Daily Games Introduction: What is FanDuel?

Photo: Kim Klement, USA Today Sports

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Over the past few of seasons the daily fantasy sports (DFS) have taken the fantasy sports world by storm. As great as redraft and dynasty formats are when it comes to fantasy football, being stuck with the same team week in and week out can be frustrating at times. Injuries, suspensions, game plans, depth charts, and matchups can change so quickly in the NFL and having to submit a lineup for a redraft team you drafted in August gets tougher as the weeks go on. The fantasy draft itself is the one part of fantasy football that drives most people, and can be the most exciting part of the whole experience. With the DFS catching fire over the past few years, the trend is only going to continue to increase as fantasy players are looking for an opportunity to get their drafting fix on a week to week basis.

Daily Fantasy Sports have several options when it comes to choosing what site to trust and deposit your money into (FanDuel, DraftKings, Yahoo, DraftDay, Fantasy Aces, Victiv, etc.).  Just last week one of the original big players in the DFS industry, Draftstreet was bought out by DraftKings.  What this created was a heavy weight battle between the two monsters in the DFS world in FanDuel vs DraftKings.  I want to focus mainly on the one site that has a strong history and track record, which is FanDuel. FanDuel originally started in 2009 by Nigel Eccles and has grown into the leader in the DFS world with 65% of the market share.  In 2013 FanDuel paid out over a $145 million in daily fantasy sports prizes (up from $50 million in 2012, and $10 million in 2011). In 2014 FanDuel announced that they generated $5.3 million in revenue in Q1 of 2014.  They also said that they awarded over $560 million dollars in 2014 alone in prizes. They state that they have over 1 million paying users and have been funded $363 million dollars. 

Leading up to the 2015 Fantasy football season I will take an in-depth look at the growing format of the Daily Fantasy Games with a six part series focusing on the daily site, FanDuel.

For a more indepth look at FanDuel be sure to check out the Footballguys Cracking FanDuel ebook which comes free to you as an Insider Pro Subscriber. The 170 page ebook from the staff gives the best NFL DFS advice you will find anywhere.

Advantages of Daily Fantasy Games (FanDuel)

1. In most of your traditional fantasy football formats the season is over at week 16, but in the daily fantasy world Weeks 17, and the first 2 weeks of the NFL playoffs are all in play.
2. There is a variety of options when it comes to choosing the price you want to play for, ranging from $1 to $535 per game.
3. The game types also have a nice variety as you can play in head-to-head games, 50/50 games, Double Ups, 3-man, 5-man, 10-man, 20-man, or some of the bigger tournaments (GPP).
4. Flexibility of times that games start. You can play the Thursday Night games, along with Sunday only, or if you miss out on the 1:00 pm kickoffs you can play in the late games. Lots of options when it comes to when you want to start.
5. Customer service is outstanding as you can always expect to get quick turnaround on any questions you have through their support system.
6. The feeling of having a brand new team each week, where you can play matchups to your advantage.
7. It is fun and addicting. You will be surprised that on a weekly basis you will be more excited to follow your FanDuel lineup then your redraft/dynasty lineup.
8. The large GPP tournaments are continuing to get larger and larger making the grand prizes life changing amounts. 
9. Trusted site in the industry as FanDuel was one of the first in the DFS scene and only continue to offer a high quality experience and product.
10. PayPal is accepted. Easy to deposit and withdrawal.

Disadvantages of Daily Fantasy Games (FanDuel)

1. There is a rake that takes 10% (or more) off the top, which is more than understandable, but strong money management needs to be addressed when playing week in and week out.
2. No flex spot option. Lineups consist of 1 QB, 2 RBs, 3 WRs, 1 TE, 1 PK, and 1 DEF.
3. Beware of sharks. There are a lot of sharks out there when it comes to playing FanDuel on a weekly basis. These guys know the scoring system, lineup requirements, and every trick in the book when it comes to maximizing a lineup.
4. Duplicate lineups. That's not to say that there are exactly the same lineups but usually on a weekly basis you will see 4-5 players on almost everyone’s lineup. With no flex option this is more relevant on FanDuel. On one hand, it might be a disadvantage but it also could be to your advantage as you will have an idea of who the popular picks will be. If you decide to go against the grain and their so called player misses, you will be sitting pretty.
5. Kickers and defenses are extremely important in this type of format. In traditional redraft/dynasty leagues they can be an afterthought, but in a FanDuel lineup you need to hit on each position.
6. Salary cap style of drafting. It is not the same thrill to draft a team that can be duplicated by others, and with no options for live drafting, things can become very completive.
7. You cannot edit your lineups once the first game starts. So any later games you might have players for they are locked at the start of the early game. This makes it hard when it comes to creating lineups with guys that are Questionable for that week. It also can be viewed as an advantage as you can hope others are playing guys that are injured and won't start.
8. Lack of freerolls compared to some of the other competing sites. Freerolls are a great way to get your foot in the door when first starting out in the DFS world.
9. Money Management or tracking your spending week to week. You will have to come up with your own bank roll management tool to help you track exactly how much money you are willing to put in play each week. 

Future Daily Games Introduction Articles:

1. Different Game Types Offered
2. Exploring the FanDuel Scoring System
3. Bankroll Management
4. Tips, Tricks, and Insights
5. Exploring and Comparing the other DFS sites
6. College Football Introduction