Daily fantasy is the fastest-growing sector of fantasy sports and football is, by far, the most rapidly-expanding sport within the industry. The lure of simplistic salary-based lineups and potentially life-changing prize pools continues to attract new customers and is yielding double-digit growth to sites like FanDuel and DraftKings. As NFL Opening Weekend approaches, the FootballGuys decided to reach out to some of the most successful players in the daily space to pick their brains, to see through their eyes, and to get a feel for some of the thought processes that differentiate successful players from those who continually make weekly redeposits. This series will include some of the heaviest hitters in the industry, all of whom share insight into their own success.
In today’s installment, we sit down with Chris Reeder, a 30-year old from Del Mar, California who is better known as “PrimeTime420” across the industry. In RotoGrinders’ current DFS rankings, PrimeTime is ranked as the 8th best daily fantasy player in the world. He is amongst the leaders in every major category; he is 8th in NBA, 13th in MLB, 10th in NFL, and 6th in their Tournament Player of the Year contest. His success is evidenced by the fact that he quit his day job a few years ago to play daily fantasy sports as a full-time profession; just last year alone, PrimeTime qualified for all 3 of the major fantasy football destination finals in 2013 (StarStreet Playboy Mansion, DraftStreet FFC, and FanDuel FFC). You can become one of his 1000+ Twitter followers at https://twitter.com/ThePrimeTime420.
Given Name: Christopher Reeder
Daily Alias(es): PrimeTime420 Prime PT PT420
Age: 30
Hometown: San Diego
Occupation: I skill for a living
Twitter Handle: @ThePrimeTime420
In your opinion, how does daily fantasy football compare to season-long fantasy football? Pros? Cons?
Daily fantasy and season-long are both near and dear to my heart. I started playing season-long when I was in just 9th grade, about 17 years ago. They are both extremely fun and are both highly skillful games. That is pretty much where the comparisons end to me.
Daily fantasy, however, is so much better in my opinion. Being able to condense the season into one week is so much more fun for me. You take the best part of fantasy football (the draft) and you get to do it over and over all year long. You can get unlucky one week, sure, but it beats getting unlucky in the playoffs of your yearly league and not getting paid at all for 16 weeks’ of work.
There are a number of daily sites available for players. Where do you play and why do you choose to play there?
I play most of my action on the 2 big sites FanDuel and Draftkings. I play on each site for a couple of reasons. FanDuel I play mainly out of habit. I’ve been a member there since August 2009, so it has been my home site for some time. FanDuel also easily has the biggest players’ base, so getting games there against unique opponents is much easier than DraftKings. It also doesn’t hurt that I have a pretty good track record there.
With DraftKings, I play there for a ton of reasons. First, it’s a much more skilled game with the flex positions in NBA/NFL and with roster flexibility so I think I have a bigger edge on DK compared to FD. Also DK just keeps pushing the envelope with prize pools and there are some great opportunities for grinders to get into some tourneys with massive overlays. Thirdly, they have PGA golf which is easily the most fun DFS sport to grind out. Also DK’s scoreboard and editing is also far and away above FanDuel’s. It’s a big reason why more of my tournament action goes there.
There are a number of game types (H2H, matrix, 50/50, 3-man, 5-man, 10-man, GPP, etc.) on these sites; which of these do you most prefer and why?
I pretty much play every game type there is right now. However most of my action is H2H and 50/50 games (cash games). It’s the safest way to play and most consistent for return on investment. I’d rather slowly build my bankroll in a safe way, rather than going big for GPP’s and either hitting massive or losing it all. That’s why I have what I believe is a nice balance between the two--I play about 75-90% H2H style games and the rest is sprinkled with GPP. You can still hit a massive week with some tourney wins, but you don’t have to win a GPP to make a profit. You just need to be consistent in your H2H and you will still make great money with a chance at the huge prize.
For people thinking of trying daily fantasy for the first time, what type(s) of games would you recommend?
The best game for new players IMO is massive field 50/50 games. It will give most players confidence that they can succeed in daily fantasy and will keep the players’ bankroll growth consistent (assuming they’re solid players). For a new player, chasing GPP’s is just a recipe for losing tons of money. My advice is to stick to 50/50 for a while until you build your bankroll up enough to take some risks in larger tournaments.
What is the single biggest mistake a new player can make when entering the daily world?
There are so many different mistakes that new players make coming into the world of daily. The biggest one I see is lack of bankroll management. I’ve seen so many good players come in and dominate the first few weeks, only to give it all back with making bad choices in game & opponent selection. So my big bit of advice here is for new players to slowly ease their way into daily and learn how to manage their bankroll through experience, all the while keeping an eye on what contests top players are playing in/signing up for.
Sourcing information is a key component in ensuring that you roster guys in optimal situations (i.e., weekly projections, health status, starter versus bench, player value, etc); where do you go to obtain the most reliable information?
I use a number of sites to gather my information. The old standard Rotoworld will always be one of my favorites. Rotogrinders is also a great place to get pretty much all the info you need on one site. Twitter is obviously a huge tool to use now, too. My advice to people is to follow as many NFL and fantasy experts as you can. So much useful information comes from Twitter. I also use a few paid projection sites. Some of them include Football Monster, Accuscore, and Number Fire, among others. They all have their flaws, but when I mix them all together, I get a great idea of what the computer models are thinking.
While we can't expect you to share EVERY secret you have with regards to being a winning player, what 1 or 2 thing(s) do you think are absolutely essential for becoming a successful player in the daily space?
The most important thing, in my opinion, is probably the most obvious: You have to put the work in. Some days I spend up to 18 hours grinding on the computer researching various things. Nothing worthwhile in this world comes easy and that especially goes for DFS. Put the work in and the rewards will come.
Another is to stay level-headed. Don’t get too excited when you have big wins and don’t get too low when you are in a rough patch. Try to stay on as even keel as possible
You have met and/or have personal relationships with quite a few guys who are very successful at daily fantasy--what do these players all have in common, if anything?
I know it’s cliché, but almost every guy I know who is great at DFS is just an overall good guy with a big heart. So many of these guys I have met will be lifelong friends, DFS or not. Also it doesn’t hurt that most of them are extremely intelligent and have solid educations to boot. A ton of these guys have experience dealing with the ups and downs of DFS with previous stock trading and poker experience, too. All these things mixed together make for lethal DFS players.
Who are the daily players you try to avoid when playing H2H games? If you're not necessarily avoiding anybody, what names do you most respect in the football space?
In NFL, there are some great players. I only post games so I pretty much avoid most top players when playing H2H unless they are being aggressive and take my games. Obviously I see them in the 50/50 games, but that is unavoidable. Here are a few guys that are top-notch in my book. Please forgive me if I left you out: CSURam88, headchopper, MaxDalury, Condia, KillaB, MrTuttle05, Mbomb44, Birdwings, Ehafner, Naapsterman, Jlowery73, Westy, Dinkpiece, BJBJ, Notorious, Stlcardinalsfan, MetsFan88, and Al_Smizzle. I know I left a couple top guys off the list, but that’s pretty much the who’s who in NFL.
Many of the more successful daily players come from a poker background, where bankroll management is absolutely essential for long-term success. What are your rules for effective bankroll management?
For me, I started with $100$ and worked my way to what I have now with extreme bankroll management. For the first 3 years of DFS, I grinded only $50-100 worth of games each day. I hovered in the $1000 to $5000 range for a long time. It was a tedious, painful process, but I learned so much about managing my bankroll from that grinding. So for me I’m still pretty conservative. For NFL the max I’ll do is 10% of my bankroll in any given week. That is pretty steep for me still, so I still hover around the 5 to 7% mark most of the time. For MLB and NBA, it fluctuates, but I’ll play no more than about 5% of my bankroll each day--it kind of depends on how I’m running at the time. When I’m cold, I scale back massively until I catch fire again. When I’m running hot sometimes I will take a bit of a risk. Normally though I am very conservative. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
Can you briefly describe your weekly routine, in terms of preparation for daily contests, for a typical Sunday in the NFL?
I usually stick to a pretty tight routine. Sunday and Monday are the 2 biggest days to enjoy myself in the NFL season. I pretty much boycott looking at next week. It’s a nice time just to relax and not stress on research. From Tuesday until Saturday is when most of my research is done and entering contests. I try not to build lineups until Saturday because that is when I have processed all the information from the week and I know exactly who I love and I don’t then get stuck on someone I rostered earlier in the week, but am too stubborn to take out.
Roster construction for tournaments versus 'cash' games are quite different; what is your #1 piece of advice for a person constructing each type of lineup?
For cash games, I like to balance things. I don’t like to spend too much on one position and feel obligated for that player to carry my team. I spend about equal amounts on each position and am looking for average-to-good games from each player. I’m not looking for one player to win it all for me
Tournaments are where you have to take some big risks. Go “contrarian,” as people love to say. If you think Peyton Manning will be the highest-owned guy in the tournament, you have to considering fading him. Make a pick you think not many people will have, who also has high upside. It’s a big risk, but it also offers a big reward.
A question often asked by beginners is, "How many different rosters should I be making for my H2H games?" What is your answer?
Well I guess that all depends on what you want out of DFS. If you want to take this seriously and win money, I recommend putting just your 1 best team out there. If you are just looking to do this for some fun on the weekend, why not mess around and make a bunch of teams? You won’t lose as much money as you would if your 1 team had a bad week & you get to cheer for a ton of players.
What about site-specific strategy? Are there factors that you consider when constructing lineups on FanDuel versus DraftKings?
Yes…definitely. For DraftKings, guys who catch the ball a lot are extremely valuable. They give a full point per reception, so guys you wouldn’t consider using on FD become great plays on DK. That especially goes for pass catching running backs.
On FD, players who catch the ball a lot are nice, but the 0.5 PPR doesn’t make a huge difference. You are looking for guys who are going to score and score often. While you don’t necessarily always need guys to score on DK, it’s the most important thing for your team on FD. Because there are 100-yard bonuses and PPR on DK, your players don’t always have to score there.
The term 'variance' is thrown around quite a bit in daily circles, particularly in football. What is 'variance' and why should we be concerned with it on a weekly basis?
That term definitely gets thrown around a lot in football. Basically variance is the difference of what you think the result will be and what actually happens.
Is there ever a time to 'pay up' for a kicker?
Yes and no…90% of the time I recommend taking one of the lowest-priced kickers on the board. However, there are times when the lowest-priced kickers just have really bad matchups. It could be weather, the stadium, or the fear they will be playing from behind all game. On those occasions (and those alone), I will spend on a top kicker.
FanDuel's biggest event has always included a trip to Vegas for a live final event; last year, that event paid $1 million to the 1st place finisher. Have you been to a live final and, if so, how would you describe it?
Well…not to be braggadocios, but I’ve pretty much been to every live final FD has had to date. I’ve also been to the Playboy Mansion with the now defunct StarStreet 4 times, as well as a live DraftStreet final. They are just surreal experiences…especially if you have a shot to win a big prize like I did last year at FanDuel’s final—a 63-yard FG was the different between me winning a million dollars and an amount much less! I still have nightmares about it…but those are the experiences that make you a better man and a better fantasy player.
What is the future of daily fantasy football--where do you see it in 5 years?
The sky is only the limit for daily football. I can easily see this overtaking yearly fantasy in the next 5 years. It’s more fun, easier to play, and you can win so much money using skill on a weekly basis.
What is your favorite daily fantasy experience thus far?
Tough question. I’d have to say the first Rotogrinders’ meetup in Vegas a few years ago. It’s where I first met my DFS brother Peter Jennings (CSURams88) and got to meet my old rival, kaiserroll13. It was the infancy of the industry and we all just partied like crazy. It was a great way to meet all these great guys in the industry.
RANDOM QUESTIONS
What celebrity do you get mistaken for?
Anyone with Red Hair
Favorite movie of all time?
Adult: Shawshank Redemption. Kid: Neverending story
Best music album of all time?
Sublime - Sublime
How did you choose your daily fantasy alias?
I never liked Deion Sanders, so I thought I would do the name PrimeTime some justice
You're on death row--what's your last meal request?
A Tombstone pizza