoucus.com advanced statistics to find some hidden matchups you like. (Ex. I like to look at CB coverage rankings and a few other stats to see how WR matches up with a CB that week)
- Vegas Over/Under for each team – Try to minimize player usage from the high Vegas over/under totals.
- (The higher the point total projected by Vegas, the more likely it is that player usage from that game will increase – in GPP you need VARIANCE to win).
- Low O/U total “Stacks” – Find a QB-WR combo that is likely to dominate targets in a low over/under total game and stack those players. If they connect for a score or two, you are very likely to separate from the pack and contend for the top spot in the entire tournament.
