DAILY FANTASY SPORTS GLOSSARY

A BASIC GLOSSARY GUIDE TO DFS TERMINOLOGY

50/50

A type of daily fantasy contest where the top 50% of the total entrants are all paid out the same exact amount. A $1 entry would pay out $1.80 in return. 50/50 is considered a cash game and a very safe game to play.

BANKROLL

This term refers to the amount of money you have on the site in your player account to play daily fantasy with. It is also used to refer to the amount of money you have allocated to play one particular slate with. Ex: My bankroll for tonight’s slate is $20.

BUY-IN(S)

The amount of your bankroll that is required to enter any one particular contest. This is also referred to as the entry fee.

CASH GAME

Any DFS contest that pays more than 33% of the total entrants, and up to as many as 50% of the total entrants. Generally thought of as safe contests to enter and include 50/50, head-to-head, and double-ups. These contests are considered the safest and best contests to build your bankroll with as a higher percentage of entrants win.

CEILING

The best possible outcome for a player on a particular slate regards the number of points he will score. Targeting a player’s ceiling is an optimal move in GPP lineup construction.

CHALK

A player who is a consensus pick or considered a must-start option. Usually, someone, the majority of the sharper players will roster for a particular slate, especially in cash games.

DFS

The abbreviation stands for daily fantasy sports. DFS is a game where you draft a fantasy team for one day, one weekend or one slate of games using a salary cap format and compete for cash prizes. Once that particular slate ends you start the process all over again on a new slate with a new team.

DOUBLE UP

A type of cash game where you can double your buy-in by finishing in the top 43% of the total entrants. On a $1 entry fee you would win $2 in return. Considered a pretty safe cash game and a contest you can use to build your bankroll.

ENTRANT

A player who has entered a DFS contest.

ENTRY FEE

The cost of your entry in a particular DFS contest.

FADE

To avoid a certain player, slate, or contest type. This is usually done due to expected ownership, on a smaller slate with less variance, or when a certain contest type is a bad proposition for your ROI, win rate, or the lineup construction of your team. Ex: GPP lineups in cash games or vice versa.

FLOOR

Baseline term used to describe a minimum expectation for a player based on their fantasy point production or average. High-floor players are optimal plays for cash games.

FREE ROLL

A contest that costs no money to enter, but still has a cash prize if you finish high in the contest.

GPP

This term stands for guaranteed prize pool. They are contests that are guaranteed to still run even if they don’t fill. Also referred to as tournaments but most double-ups, triple-ups, and multiplier contests also have guaranteed prize pools and are guaranteed to run even if they don’t fill.

H2H (HEAD-TO-HEAD)

A contest where you play against only one other player. Typically after site fees, your return on your $1 buy-in for winning that H2H is $1.80. H2H is genuinely considered one of the safest cash games, as even if you do poorly you still have a chance to cash some of your H2H games against players who did worse than you did.

LATE SWAP

The ability to swap out one player for another player if both of the player’s games haven’t started yet.

MULTIPLIERS

A contest that pays a certain multiplier of your buy-in for cashing in it. Examples of these contests are four times multipliers and ten times boosters.

PRIZE POOL

The entire sum of money that is up for grabs in a DFS contest. The amount of the total prize pool is usually equal to the total sum of the entree collected from the entrants, minus the site fees taken out by DraftKings.

PROJECTIONS

The anticipated point output for an individual player.

ROI

Stands for Return On Investment. Refers to the percentage or amount of profit you make relative to the amount of money you risked.

SINGLE ENTRY

Any contest where the maximum number of entrants any one player can have is one. Single entry is available and recommended for cash games and GPP tournaments.

SALARY

Amount of your salary cap each individual player will cost to roster in your lineup.

THREE MAX ENTRY

Any contest where the maximum number of entries is limited to no more than three per player. Three-max is available for cash games and GPP tournaments.

TOURNAMENTS

A higher-risk contest where a smaller percentage of the entrants get paid (between 20-30% of the entrants) but often has very top-heavy payout structures where you can win very large cash prizes. This is not a recommended type of play to build a bankroll.

 

TRIPLE UPS

A contest where 33% of the entrants win triple the amount of the buy-in if they finish in the money.

More to come but these are the basics to help you out. Have questions? Feel free to ask us!