DFS Dos and Don’ts

Rule #1: Update your lineups right before lock
It’s extremely important to update your lineups right before lock. Why is this important? Well pretend it’s 12:50 PM EST on a Sunday. All of the injury news for the 1PM games came in at 12PM. So what’s the point of updating at 12:50? Well there might be some news that comes in for the 4PM games after 12 PM. Maybe someone like Austin Ekeler who plays on the West Coast was put on the injury report, and now his backup is extremely valuable. But if you kept your lineup from 12PM, it’s possible that all 2 of your RB roster spots are full as well as the FLEX spot.

If you won’t be able to update your lineups because you’ll be busy, DO NOT ENTER them in the first place.

Rule #2: Never bet more than 5% of your bankroll on a given slate
Bankroll management is one of the most important things when it comes to Daily Fantasy. If you’re not managing your bankroll correctly, you can get burned. For instance, let’s say you start off with $1,000. You bet $50 and win. You bet another $50 the next night and win again. Now you’ve gained a little confidence, so instead of betting $50, you bet $200, and lose. Well now, despite being 2-1, you’re down $100. I see this happen all of the time, which is why bankroll management is extremely important.

Rule #3: Always late swap
For the same reasons mentioned in Rule #1, you have to make sure that you’re always late swapping your lineups. (See our late swap tutorial for more information about all of the different ways you can late swap.)

Rule #4: Monitor your ROI with our ROI Tracker
Our ROI tracker allows you to monitor your winnings on FanDuel and DraftKings. It lets you know which types of contests yield the biggest return as well as which sports yield your biggest return. Maybe your return is higher for quintuple-ups than it is for triple-ups, but you’ve been entering far too many triple-ups and not enough quintuple-ups. Monitoring your ROI will help you answer all of these questions and allow you to adjust your betting accordingly.