Draft King Odds

If you’re playing in a large-field tournament, the payout structure is going to be top-heavy. Approximately 10-15% of the field will end up in a cash position, and most of the money will go to the top 10 players. That being the case, you need to take risks to land in a cash position. You need to draft guys who might have a breakout night. We are regulated by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement as an Internet gaming operator in accordance with the Casino Control Act N.J.S.A. 5:12-1 and its implementing regulations. Find all odds and bets related to the 2020 NFL playoffs and place a bet legally and securely on DraftKings Sportsbook. Founded in 2012, DraftKings has quickly risen to one of the two most-frequented sites in the industry. With an outstanding interface, particularly in the mobile genre, DraftKings is the destination for a lot of daily fantasy players, both veteran and novice. When playing on DraftKings, you’ll need.

A Draft Kings Election Pool update posted on the eve of Election Day showed that a majority of participants in 49 states believe that President Donald Trump will emerge as the victor in the presidential election.

Draft Kings’ official Twitter account posted a “DK Election Pool Alert” for its $100,000 pool on Monday, reporting that a majority of people in every state, with the exception of those in Colorado, predicted Trump would win the presidential election:

🚨 DK Election Pool Alert: With over 350K entries, a majority of people in every state besides Colorado predict that @realdonaldtrump will be the winner of tomorrow’s election. pic.twitter.com/zUF0uZZtwK

— DraftKings (@DraftKings) November 2, 2020

The entries topped 373,000 as of Monday afternoon.

Democrat panic appears to be the emerging theme as the election draws closer, with progressives sounding the alarm over former Vice President Joe Biden’s prospects in Minnesota — which has not flipped red in 48 years — as well as his status in battleground Pennsylvania, where Trump has attracted tens of thousands of enthusiastic supporters over the last few days. Democrats have also signaled concern over Democrat turnout in Florida, particularly in Miami-Dade County. While Democrats hold a 108k ballot advantage in the Sunshine State moving into Election Day, Republicans outpaced Democrats in early voting, dramatically narrowing the overall gap. Additionally, reports indicate that Hispanic turnout has been greater for Republicans than Democrats in Miami-Dade.

State Sen. Oscar Braynon (D-FL) also acknowledged a lack of turnout among the black community.

“There is not the turnout here [Miami] in the black community that I’ve seen in the past,” he said, according to Politico. “I can speculate about the reasons, but the fact is, it remains concerning.”

High-profile pollsters have also cautioned the public from depending too heavily on polls, the bulk of which have shown Trump trailing Biden. Many, the pollsters say, are not properly measuring the “hidden” or “shy” Trump voters.

“People are going to be shocked. A lot of people are going to vote this year who have been dormant or low-propensity voters. I think it’s going to be at an all-time high,” the Trafalgar Group’s Robert Cahaly toldPolitico.

“The models of who’s going to turn out this year are very flawed. What type of person comes out for Trump? They’re not a normal election participant,” he continued, noting the existence of the “hidden” Trump voter. “They’re a low-propensity voter. We included them in all of our surveys in fall 2016, and we are including them now.”

Economist Arie Kapteyn, who oversaw the USC/Los Angeles Times poll, said they have moved to better identify the largely undetected demographic by asking respondents who they believe their neighbors and friends are voting for.

“We ask them the probability they’ll vote for Biden or Trump or someone else. But we now also ask them a question I think you’d always asked, Robert: ‘Who do you think your friends and neighbors will vote for?’ We call it a ‘social-circle’ question,” he explained.

“Now, we actually get a 10-point lead, nationally, for Biden over Trump. But if you look at the ‘social-circle’ question, Biden only gets like a 5- or 6-point lead,” he said.

“One explanation for that may indeed be ‘social desirability.’ In general — and certainly on the phone — people may still be a little hesitant to say to that they’re Trump voters,” he continued.

Trump has continued to draw massive crowds to his rallies in key states in recent days. His Saturday rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, drew an estimated 57,000 people, and his Sunday rally in Rome, Georgia, drew roughly 30,000. Thousands of the signups for his recent rallies are “not Republican” and did not vote in 2016, according to data from Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel.

On Monday, Joe Biden’s campaign manager, Jen O’Malley Dillon, stated that there will not be any scenario where Trump will be “declared a victor on election night.”

DraftKings continues to be one of the hottest daily fantasy sites. Even though it’s slightly smaller in overall size than FanDuel, it’s the site of choice for tens of thousands of fantasy sports fans.

Having said that, it doesn’t matter how popular DraftKings is if you’re unable to win. Whether you’re playing fantasy football, baseball, soccer or golf, it’s the chance to win cash prizes that keeps you playing.

How do you win over the long run? It’s a matter of doing solid research, knowing how to draft good talent, watching your competitors’ lineups and managing your bankroll. It’s more complex than it sounds. Entire books can be written on each of those steps.

For example, bankroll management entails more than just knowing how much money you have in play. It also takes into account how to get through losing streaks, splitting your roll between low-stakes and high-stakes contests, and, of course, paying taxes on your winnings.

I’ll boil down the most important points in this two-part series.

Updated for 2019-2020 NFL season

A Crash course on Winning at DraftKings

The current landing page at DraftKings. Cannot help but notice that you’ll get a free entry with your first deposit!

Since NFL is the hottest fantasy sport by far, I’ll use examples from football. But don’t let that throw you. The 10 points we’ll cover below and in an upcoming post apply whether you’re playing daily fantasy baseball, golf, hockey, basketball or any other sport.

Let’s get on with the first key…

1. Adjust Your Draft Strategy By Contest Format – Cash Game or Tourney

That advice might seem trite. But contest format plays a huge role in how you draft talent. Your priorities will change with the size of the contest and its payout structure.

We’ve talked about this in the past, mostly as it pertains to guaranteed prize pool (GPP) tournaments and 50/50s (cash games). Here’s the gist:

Cash game line-up’s vs GPP Tourney line-ups.

If you’re playing in a large-field tournament, the payout structure is going to be top-heavy. Approximately 10-15% of the field will end up in a cash position, and most of the money will go to the top 10 players. That being the case, you need to take risks to land in a cash position. You need to draft guys who might have a breakout night.

If you’re playing in a 50/50, the payout structure will be flatter. Half of the entrants get paid, and everyone gets paid the same amount. You don’t need to take as many risks because you’re not trying to land in the top 10 of the field. You just need to end up in the 50th percentile.

Here’s one way to think about the draft – the flatter the payout structure, the more guaranteed points you want to log. That includes 50/50s and head-to-heads. The more top-heavy the payout structure, the more breakout performances you need if you hope to cash.

2. Tread Carefully When Drafting Sleepers

Draftkings Odds Of Winning

Everyone dreams of picking a sleeper who breaks out and has a huge night. The team owner not only cashes, but ends up looking like a fantasy sports master. When it works, it almost seems like magic.

The problem is, most fantasy players find that picking sleepers rarely works to their advantages. They pick speculative talent, hoping for a miracle. But when the dust clears, they find their sleepers still sleeping.

It’s not that picking sleepers is a bad fantasy play. It can work stupendously well if you know what you’re doing.

That’s the key: being selective.

Remember, a low salary doesn’t imply hidden talent. More often than not, it means the player isn’t expected to turn in a major performance that week.

Drafting sleepers can be a great tactic in building a winning roster. But picking players who break out takes research and a fair amount of luck. It’s not just throwing darts at a board. Listen to the talking heads each week but remember that so are thousands of others. Find those guys who aren’t being talked about so much but who look like they might end up with quality playing time due to an injury or opponent or other myriad of factors.

3. Check The Latest Injury Report

This should go without saying. But every day, fantasy players at DraftKings clearly forget to check the injury report before constructing their lineups. When game time arrives, they’re stuck with players who end up missing their games.

For example, according to the latest NFL injury report (at the time of writing), the Falcons’ Jeremy Langford is out with an “undisclosed injury”. Is he going to make their first season game against the New York Jets? Who knows? He’s currently listed as “Questionable”. If he ends up missing training camp or some games, you don’t want him on your roster.

The same goes for Jaelon Acklin, wide receiver for the Baltimore Ravens. He’s also dealing with an undisclosed injury and may miss training camp and/or some games. Will he play that first week against the Jaguars? At this point, it’s anybody’s guess. His status is also listed as “Questionable”.

The point is that you should always check the most recent injury report to make sure your lineup is filled with guys who are going to show up. The last thing you want to do is waste your salary cap on players who will add zero points to your score and your chances to win.

4. Learn How To Work DraftKings’ Bonus Points

The scoring system at DraftKings includes a few bonus items that a lot of team owners neglect. If your players hit certain numbers, you’ll earn extra points!

Take a look at the DraftKings’ scoring system for weekly fantasy football. Hidden in the numbers is a 3-point bonus if your QB passes at least 300 yards. You’ll also receive a 3-point bump for logging at least 100 rushing yards. And you’ll receive another 3-point bump for logging 100+ receiving yards.

Draft King Odds

You want players who can turn in those numbers.

QB Bonus Points
In the QB slot, that means keeping an eye on Ben Roethlisberger, Patrick Mahomes and Matt Ryan for starters heading into the season. They were the head honchos for QBs last year, will they do it again?

Your receivers can bring you a lot of bonus points. You have 3 WR slots to fill at DraftKings, and each one can potentially earn you 3 points by receiving 100+ yards. Julio Jones, DeAndre Hopkins, Mike Evans and Tyreek Hill,lead the pack last season. Each one turned in an average of 100+ yards per game. Again with these gentlemen, will they be able to do it again?

The rushing bonus at DraftKings is tougher to earn. There are two reasons. First, you only have two running back slots to fill at DraftKings. There isn’t as much opportunity in your roster as you have with your three receivers.

Second, there aren’t a lot of RBs who maintain an average of 100+ rushing yards per game (current group).

Bottom line: the bonus points at DraftKings can come in handy, especially when you’re trying to squeak past other team owners in a small league or 50/50. But don’t rely on them. They’re tough to earn.

5. Establish Your Bankroll Metrics

As I mentioned earlier, bankroll management in daily fantasy sports involves more than just keeping track of how much cash you have at risk. You need to start with a plan that gives you control over your daily and weekly spend. Then, you need to figure out how many bets you should have in play at one time.

The most reliable way to do that is to come up with a formula that reflects your results. As you win more contests, your optimal number of bets will change.

Here are a few guidelines I recommend if you’re just getting started in fantasy sports.

• First, limit your daily spend to 10% of your entire bankroll. If you deposit $200, don’t risk more than $20 in entry fees each day.
• Second, track your wins and losses. Make a note of the date, sport, contest format, field size, entry fee, and dollars won or lost. It doesn’t matter if you do this with a legal pad and pencil or on a spreadsheet. I prefer the latter since it allows me to sort the data. The most important thing is that you do it.
• Third, use a formula that takes your results into account to determine how much money you should risk each day (or week for fantasy football). There are several formulas you can use. A lot of veteran fantasy players use the Kelly criterion. We’ll discuss that method, as well as other bankroll management issues, in more detail in the near future.

Those are the basics when it comes to bankroll management. The key is to reach a point where you don’t have to think about how much to play. Your metrics will lay it all out for you.

More Awesome Reading Awaits!

• DraftKings review.