Top Tips for Daily Fantasy Beginners

There are many different ways for sports fans to enjoy their hobby. Of course, most will watch games on TV, with a smaller proportion also going to sit in the stands and see the action in person.

But many fans go further. Some like to buy merchandise from their team, allowing them to show off their affiliations wherever they go and helping them to fit in with the other supporters when they watch a game in person.

In the last couple of decades, sports-themed games have also become incredibly popular, especially titles like FIFA, NBA 2K, F1 202X, Madden, and MLB: The Show. They allow fans to recreate the action they see on TV and simulate what it’s like to be a professional athlete.  On top of that, sports-themed slot games have increased in prominence even more recently. One of these is Stars Lineup, which is part of a series of other titles that share the Stars name. In it, players are presented with lots of football-themed graphics and mechanics that capture much of the excitement found in the beautiful game.

Other fans prefer to play fantasy sports, a competition where you make up a fictional team of real-world players and are scored on how well each of those players perform in the real world. A modified version of this known as daily fantasy sports has proven to be a huge hit among sporting fans. It is a relatively new phenomenon, with the first competitions taking place in the second half of the 2000s. By 2010, around half a dozen DFS sites had launched and by 2022, daily fantasy sports has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry.

If you’re a sports fan, it’s hard to avoid being bombarded with the ads and sponsorships that daily fantasy brands pay for during TV coverage and this may have spiked your interest. If you like the idea of playing DFS but haven’t yet dipped your toe into the water, here are some top tips to help you get the most out of your experience.

What is Daily Fantasy Sports?

Fantasy sports have been around for a very long time, with some early examples of these competitions taking place in the 1950s. One of the first was a fantasy golf league, which was chosen because this solo sport was easier to track than team sports like football or baseball.

The first fantasy football league went by the not-so-snappy name “Greater Oakland Professional Pigskin Prognosticators League” or “GOPPPL” for short. However, the type of leagues that many people take part in today didn’t begin to form until the 1980s and then expanded rapidly with the advent of the internet and the first online competition in 1997.

Daily fantasy sports are different though. While traditional fantasy leagues will run the entire length of the corresponding sports season, a DFS competition will only last for a single slate of games. DFS players also typically have much more freedom to choose which players they have on their roster.

Now you know what DFS is, here are some simple ways you can make the most out playing it.

Take Advantage of Bonuses

As with casinos and other forms of iGaming, you’ll almost always find different bonuses and promotions on offer from DFS sites. Be sure to take advantage of as many as you can so you can get more value from your gaming.

Understand There is a Lot of Variance

Variance can happen a lot in DFS. Your players might perform exceptionally well one week and then have a ‘mare the next. Don’t get easily carried away when your picks go well and vice versa. Instead, take it easy and try to stick to your strategy.

You may also want to take part in more 50-50s and H2H competitions at first as these can help to reduce the variance.

Be An Active Community Member

Fantasy sports and DFS are as much about the community of like-minded sports fans as they are about the competitions themselves. You’ll likely meet people that could become friends for life who you can share your love of your particular sport and/or team with.

These communities can also be a great place to share tips and other information while you learn the ropes.