DFS Tournament Tracking – NFL Week 4

Daily fantasy NFL tournaments provide opportunity for all kinds of players to get into the game. Whether you are a low-stakes grinder, casual player, or nose-bleed stakes sharp, the tournament space has a contest for you. But how to select the right ones? 

That’s where DFS Tournament Tracking comes into play. This piece will give all the information you need to know about various tournaments on DraftKings and FanDuel. Here are some of the terms you will need to know to get full value out of this data:

• Rake — Percent of entry money paid to the contest provider
• First — Percent of prize money to first place
• Top 10 — Percent of prize money to the top 10 places
• Pays — Percent of entrants finishing in the money
• Min cash — How much a minimum cash is worth divided by the entry fee

The tournaments will be put into similar groups so you can easily compare based on your bankroll and play style. 

Mass multi-entry 

High stakes

• The Wildcat is the most expensive contest of this group, but offers by far the lowest rake. No other MME contest offers less than 12% rake, and this is slightly under 10%.
• The Combine has the best overall prize structure, with just 10% to first, and a double-up for min cashing.
• The Bomb on FanDuel seems like the worst contest of this group given the sheer number of entries, rake, and prize structure.

Mid stakes

• FanDuel continues to offer a cheaper Sunday Million than DraftKings, but the contest is somewhat egregious. Over a third of the prize pool goes to first, and you have to beat over 700,000 people to get there.
• The Hail Mary offers the lowest top prize, but also features by far the smallest number of opposing entries, and one of the flatter prize structures.
• The Slant continues to be the best contest in this range if you are looking to MME with a big top prize. $50,000 to first, but less than 70,000 total entries with a great prize structure.

Low stakes

• The Dive is a great way for low-stakes players to jam 150 entries. It has a ridiculously flat prize structure, and pays over 30% of entrants. 
• The Pooch Punt is perfect for micro-stakes players who want the experience of building 150 entries. It will be a difficult contest to take down, with over 800,000 people competing, but less than 10% of the prize pool goes to the top 10.
• The Hail Mary is similar to the Pooch Punt, but with less entries and a higher dollar entry

Between 10 and 50 entries

High stakes

• DraftKings is offering a high-stakes milly contest for Week 4, and it would cost a whopping $79,992 to max-enter. Still, you only have to beat 631 people to become a millionaire (if you aren’t one already and entering this contest).
• The MON5TER and Touchdown are very different contests. The Touchdown has less total opponents, and a better overall pay structure, while the MON5TER has a better overall top prize.

Mid stakes

• There are not a ton of games that fit this list.
• If you prefer less rake, play the Hot Route.
• If you prefer a better overall prize structure, and maybe want some more entries, the Chop Block is for you.

Low stakes

• There is a wide array of contests here, and you can compete in fields ranging from 15,000 people to 634,000.
• The Play-Action continues to be a recommended game if you want a huge top prize without much risk, as is the Huddle for non-experienced players due to its fantastic structure.
• The First Down has a great payout structure, and will only cost you $20 to max-enter.

Less than 10 entries

High stakes

• The Game Changer and Luxury Box are the lowest-raked games on DraftKings and FanDuel respectively. Take advantage if you can.
• The SWEAT is a true single-entry now, after allowing two entries the past couple of weeks. You need to beat just 58 other players for first.
• The Juke is perhaps my favorite overall contest. It features a small number of entries, and fantastic payout structure.

Mid stakes

• The Spy offers the least amount of rake in this range, but its payout structure is not terribly desirable.
• If you don’t mind laying the extra 2%, the FanDuel games offer some better structures with less opposition.

Low stakes

• As expected, the more expensive games in this range feature fewer opponents, while in some cases you will still have to beat close to 50,000 to take first at the sub-10 dollar buy-in levels.
• The best game under 10 dollars appears to be the Flea Flicker on FanDuel, as it offers a low number of total entries and flat payout structure.
• The FanDuel Sweep is toward the top of this tier, but is another excellent contest.