NASCAR Fantasy 2015: Secrets to Winning a DFS NASCAR Contest
Fantasy NASCAR started to spread throughout the country 10 years ago, and now a new style of fantasy sports is starting to take over the way people play the game. Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) is spreading across the country like a wildfire.
It is almost impossible to turn on the television without seeing a commercial for DraftKings. Even NASCAR is sponsored by the DraftKings.
Thousands of people play fantasy NASCAR on various sites. While it is fun to play a season-long game, Daily Fantasy NASCAR is here to stay, so there's no better time to get familiar with the DraftKings NASCAR contest than now.
I received many questions about Daily Fantasy NASCAR when I first started writing about it. Most people did not understand the game, thought it was gambling or thought they did not have the money to play Daily Fantasy NASCAR. These assumptions are incorrect most of the time.
Daily Fantasy NASCAR gives players a chance to win real money. If you do not want to play for money, DraftKings offers free contest for players to see how they stack up against the competition. Some of these contests award free entries into other contests, while some are just for fun and no prize are awarded. If you want to play for money, you can join contests for as little as $0.25 or as much as $10,000.
Although Daily Fantasy NASCAR looks like gambling on the surface, players have a profound advantage when they do their homework and know what they are doing.
Congress passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling and Enforcement Act of 2006, in which Congress agreed that DFS is a game of skill and not a game of chance. So why not take advantage of the law and become a skillful player in Daily Fantasy NASCAR?
This slideshow will help fantasy players understand Daily Fantasy NASCAR and learn the tricks of winning your DraftKings contest.
Getting Started in Daily Fantasy NASCAR
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There are some steps that must be taken before you dive into Daily Fantasy NASCAR. Players who jump right in without knowing what they are doing usually lose money quickly. So here is what you need to know to get started in the Daily Fantasy NASCAR game.
Make sure you shop around for the best promotion before you sign up for DraftKings, which offers many deals to entice you to play on its site. Be sure to take advantage of these deals.
Some fantasy NASCAR websites offer free subscriptions if you make a deposit into a DraftKings account. Other promotions include free entries into million dollar tournaments. (I would not recommend these promotions because it is too hard for a beginner to win money in these tournaments.)
Once you find the perfect promotion, you can create your DraftKings account. Before you start playing any contest, get familiar with the site. If you do not know what you are doing, you could click on the wrong button and join a contest you do not want to be in.
Check out your profile and account to learn how to deposit money and, most importantly, how to get paid once you win. There are ways to earn many on the site by referring friends to sign up and by winning tickets for a free entry into a large tournament. Take advantages of these freebies once you become familiar with the site.
Before you spend your money in any contest, play in the free NASCAR contest for a week and see how you do. This will help you figure out how to construct your lineup, the rules for the contest and how the live scoring works to see the results of your lineup.
Now that you are familiar with the setup of the site and how the Daily Fantasy NASCAR game works, it is time to make your initial deposit and find a contest that works for you.
Type of Contest
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There are two types of contests for Daily Fantasy NASCAR on DraftKings. Each contest is different and requires a different strategy in order to win money.
Cash contests include the 50/50 contest, the Triple Up contest and the head-to-head contest. The cash games are the best contests when starting out in Daily Fantasy NASCAR.
Tournament contests are large pools of people who play for a large payout. It is incredibly difficult to win big in this contest, so I do not recommend this for new players. There are many people who consider themselves fantasy NASCAR experts, but I can guarantee you none of them consistently wins in tournament contests on DraftKings.
The most important thing fantasy players can learn about Daily Fantasy NASCAR is what contest to play. Most of the people who lose a lot of money lose because they are playing the wrong contest.
I cannot recommend fantasy NASCAR players throw their hard-earned money out the window, so please play responsibly and enter the right contests. Then, you might have an advantage over your competition.
50/50 Contest Strategies
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The best way to win money at DraftKings is to build a bankroll. By building a bankroll, fantasy players will have the power to play in multiple contests each week and increase their chances of winning. Just like the stock market, diversifying your money is the best way to win money, and you will need a bankroll to do this.
The only way to build your bankroll is to start playing in cash contests. Remember the cash contests refer to the 50/50, Triple Up and the head-to-head contests.
The goal in 50/50 contest is to consistently cash out (win money). Remember that in 50/50 contests, you get paid the exact same amount of money whether you finish first or 50th (out of 100 entries).
The secret to success in the 50/50 contest is to select drivers with the least amount of risk. You do not want to take a chance with one of the cheap drivers just so you can select one of the highest priced drivers. If the highest priced driver crashes, you will have two bad drivers on your team and no chance at winning. Try to select a balanced lineup consisting of drivers in the $10,000 to $7,000 price range.
The best drivers for the 50/50 contests include Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman, Joey Logano, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick and Jamie McMurray. These drivers rarely have a finish outside the top 20.
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Triple Up Contest Strategy
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"Triple Up" contests are similar to 50/50 contests, but it is much harder to get your money back.
Triple Up contests pay a prize (money) to the top one-third of the entries in the contest. So if 20 people entered the contest, the top six would receive a prize. The money awarded in these contests is one-third of the entry fee. So if the entry fee is $5, the top one-third will be awarded $15. It does not matter if you finish first or sixth, fantasy players will earn the same amount for winning.
I do not recommend Triple Up contests because the 50/50 contests provide better odds of winning with a slightly less payout.
If you do decide to play in the Triple Up contest, you must take a slightly higher risk than you would in the 50/50 contest. Fantasy players must score higher than 75 percent of their competitors, and the only way to do this is to select drivers who are now highly owned in the contest and hope they have a great race.
The best drivers for the Triple Up contest are Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin. These drivers do not finish upfront every week, but when they have a good car, they can dominate a race. Johnson is the only driver from this list who is heavily owned each week in DraftKings contest.
Head-to-Head Contest Strategy
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Head-to-head leagues pair you up against another player, and whoever scores the most wins 1.8 times their money. So if you play in a head-to-head contest with a $20 entry fee, you will be awarded $36 if you outscore your opponent.
The head-to-head contests in DraftKings are risky because you are at the mercy of your competitor. There is a chance that the person you are matched up against is a new player, which increases your odds of winning, but more than likely, the person did their homework and wants the money just as bad as you do.
There are many different strategies to use in the head-to-head contest. Fantasy teams can try to select the same top drivers they think their opponent has but beat them by selecting a few they do not have in common. Another option? You can try to select lesser known drivers and hope they have a good race.
I usually like to play it safe in the head-to-head contest. I recommend selecting one of the top drivers and fill in the rest with drivers from the $9,500 to $7,000 price range.
Tournament Contest Strategies
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Tournament contests are the most played contests offered by DraftKings. I think it is mostly because people are attracted to high jackpots, and they do not know what they are doing. It is hard to tell people to ignore the large shiny prize in the corner, but that is what I am telling you. Only play in the tournament Contest after you have established your bankroll.
Fantasy players must realize that large field tournaments (1,000-plus entries) are not designed for sustainable winning. They are designed so that the majority of players lose their money and the top 2 percent walk away with a substantial winning.
One of the most popular tournaments on DraftKings is the "Pedal to the Medal" contest, which costs $3 to enter and awards a top prize of $100,000. Usually more than 150,000 people enter this contest, and the top 30,000 win at least their money back. In order to win more than $100, fantasy teams need to finish in the top 100 (0.06 percent). Those odds are not good.
Fantasy players could lose a lot of money if they do not play the tournament contest correctly. The best way to play is to enter multiple entries and diversify them so you have many drivers who could earn you the top prize.
The strategy for tournament contest is easy: Swing for the fences! You will not win a tournament of over 150,000 entries if you use the same drivers as everyone else.
My advice is to take some of the drivers in the $6,000 to $5,000 price range and pair them with the highest-priced drivers. If the cheap drivers finish upfront, you are in business.
You must check out the Happy Hour speeds and the qualifying results in order to do this. If one of the cheap drivers runs fast laps in practice, make sure that driver is on your team.
Taking Advantage of Overlay
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People will always look for a glitch in the system whenever something relatively new comes along. Overlay is the way people can take advantage of DraftKings system and win some money.
DraftKings offers contests with a guaranteed prize payout. It does not matter if one person enters the contest or if the contest fills up with the maximum number of entries; DraftKings will pay out the same amount of money.
So let’s say DraftKings offers a contest with a guaranteed prize payout of $10,000. The contest will payout money to the top 2,000 people who enter the contest that allows 11,000 entries. When the contest starts, only 4,000 of the 11,000 maximum entries are filled. Because this contest guarantees a prize to the top 2,000 players, you will only have to beat half of the 4,000 entries in the contest instead of 9,000 if the contest filled with the 11,000 maximum entries.
I recommend figuring out your lineup hours before the race and then waiting until it is almost time for the contest to start. If the guaranteed prize tournament is only half filled, it would be wise to make an investment in this contest. It is a great chance to win a lot of money.
The best strategy for playing in a tournament with overlay is the same as a regular tournament. You still need to take some chances on cheaper drivers to get to the top of the standing because the payout structure is top heavy.
I do not recommend playing in tournament contest, but if you do, fantasy teams should look for contest with overlay.
Other Daily Fantasy NASCAR Tips
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This slideshow could go on and on with the different strategies and tips for winning a DraftKings contest. Playing cash contests to establish a bankroll and only playing tournaments after you have the money to enter multiple entries is the best way to go. Here are some other tips to keep in mind as you start playing a DraftKings contest.
- Check out the DraftKings Playbook. Each week, DraftKings posts articles about who would be the best picks for your contest. Take advantage of this free advice.
- Take some time to do some research. It does not take more than 30 minutes each week, but if fantasy teams take the time to look at the Happy Hour speeds and the qualifying results, they will have a leg up on the competition.
- Find value in DraftKings' driver pool. If a driver from one of the top teams qualifies in the back of the field, this driver has great value. DraftKings awards bonus points for position deferential and these drivers usually pass many cars in the race.
- Do not think you need to spend your entire salary cap each week in your contest. Many winning teams are created with left over salary.
- Never gamble more than 20 percent of your bankroll in one contest. The game is made to be enjoyable, and if you gamble much more than 20 percent, it tends to be stressful.
- My last tip is to have fun. Fantasy NASCAR can be a fun experience every week if you do not make it all about the money.
DraftKings is giving away over $10 million Week 1 of the NFL Season. Use this knowledge to help you win some of that cash. The biggest first place prize ever at $2 million will be awarded. Play now for FREE at DraftKings.com.
If you need any further advice with your team, look for me on Twitter @MrFantasyNASCAR. If you like Fantasy NASCAR, "like" my Fantasy NASCAR Tips Page on Facebook.
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