Draft Kings (Daily fantasy football)

[GoldenEagle]

Originally Posted by murrayyyyy

Reminder of why I don't play. I think 189 is good until I click on live contests. How the hell are people scoring over 300?

He got lucky and had Randle, Freeman, and Blount in the same lineup. I was in on all of those guys but had them scattered around.

I think he had a Newton/Olsen stack as well with Fitzgerald throw in for a bonus.

To win a GPP, you got to get very lucky (obviously) and find some low percentage owned guys to set you apart.

[murrayyyyy]

Originally Posted by GoldenEagle

He got lucky and had Randle, Freeman, and Blount in the same lineup. I was in on all of those guys but had them scattered around.

I think he had a Newton/Olsen stack as well with Fitzgerald throw in for a bonus.

To win a GPP, you got to get very lucky (obviously) and find some low percentage owned guys to set you apart.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that getting around 190 is a respectable score. I just didn't play a lot of NFL last year so I had no clue if it's a good score for contests.

[Julio Riddols]

190 will typically get you in the money. 170 will too.. but 220 and up is where you're looking at something special usually.

[GoldenEagle]

I got 3 lineups ITM (for now) out of 7 this week in the millionaire maker:

-One had 206. Had Brady/Gronk stack and Gronk not having a Gronk-type day hurt. Also had John Brown and he didn't do much.
-Next one had 176.8. Forte and Heyward-Bey kept this one from creeping up the scoreboard.
-Next had 172. Also had John Brown in this one.

Those last two may not cash depending on what Rogers does tonight and how high is owning percentage is.

Some other lineups had Big Ben and a Jaguars stack that was surrounded by studs that didn't work out.

Anyway, I have been having a ton of fun with this and has gotten back into the NFL when I really haven't watched the last few years. I am looking forward to the NBA and maybe MLB next year.

EDIT - But the plus side of Gronk not having a good day means that some of my fringe lineups could cash. I am also doing well in both of my 50/50s that I entered.

[EagleFan]

Originally Posted by muns

I can certainly relate. After tonight, as long as Travis Kelce gets me 9 or more points, ill make around 20 bucks. If I didn't chose COOK as my damn TE this week, it would have been more, but unless you hit on EVERY SINGLE guy at every position, you aren't gonna make any real money, unless you are doing the small 50/50 or 3/3 leagues. That is where I think I am going to take my shots next week.

Still trying to figure out how to play, but as each week passes, I realize more and more what the hell is actually going on.

I have generally started playing the double up contests primarily. A smart lineup can get you in the positive (or several smart lineups as I spread it around a little). For the big money contests I may throw in an entry here and there but it is really a crap shoot. You need to be lucky to be "that guy" who hit on the big return/low price guys. Generally the lineup that you wouldn't really want if you were playing a normal fantasy football league.

[EagleFan]

Looking around +28% this week. Not bad. Could have been a little better if not for Maclin the last two drives.

[EagleFan]

Why didn't they measure that? That seemed awfully close even with the bad spot.

sorry, wrong thread...

[jbergey22]

Very competitive week. A lot of different variations of teams.

As for the earlier comments about needing 300 to win. This was an unusually high scoring week with a lot of great fantasy performances. Typically we dont see all of these games 30+ like we did this past week. AJ Green, Devanta Freeman, Larry Fitzgerald, Greg Olson, Julio Jones.

What is up with Fitzgerald anyway? Seemed he was past his prime 5 years ago.

[EagleFan]

Week 3 Results:

1) jbergey22 193.22
2) murrayyyyy 188.18
3) EagleFan 173.32
4) kingfc22 171.02
5) muns 157.28
6) Julio Riddols 156.42
7) Comey 155.22
8) Chief Rum 153.52
9) dolfin 125.00
10) Dutch 121.12

[EagleFan]

Sent out invites for a 12 person league this week. Also one for a college league.

[murrayyyyy]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

Sent out invites for a 12 person league this week. Also one for a college league.

Joined both. Holy christ I forgot how nuts NCAA is. (Oh thank god it's only morning games)

[SegRat]

SegRat77 is my name if you want more people next week.

[muns]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

Sent out invites for a 12 person league this week. Also one for a college league.

EF I am going to pass on the college. Learned my lesson even with murrayyyyy coaching my way through it. I just don't know enough about they college guys to compete. Feel free to invite someone else in my spot who would want to be apart of it.

[Julio Riddols]

I joined both, but my college picks are completely based on the theory that teams that score a lot will have lots of viable players.

[thesloppy]

I made two sweet, sweet dollars in freerolls last week. That's like infinity ROI.

[EagleFan]

Anyone else that would be interested in jumping into our NFL or college "league" this week let me know. We still need a few more. It's only for fun and bragging rights (only reason I tried a college one for this because I have no clue when it comes to college).

[Subby]

Interested in a league if you ever need an extra guy. Subby5000.

[Radii]

DraftKings - Daily Fantasy Sports for Cash

Holy crap draftkings is doing contests for the League of Legends World Championship. AWESOME.

[EagleFan]

One more spot open for the NFL "league" this weekend. Still 4 openings for the college one. Completely free, you can't be any worse than me with the college game. Give it a shot.

Let me know if you want invited.

[Julio Riddols]

Im guessing the college one didn't go off.. I was reasonably excited about my lineup of almost all Texas Tech and Baylor players.

[EagleFan]

We didn't fill that one.

[EagleFan]

Will try an eight player college one next week.

[murrayyyyy]

Since no one has really said anything yet. Any opinion on a guy who claims to only have the data for DK taking 2nd in a fanduel contest?

FanDuel & DraftKings Mishaps - DFS Report

[EagleFan]

There needs to be some regulation at this point. If not this will become like online poker was and then will be banned.

It is already getting sketchy with people using software to draft multiple teams.

The FanDuel one was the worst of the two offenses, in my opinion.

[Comey]

I had no idea who I was taking in the college one, but I did have Elliot and Connor Cook. I had a feeling I would have done okay.

Onto next week.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by murrayyyyy

Since no one has really said anything yet. Any opinion on a guy who claims to only have the data for DK taking 2nd in a fanduel contest?

FanDuel & DraftKings Mishaps - DFS Report

As a poker player, I'm someone happy to see this come to the forefront. If they end up pushing for regulation of this industry, it bodes extremely well for a return of online poker to the rest of the U.S. in a regulated format.

[murrayyyyy]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

As a poker player, I'm someone happy to see this come to the forefront. If they end up pushing for regulation of this industry, it bodes extremely well for a return of online poker to the rest of the U.S. in a regulated format.

Speaking as a gambler, it will never happen. Let's remember that "fantasy sports aren't gambling" because you are using stats and info to determine how many yards/touchdowns unlike gamblers who use stats and info to determine how much a team will win by (Love ya Goodell for saying this in testimony against legalized gambling in NJ).

League have their hand in the cookie jar now and it will never be overturned. The reason leagues can't get behind gambling is that casinos won't give them a cut.

[sabotai]

Signed up for FanDuel, username: JayFromNJ

[TheRivals40]

I tried playing a free game one Star Fantasy Leagues one week, didn't win, so I gave up.

This seems to me like a bit of a waste of money. Like I see betting a little bit of money, but putting down a lot and thinking you're going to win like the guy on the back of every fantasy magazine doesn't seem to smart. He probably either got insanely luck or spends his entire day analyzing the games and has some crazy formula which tells him helps him a ton. (Probably the latter)

[Senator]

I am currently sitting 19th out of 20 money spots, on a 60 dollar payout, Sunday only contest. 2 guys, one with Randle, the other with Ingram, both need about 12 to bump us out of a payout.

[Senator]

Garbage yards for Ingram gives that guy 4 short of knocking #20 out and moving me to 20 and last payout. My odds are poor.

[sabotai]

I'm way out of the money for the late Sunday $2 game I joined. I need Randle and Witten to light up in the second half to even have a shot.

And it pains me to have to cheer for Cowboys players...

[Senator]

I'm cashing out after this. I'm in 20th with no time left. Missed chip shot. Ingram needs 2 points to knock me out of the money. OT should slip me. I find no enjoyment in this. Should do something else.

[Senator]

I've learned a little about myself playing this. I find no enjoyment in the process. I know I'm not smarter than the system in place and even though I hung on to win 80 dollars on both my bets yesterday, the process itself was not fun. And it's mainly a psychology thing. I feel I have zero control in the outcome. There is nothing to do but beg fate and chance to look kindly on me. Not a huge fan of fate and chance. I never played poker, but I think with that, your actions in game make the difference in many cases. You are an active participant in your destiny. Many, many of my friends love the adrenaline of the day, begging some running back on a team they typically despise to save the day. I don't want to root for the Giants, Redskins, or Eagles. Ever. And especially for 80 bucks. Which, I could say, hey, it's 80 bucks,write it off for fun, and just go with it. I think I would rather buy a pizza, and not give a flip how Mark Ingram does in overtime.
So, it's a mind set I guess. I love competition, and thought I would get that same feeling, but for me I don't feel I'm being competitive, just spinning a roulette wheel. I like a more hands on, decision making activity that decides my outcome. I like to say, this is my fault, I called the wrong play, or was not as good as my opponent. Here, I feel like a sheep, and even though I'm up on my investment, and never even used the matching funds, I'm cashing out. I know everyone is different, and some guys say, "hey Senator, it's just to make the day more interesting, and I don't take it so serious." Which I envy.

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by Senator

I've learned a little about myself playing this. I find no enjoyment in the process. I know I'm not smarter than the system in place and even though I hung on to win 80 dollars on both my bets yesterday, the process itself was not fun. And it's mainly a psychology thing. I feel I have zero control in the outcome. There is nothing to do but beg fate and chance to look kindly on me. Not a huge fan of fate and chance. I never played poker, but I think with that, your actions in game make the difference in many cases. You are an active participant in your destiny. Many, many of my friends love the adrenaline of the day, begging some running back on a team they typically despise to save the day. I don't want to root for the Giants, Redskins, or Eagles. Ever. And especially for 80 bucks. Which, I could say, hey, it's 80 bucks,write it off for fun, and just go with it. I think I would rather buy a pizza, and not give a flip how Mark Ingram does in overtime.
So, it's a mind set I guess. I love competition, and thought I would get that same feeling, but for me I don't feel I'm being competitive, just spinning a roulette wheel. I like a more hands on, decision making activity that decides my outcome. I like to say, this is my fault, I called the wrong play, or was not as good as my opponent. Here, I feel like a sheep, and even though I'm up on my investment, and never even used the matching funds, I'm cashing out. I know everyone is different, and some guys say, "hey Senator, it's just to make the day more interesting, and I don't take it so serious." Which I envy.

Do you play fantasy sports at all? I've struggled with this mode of thinking in the past, where benching the wrong guy would eat at me for days after. I changed how I think about fantasy sports, and I think have successfully made it more light. I primarily do it for the discussions and social aspect. If I win great, if I lose whatever.

[Senator]

That's a healthy and normal approach to take. I think we all have different psychologies in play. I have always had a real aversion to being in competitive situations where I am mediocre. Golf for instance. I think playing golf with friends on a beautiful day, with some cold beers, and social talk is a normal thing for most people. But, I cannot stand to play shitty. Instead of laughing and blowing it off, I get tight and self abusing - not loud or outwardly angry - but internally upset with myself. Because I don't, can't, or won't practice enough to become proficient, I will not even participate, and focus my energies where I can be proficient and competitive. I do play in a fantasy league with about a dozen friends for the past 20 years, where it's just bragging rights, and I constantly collar myself not to over think everything and just flow. But the guys who don't check their teams for weeks, it makes me think, what the hell are you even doing this for.
So, I am self aware enough to know this doesn't fit my personality type. Because I know I will be very mediocre at it over time, even though I got lucky and I am up now. That's why Vegas has zero draw for me. I know I would show up, lose, and come home thinking why did I do that.
Don't judge me too harshly, I know it's silly to be like this.

[Logan]

I usually enjoying playing poker even when I lose, and that extends also to other casino games although to a bit of a lesser degree. I haven't cared much about fantasy for a few years now, in terms of beating myself up over bad decisions, getting annoyed by injuries/bad matchups, etc. I can roll with it.

Ever since I learned what DFS really is, I have had no enjoyment from it even when winning some money during week 1, and have no interest in playing it more once my meager bankroll is tapped.

[EagleFan]

What I enjoy the most about it (for DK) is that it gives me a reason to maybe watch a game that I otherwise wouldn't care less about.

For a standard league (FF with friends) it also does this but primarily is for the social aspect.

[Solecismic]

I was into fantasy baseball at a fairly high level in my 20s. I started studying all sorts of projections (I was a small contributor to the online piece that eventually became the Baseball Prospectus). It started taking all my down time (I was at IBM then). It came to a head in 1994. That was my third year in money leagues, and I had gone from making back the entry fees to really knowing what I was doing.

I was in this national league, sitting in the top five - the money would have been in the thousands. I was also in an expensive smaller duel-like league that had a decent payout, and clinched that league with weeks to go. And then the strike happened and I didn't see a penny of all that money.

During the strike, I realized it was consuming my life. And changing how I viewed sports. I never did play fantasy baseball again, but I tried to get into fantasy football in the late '90s and early '00s. Not with the same passion.

It became no fun. Rooting for specific players rather than just enjoying the games. So I stopped.

This Draft Kings/Fan Duel thing is interesting. I could see myself being one of those crazy people with thousands of entries. But it's gone from small companies advertised in sports publications to these massively funded corporations. And now we see that it's fairly corrupt (just imagine the advantage you can leverage with inside information about betting patterns to feed into your lineup code). I think it's for the best that I forget entirely about fantasy sports.

[sabotai]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

It became no fun. Rooting for specific players rather than just enjoying the games. So I stopped.

That sums up my feelings about the one and only time I played in a fantasy football league. I'd rather watch and enjoy the games than cheer for the WR for one team and the QB for the other, cursing every time one of them runs the ball.

I tried out FanDuel mostly out of curiosity. I deposited $25 and only plan to play in $2 tournaments until the money runs out.

[murrayyyyy]

Log In - The New York Times

And now the Times is on it. DK's response, well they have guys winning off our site too. Yeah, not one bit of this is corrupt. Like i said, only way to play this anyone is with a group of guys you know or semi-know in a private league every week.

[murrayyyyy]

I also keep waiting for the next shoe to drop. (It is coming... it has to be, there is too much money involved for the next scenario to be found to be true)

People from these sites using lineups from the big $$$ players/winners and using that info on the other sites.

Next it will pop up that their employees are selling this information/emailing it to friends to help them win profits on their own companies sites as well as the other one. Almost to be looked at like insider trading.

[nol]

If Lehman brothers and Merrill Lynch had been daily fantasy football sites they would of been so fucked

— PFTCommenter (@PFTCommenter) October 6, 2015

@PFTCommenter good thing they were only internatonal banks. Talk about a close shave

— PFTCommenter (@PFTCommenter) October 6, 2015

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by murrayyyyy

Log In - The New York Times

And now the Times is on it. DK's response, well they have guys winning off our site too. Yeah, not one bit of this is corrupt. Like i said, only way to play this anyone is with a group of guys you know or semi-know in a private league every week.

I mentioned this earlier in the thread. Unless you have your own analytical team churning out data or have inside information like these guys do, you're dead money. I'd be shocked if employees at these companies weren't selling this data to sharps.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by murrayyyyy

I also keep waiting for the next shoe to drop. (It is coming... it has to be, there is too much money involved for the next scenario to be found to be true)

People from these sites using lineups from the big $$$ players/winners and using that info on the other sites.

Next it will pop up that their employees are selling this information/emailing it to friends to help them win profits on their own companies sites as well as the other one. Almost to be looked at like insider trading.

This is certainly going on but there is no shoe to drop. The two main companies are heavily funded by groups and individuals with lobbying power in Washington. Gambling is legal in this country as long as your company pays off the right politicians.

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

I mentioned this earlier in the thread. Unless you have your own analytical team churning out data or have inside information like these guys do, you're dead money. I'd be shocked if employees at these companies weren't selling this data to sharps.

I know numerous people making 30-60k(since 2011) per year doing this that are far from sharps. Paying attention to injuries, lineups, weather, and knowing how to find value is not insider information. This is being blown out of proportion. The info that was released is available just by entering lineups for the Thursday night games and looking at the lineups for Sundays games to see the percentage these players are owned. Winning these 1 million tournys is basically a lottery anyway. Being able to fund more lineups increases your odds. This is the only advantage the so called "sharps" may have.

If you are looking to make a consistent income doing this. Just play the smaller tournys and 50/50 games. There is enough fish out there to make it profitable even with professionals playing. The problem with playing professionally is the income stream isnt always steady and it is very time consuming. With the sites like Rotogrinders and more daily fantasy sites out there to share info the edge has become smaller.

https://rotogrinders.com/profiles/jbergey

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

I know numerous people making 30-60k(since 2011) per year doing this that are far from sharps. Paying attention to injuries, lineups, weather, and knowing how to find value is not insider information. This is being blown out of proportion. The info that was released is available just by entering lineups for the Thursday night games and looking at the lineups to see the percentage these players are owned. Winning these 1 million tournys is basically a lottery anyway. Being able to fund more lineups increases your odds. This is the only advantage the so called "sharps" may have.

If you are looking to make a consistent income doing this. Just play the smaller tournys and 50/50 games. There is enough fish out there to make it profitable even with professionals playing. The problem with playing professionally is the income stream isnt always steady and it is very time consuming. With the sites like Rotogrinders and more daily fantasy sites out there to share info the edge has become smaller.

It's not just knowing who owns who. It's the fact that employees have access to these lineups and can use them on other sites. They can take the top players lineups and install them elsewhere. This puts everyone at a disadvantage.

It goes beyond just this Haskell guy winning. You can claim that's just luck I guess. But the guy in charge of salaries at FanDuel is near the top of the leaderboards over the past 6 months at RotoGrinders. You think this stuff is all a coincidence?

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

It's not just knowing who owns who. It's the fact that employees have access to these lineups and can use them on other sites. They can take the top players lineups and install them elsewhere. This puts everyone at a disadvantage.

It goes beyond just this Haskell guy winning. You can claim that's just luck I guess. But the guy in charge of salaries at FanDuel is near the top of the leaderboards over the past 6 months at RotoGrinders. You think this stuff is all a coincidence?

Most of the guys these sites hired to do the salaries were just your average fantasy player at one time. They may have won a big tourny or became a host on one of the shows or became a ad because of their success. Many of the successful players from the Wild West of daily fantasy 2009-2011 used their success to branch off and do other things in the business. Ethan Haskell for example used to run the Rotogrinders site. He did a fabulous job of creating ideas and research so he was hired by Draftkings do help fix their loose salaries.

All of the sites have many of the top players working for them. However these guys were all top players before working for the company. And in most cases were only hired because of the success they had before they were employed for the company they now work for.

Basically they won a big tourny or two, Rotogrinders would hire them to do shows and write articles on how to have success, Fanduel/Draftkings then became heavily funded and hired many of these Rotogrinders people for different reasons(promotion, research, TV) because they had built a reputation in the business.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

Most of the guys these sites hired to do the salaries were just your average fantasy player at one time. They may have won a big tourny or became a host on one of the shows or became a ad because of their success. Many of the successful players from the Wild West of daily fantasy 2009-2011 used their success to branch off and do other things in the business. Ethan Haskell for example used to run the Rotogrinders site. He did a fabulous job of creating ideas and research so he was hired by Draftkings do help fix their loose salaries.

All of the sites have many of the top players working for them. However these guys were all top players before working for the company. And in most cases were only hired because of the success they had before they were employed for the company they now work for.

Basically they won a big tourny or two, Rotogrinders would hire them to do shows and write articles on how to have success, Fanduel/Draftkings then became heavily funded and hired many of these Rotogrinders people for different reasons(promotion, research, TV) because they had built a reputation in the business.

Now they are top players who have access to the lineups the other top players are using and can use that data to compete against people who don't have that information.

[EagleFan]

Damn. That fumble cost me a chance at a decent payday. Still a little ahead but I could have jumped to a really decent result.