If you’re new to DFS, building your first lineup can be a bit overwhelming. There’s a lot to consider, from player salaries to projections, ownership, matchups; the list goes on.
Truth be told, most DFS beginners don’t lose because DFS is too hard. It’s because they don’t have a clear process or any guidance. This breakdown of how to build DFS lineups acts as a quick and easy guide for any new players that aren’t sure where to start.
Pick the Right Contest (This Matters More Than You Think)
Step one for new DFS players is to pick a contest that isn’t going to burn them. I know everyone wants to score a huge takedown and win life-changing money. However, that big payday may never come, and if it does, it probably will take a while to get there.
That isn’t to discourage you from ever shooting for the moon, but especially until you perfect your personal DFS strategy, it pays to play contests that give you the greatest edge possible.
Start here:
- Single Entry contests
- Small field GPPs (under 5,000 entries)
- Limited entries (3 max)
- Cash games
If you’re a new DFS player, make sure you don’t jump head first into giant GPPs or high stakes contests. Keep your entry fee reasonably low, enter with low volume, and cut the field and entry size down so you’re not competing against thousands of seasoned pros.
DFS is often a numbers game, so make sure they’re in your favor from the jump. Play Single Entry or 3 entry max contests, target smaller tournaments (ideally below 1,000, but definitely below 5,000 entries), and consider playing cash games (H2H, 50/50) along with your limited tourney exposure.
Understand the Goal of Your Lineup
It’s important to think about what you’re trying to accomplish when building DFS lineups. Beginning DFS players often overlook this, or they only think about scoring a takedown without considering the path needed to get there.
Think: What needs to happen for this lineup to cash? And what needs to happen for this lineup to finish 1st?
It’s often as simple as this:
| Game Type | Approach |
| Cash | Safe, balanced lineup |
| Tournament | Unique lineup with upside |
Cash games and even small field single entries should be targeting the appropriate “chalk” or popular plays that make sense. You can pivot away from some of that chalk, but you generally don’t want to go out of your way to get too different.
The field is smaller, so everything is tighter. Fading good chalk can get you into trouble in a hurry, so you’re really just looking for 1-3 pieces that might be overlooked that can make you different enough to rise up the standings.
It’s different for bigger contests, where you definitely want low-owned plays and high-ceiling plays throughout your lineup. You’ll still want to play certain chalk pieces, but hitting on the right core plays and the right GPP pivots is much harder than nailing things perfectly in smaller contests.
Start With a Strong Foundation
No matter the DFS sports, contest size, or contest type, you will always want some type of base foundation to build on. We call it The Core or Core Plays, as they are the core foundation of the majority of your lineups.
In MMA DFS it might be 2-3 fighters you have in almost every lineup. For NFL it could be a priority stack with a comeback from the other team, and for NBA it might be 3-4 players your lineups should not be fading.
To identify core plays, you’re typically looking for some type of combination of the following factors:
- Underpriced for their role
- Possess a strong matchup
- Have consistent role and/or production
- Offer a reasonable floor and ceiling
You can still work away from the Core Plays depending on the sport and slate, but having that baseline is pretty key to finding success regularly.
Pay Attention to Opportunity (Not Just Talent)
It can feel risky to use players that you know nothing about, or worse, you know for a fact they’re not very good in real life. However, opportunity often trumps talent in DFS.
Instead of always asking “who is the best player”, ask yourself “who is in the best situation?”. Matchups, role changes, increased opportunities, and game flow all work together to highlight desired options that fit this billing.
If a star player is ruled out of his game, it’s important to adjust your approach so you can assess how his teammates might benefit. For NFL contests that could mean extra targets or touches for a running back or wide receiver. In NBA contests it might mean extra minutes or increased usage.
Each sport is different when it comes to opportunity, but the more chances a player has to accrue fantasy points, the more valuable they become.
Use the Salary Cap the Right Way
The salary cap is a loose guide. You want to maximize it in terms of getting high-ceiling players, but you should never feel compelled to use every single dollar up just for the sake of doing so.
When building DFS lineups for the first time, here are some things to consider in regards to salaries:
- Avoid leaving large chunks of salary unused (usually)
- Make sure each player earns their keep
- Mix expensive stars with value plays
Your roster should come together naturally, not be a ridged puzzle that barely fits together. In short, the roster is more about players projected to meet or out-perform their respective salaries, not just cramming in players because the salary fits.
Consider Game Environments
When building DFS lineups, each play is independent (outside of stacking), and each situation is isolated.
In that isolation, though, it’s important to consider each player’s game environment, the most likely path they’re headed on, and how game flow might impact their chances of delivering on their projection.
Be sure to target the following:
- Games with high totals
- Games with tight spreads
- Games with attackable matchups
The first two points apply to most DFS genres. For the third, you’re looking at weak pitchers in baseball, soft defenses in football, and contrast in fighter styles for MMA.
Simply put, you want the most likely path to as many points as possible. Games with high totals and tight spreads suggest a lot of scoring is likely. If you can also work in a soft matchup to exploit, all the better.
Factor Projected Player Ownership
If you’re a new DFS player, ownership projections may be the most key aspect of lineup building that evades you. Why? Because you might not have invested money in a lineup tool, or you’re simply not familiar with the concept.
Projected player ownership refers to how much that player can be expected to be rostered across all lineups in a given contest. The higher owned a player is projected, the safer they typically are. The lower owned they are, the more you tap into possible volatility.
It pays to get different in high variance sports like football and baseball. In general, however, you’ll want to eat a lot of the chalk (high-owned) in cash games and small Single Entries. You’d then target the lower-owned plays in bigger GPPs.
Don’t Forget Correlation
Not every sport calls for correlation, but there are a few sports where it typically matters (a lot). It’s not something you have to worry about in solo sports such as golf, tennis, and MMA, but in team sports there tends to be quite a bit of correlation.
Usually this is referred to as “stacking”, as you’re pairing plays from the same team and trying to correlate them and see both players benefit from each other or the shared environment.
Here’s what you’re looking for in the top genres:
| DFS Sport | Stacking Example | Correlation Level |
| NFL | QB+WR | High |
| MLB | 5-man hitter stack | High |
| NBA | PG+C | Medium |
Correlation isn’t an exact science, as it can often depend on how a game goes, which players end up being prioritized, as well as a litany of variables.
However, in football a stack with a quarterback and any other offensive weapon offers potentially good correlation because the quarterback is likely to throw the ball and someone has to catch it. If the player(s) you stack with the quarterback racks up a ton of yardage or even scores, that stack is highly correlated and will be a smash for you.
The stack will likely be unsuccessful if that player isn’t highly targeted or fails to haul in any of the quarterback’s touchdown passes.
With baseball, the stack size isn’t really relevant, but a full 5-man stack offers the most upside. In MLB DFS stacks, you’re trying to take advantage of an offense that explodes. Even with modest run production, you are getting correlation if your plays can get on base and one of their teammates bring them home.
The correlation is less pronounced in NBA, and often times players will actually have negative correlation since so many players can rack up stats that have nothing to do with their teammates. However, point guards and centers can have obvious correlation in the case of low-post feeds and/or lobs.
Every time your point guard lobs a dunk to his center, both players score points. And that’s the idea of stacks to begin with – how can we maximize the scoring and correlate it throughout a roster so every time one player scores, the odds are decent it also benefits other plays within that same lineup?
Again, not always an exact science and not something to force across every genre, but something to consider when building DFS lineups.
Build Your DFS Lineup (Then Review It)
One of the biggest mistakes new DFS players make is just building a lineup and hitting submit, never bothering to review their work.
This is important because taking a second look can answer the following questions:
- Does my lineup fit the contest type it is in?
- Do I have a clear path to cashing or winning?
- Am I relying on data over bias and opinion?
- Am I taking advantage of correlation?
- Am I playing strong plays based on projections and ownership?
This is even more important if you are not using a lineup tool that will typically do a lot of the decision-making for you.
If you’re hand building DFS lineups, you need to be your own verification process. Scan the lineup, look for missteps, and adjust as needed.
The Fastest Path to Building Winning DFS Lineups
Want a quick path to winning in DFS? There isn’t one that guarantees that you cash or win big, but the process is still proven over time:
- Use daily core plays
- Choose the right contest
- Have a clear path and strategy
You can do all of this with our daily core plays, or you can learn from this post and start building winning DFS lineups on your own. If you’re not sure where to start, we start from scratch with every slate daily and the cost for all of it each month is super low.
If you’re new to DFS in general, read our daily fantasy sports guide to get acclimated with it.
Want more winning DFS plays like this? Get our daily core plays, leverage spots, and strategy sent straight to your inbox.
Leave a Reply