Remember back in the day when just before the Premier League (EPL) season started it was the done thing to select your ‘dream team’ from an exhaustive list of all the players registered to the league’s 20 clubs? The Daily Telegraph was the first to embrace this concept in the UK but it was one that was soon picked up and ran with by the tabloids.
Essentially, from your squad of players – which had been compiled based on a fixed transfer budget and each player having a value – you would select an XI to ‘play’ each weekend and they would individually score points based on their actual performances. Strikers would score points for scoring goals, goalkeepers for clean sheets, defenders for tackles etc. The points earned by your players would be added together and that would be your score for the week; the weekly scores then added to your running total to give you a league position.
Spot prizes were sometimes awarded for being the league leader at certain milestones during the campaign but the big money was for the individual whose team was top of the table at the end of the season. It was fun. People loved it. And there was the potential to win big at the end of the season.
That’s how it used to work but nowadays it doesn’t require a season-long commitment to know whether you can start spending the cash from the big prize. Daily Fantasy Sports now offer the punter the chance to pick your team in the morning, break for lunch, watch events unfold on your phone, tablet or PC in the afternoon and be spending your winnings (or bemoaning your losses) by teatime. To be fair, some sports – the NFL for example – tend to run their fantasy sport challenges over a week but generally for those looking for a very short-term turnaround most sports offer a daily challenge.
We’ve already mentioned soccer and the NFL but there plenty of options if your area of sporting expertise is elsewhere with cricket, golf, baseball, basketball, ice hockey, rugby, horse racing and a host of others all offering their followers the opportunity of a daily fantasy challenge.
Where to Play
As the popularity of this type of gambling has grown so too have the number of sites – all offering different levels of initial outlay and potential winnings – but if you want to ensure you have the best opportunity to find the game that’s right for you look no further than our recommended sites below…
- DraftDay
- Draft Kings
- Draft Street
- Fan Duel
Different Types of Contest
The different types of ‘matches’ available to the punter tend to vary and as this market expands so too do the number of options available but they all tend to be variants of four types of game:
Cash games: These are where the players can opt to join an existing league or else create their own league in which the best-performing fantasy team wins the cash prize. These tend to be ad hoc and the prize pot modest in size.
Guaranteed prize pools: Where players pay an entry fee and then compete for a share of a fixed prize pool. Unlike cash games these types of game run at regular intervals regardless of whether all places are full or not and tend to generate greater prize money.
Head-to-Head: This is a one-to-one contest in which two players compete directly against each other and the winner receives the entire prize pot.
50/50: This competition takes the form of a mini-league table where those who finish in the top half double (or nearly double) the value of their original stake. Those who finish in the bottom half receive nothing.
INTENSE TRIVIA
Did you know that in 2005 just 12.6 million people participated in daily fantasy sports in the US and Canada. A decade later almost five times that number were reaching for their phones, tablets or PCs, with a reported 56.8 million customers – and those numbers are growing. In the US the NFL is by far the largest market, whereas in the UK and Europe, soccer leads the way by a similar margin
Some ‘Dream Team’ Tips
Find a site that works for you: There are plenty out there but finding one that suits you is key in making the experience enjoyable even if it isn’t profitable. There’s no magic formula and it’s really a question of trial and error to find one that does what you want it to in terms of format and prize money. Just take a look at our list of top ranked daily fantasy sites earlier in this piece for ideas.
Equally it’s not necessary to limit yourself to playing on just one site and many punters prefer to use multiple sites, particularly where some prefer to bet across a range of different sports.
Look for value: Many daily fantasy sports sites offer a signing on bonus for new customers. That means you could potentially double the size of your initial outlay just by signing up to the site.
It’s important however to note that the maximum deposit bonus amount varies from one site to another and, as always it’s crucial that you familiarise yourself with the small print of the terms and conditions of the bonus offers. Sometimes, for example, the funds are not available right way in your account and are dependent on certain conditions being met. The good offers are out there – just tread carefully.
Look to experiment: We’ve already talked about trying out the different sites until you find one that works for you, but it’s also important that within your preferred site or sites you find the contests that suit your gaming preferences.
If you’re it in for entertainment rather than profit then look for those with that offer low prize money but a relaxed, fun environment. If on the other hand you’re in it to win it, and lots of cash along the way, then the cash games should be your preferred route, specifically the head-to-head games, where (as discussed above) you play directly against an opponent for a winner-takes-all prize pot. A good player can quite easily win more than half of these games on a regular basis and little and often, in these circumstances, can be quite lucrative.
An alternative to these 50/50 contests are those that are run over a regular tournament format where the odds of winning are smaller but where there are commensurately bigger cash prizes to be won.
INTENSE TRIVIA
A study in the US claimed that 60 per cent of players watched more live sport and read more about sport purely because of their involvement and interest in fantasy sports.
Select Your Team Carefully
With a fixed budget it’s important when putting your fantasy teams together to spend your money wisely. To use the Premier League as the example, where you have a total budget of £50m, it naturally makes sense to spend big on a goalscorer, say Harry Kane, [which would eat up £6.8m of your budget] but then further down the line that potentially reduces your ability to recruit quality defenders, who also come at a cost.
It’s about striking a balance between big, expensive names and those who will score you important mid-range points.
Naturally once you’ve have added some big names to your squad – those who come at a cost and are virtually guaranteed to earn you points – there will be gaps to be filled, where you have to simply make do with players from the less glamourous clubs. But, with a bit of research, value can still be sought when you’re searching through the bargain basement.
When looking for defenders, look at sides who historically keep it tight at the back; using the Premier League example, West Brom would fit into this category [Jonas Olsson for example costs a mere £2.6m]. A side who, while average in every sense of the word, do not concede many goals is fertile ground for searching for a solid defender for your fantasy team.
Equally, sides who are free-scoring but who concede plenty of goals are good options when searching for a second striker. Yet when looking for value midfielders it tends to be players from teams who are not overly attacking but who like to ‘keep it tight’ who tend to outscore those from teams who adopt a swash-buckling, all-out attacking philosophy.
It boils down to doing your research. Consider the past and current form of the teams from which you pick your player. Have a look at how they performed last season and even last week but also bear in mind that each season a handful of young players with no proven track record will pop up from nowhere. In fantasy league terms they offer excellent value if you’re clever enough to pick them.
If you think all of the above sounds a bit like gobbledegook then you’re probably not alone but hopefully the helpful hints above together with trying a daily fantasy sports challenge out for real will help it all eventually become crystal clear, or if not crystal clear at least a little clearer than mud. At the end of the day it’s about having fun while giving yourself the best chance of winning a bit of cash along the way and we at OnlineGambling.co wish you the best of luck.
