Winning big in DFS is no easy thing. Many people who have the most success at playing the game are full-time professionals, and the best have methodical processes that have led to year-on-year profitability. One of the more profitable areas to target within DFS are “Cash Games”, referring to multiplier contests in which you double or triple your entry fee for coming in the top half or top third of entrants.
Unlike GPP contests, you’re not aiming to create a lineup that hits extreme outcomes. Instead, you’re simply trying to be better than 50% of the field in order to cash.
This article will delve into some of the keys behind building winning cash lineups while also explaining how this format differs from other contests.
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- NFL DFS Stacking Strategy & Advice
2023 NFL DFS Cash Game Strategy
Contest Selection
Before we dive too deep into the anatomies of winning rosters, one point applies to all forms of DFS; understand the contest you’re entering.
Draftkings weekly Milly Maker contest has hundreds of thousands of entrants. Each player is able to enter up to a maximum of 150 times (at a cost of $3000 in total). If you decide you’re okay with entering a contest that is akin to trying to win the lottery, then the way you construct your roster has to be much more cognizant of what it’s trying to achieve compared to a team in a 100-person contest.
Even in cash games, it pays to consider how many people we’re playing against, as it can affect how we think about beating our opponents. The smallest cash games are head-to-head matchups in which you can take on other opponents for as little as $1 all the way up into the thousands.
The idea is simple, beat one player and take home all the money (minus the amount the DFS platform charges for hosting the contest). In that scenario, we can afford to try and get different in fewer spots. On the other hand, if we’re taking on hundreds of participants, we probably need to be different in two to three roster spots to climb into the green.
Be Mindful of Player Rostership
In GPP tournaments, where you’re battling to finish as high as possible in the contest, you need players that are under 10% rostered. More often than not, you’ll need players below 5% too. In Cash games, it’s not uncommon to have several players over 20% in individual rostership.
To find player projected rostership, you can access our tools here at FantasyPros. We have a number of tools to aid you with making lineups. It’s not quite as simple as selecting the most rostered players that you can afford, because in that scenario, your team will be too similar to the field and you’ll find it hard to gain leverage on other teams and climb up the rankings. Occasionally, the optimal lineup can be the best, but it’s not without risk.
Bet On High Win Totals
The house normally wins, and, over the course of a season, Vegas projections for total points tend to work in the favor of those setting them. Targeting players involved in the highest over/under of each game is an excellent way to start building out your roster. Having two to three players from the top couple of games in projected points is a great building block.
Prioritize Known Quantities
Cash games are all about rostering the best plays, so choosing boom or bust players like Marquez Valdes-Scantling (WR – KC) simply doesn’t fit the mold.
At the wide receiver position, we can either choose studs that consistently post high scores and command targets. In PPR formats, like Draftkings, we can also choose slot receivers that might accumulate plenty of receptions, even if they don’t have the ceiling outcomes we’d chase in GPPs. Over the years, players like Cole Beasley (WR – NYG) and Hunter Renfrow (WR – LV) have been excellent cash game commodities.
At running back, we’re also looking at one simple and reliable factor: volume. Choosing a player from a committee because you feel it in your bones that this is the week they get all the points is the type of tactic best left for large field tournaments. Here in cash games, we chase consistency.
Running backs that routinely see 15 touches per game are easy additions to cash-game lineups. Those who regularly see work in the red zone are perfect candidates. Running backs who meet those criteria, along with ideally catching passes and playing for a team that’s favored, are the locks we should prioritize and start building around.
In GPP tournaments, we aim for ceiling outcomes. It can pay off in those contests to roster a wide receiver in the flex, as their scoring can be more volatile. In Cash games, running back tends to be the more prudent option week in and week out.
Pay Down at Defense
Despite what you might be telling yourself, we are terrible at projecting defensive scoring in fantasy football. There’s a reason most sensible leagues have moved away from keeping the position involved in league formats.
DFS is no different. Routinely, a team defense will be viewed as being in a prime matchup and get steamed up in rostership only to fall flat on it’s face with 30% of teams having fallen for them. Instead, look to get different.
Often, the defenses putting up the best returns are those that rack up the sacks. Paying attention to offensive line and defensive line mismatches is worthwhile.
Don’t be Afraid to Late Swap
“Late Swapping” refers to pivoting before the late games, and changing out players from your lineup who are either chalky or don’t have the ceiling outcomes available to help turn a bad lineup into a winning one. If you’re down and the chalk has failed you in the early games, that’s the time to swap in some dart throws who aren’t highly rostered. That can gain you leverage on the field and move your team up significantly.
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