Guys, fantasy football is finally back! I hope you are all just as excited as I am to build DFS lineups each week and sit on the couch all of Sunday tracking your players; that sounds like the perfect day to me. One common mistake DFS players make is they think the most important step in developing your teams and entering them in contests is lineup construction when in fact, it is bank roll management.
Don’t get me wrong, lineup construction is VERY important. You won’t be able to win anything if your team does not perform well. The reason why bankroll management (BRM) is so important is because you could put together an amazing team and only walk out profiting a few bucks. You could also finish in the top 50% five weeks in a row and end up losing everything after the 6th week.
Although there are many different theories out there on how to properly distribute your money, there seem to be a few common philosophies on this to help build your bankroll. Here are a few steps you should follow each week to maximize profits, and in turn, become a smarter gambler:
1) The 80-20 strategy
The idea behind this strategy is to enter 80% of your money into cash games and 20% into guaranteed prize pool (GPP) tournaments. This concept is designed to help you profit consistently as well as give you the shot each week to win big. Cash games are the way to go if your only goal is to profit, but it is always good to throw a smaller percentage of your money into tournaments just in case your team has an amazing day. By entering most of your money into cash games and some of it into tournaments, it lowers the risk of losing everything and gives you an incredibly high ceiling. That sounds like the ideal set-up to me.
2) Consistent betting
This one speaks volumes to me. My first season of NFL DFS I made the mistake of not being smart with my money and going all in each week. I played seven-straight weeks and each week I stuck only to cash games; don’t ask me why, I was a rookie. I turned $10 into $20, $20 into $40, $40 into $80, and so on. In my last week playing, you can probably guess it, I lost everything. Even though my record in my first year was technically 6-1, I ended up with a net loss of $10. Something very important in entering contests each week is to bet a consistent amount, whether it be $5, $50, or $500, you should plan to stick by that amount for the entire season. By doing so, it does not give you the ability to have one bad week sink your season.
3) Entering GPP contests last second
Well, I may be spoiling a secret here that not everyone knows about. But for those who were unaware, there are always overlays in GPP contests. For instance, if a 50/50 contest does not fill, the company will cancel the contest and refund everyone who entered. If a GPP contest does not fill, it will start no matter how many people are in it. This could mean if a double up holds a maximum of 45 people but only 20 people enter it, the contest will start and everyone who entered it is guaranteed to win. With so many people playing NFL DFS, it may be hard to find contests that leave too many spots open, but it is always worth checking right before kick off as it gives you the possibility of making extremely easy money. Even if it does not guarantee you a win, it could extremely increase your odds of profiting.
Whether you are a new or returning to the DFS community, I hope you factor in all of these strategies when putting in your money each week. By following these three steps of DFS bankroll management, you should be able to win some big bucks by the end of the year!
