DFS Tournament Tracking – NFL Week 5

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 providor
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 Dash has by far the most appealing payout structure of this group. It pays the fewest total entrants, but pays out the least to first, and is relatively flat.
• The ALL OUT BLITZ has the benefit of having the least number of entrants, roughly half of the closest contest. It also has fewer max entries per contestant. 

Mid stakes

• The Slant is the only contest in this group that doubles you up for a min cash. 
• Other than the Slant, only the Hail Mary pays out 10% to first and under 35% to the top-10. It also has by far the least number of total entries.
• The FanDuel Sunday Million continues to be one of the most egregiously structured GPPs in all of DFS. 40% of the total prize pool goes to first place, with less than 10% to the rest of the top-10. 

Low stakes

• The low-stakes MME tournaments are largely well-structured, but you should avoid the mini-MAX given it is relatively top-heavy and pays the least number of entrants versus the rest of these tournaments.
• The Dive pays just 6.51% of the total prize pool to the top-10, making it one of the flattest structures in DFS. It is a terrific option for low-stakes players.
• The Hail Mary and Pooch Punt also offer users great bang for their buck on 150 entries.

Between 10 and 50 entries

High stakes

• There is not a ton of differentiation here other than price.
• The Touchdown is the cheapest GPP here, but also has nearly half as many entrants as the MON5STER on FanDuel. 

Mid stakes

• These tournaments are fairly similar, but the Hot Route has the better prize structure. It also has fewer total entrants.
• There are no FanDuel tournaments that fit this range.

Low stakes

• The Play-Action is a far better use of funds than something like the Sunday Million if looking to score a huge prize for minimal entry fees.
• Inexperienced users should continue to take advantage of the low rake and prize structure of the Huddle on FanDuel.
• Everything a dollar and under on DraftKings is somewhat similar to the Play-Action, but with a smaller prize pool. Great bang for the overall buck.

Less than 10 entries

High stakes

• The Game Changer on DraftKings and Luxury Box on FanDuel offer tremendous rake discounts versus other games.
• The SWEAT is back to being a two-entry tournament, but still has an attractive payout structure.
• The Juke and Spin Move on DraftKings are the only tournaments that double you up for a min cash.

Mid stakes

• The Cover 2 and Hot Route on FanDuel, as well as the Three-Point Stance on DraftKings, are the only tournaments in this range that pay 10% to first, and less than 30% to the top-10.
• Personally, I like to attack the smaller fields in these kinds of contests. If you prefer the big top prizes, you certainly will make some sacrifices elsewhere in terms of expected value.
• The Power Sweep and Spy on DraftKings offer the lowest amount of rake in this range.

Low stakes

• The Pylon, Singleback and Daily Dollar on DraftKings, as well as the Squib on FanDuel, offer contests with 5% of the prize pool to first, and less than 20% to the top-10.
• The Screen Pass is the only tournament of this group to pay even 30% of the prize pool to the top-10, and it is all the way up at 40%.