I play daily fantasy sports for two reasons.  First, I enjoy sports.  I even enjoy them enough that I can watch a game without thinking of the fantasy ramifications that are taking place.  Second, I enjoy the thought of being able to turn a few dollars into thousands in a single night.  Both of these events are extremely diminished by playing a DFS slate through entering a lineup blindly.  This article is designed to help provide some best practices when using the Fantasy Alarm Optimal Lineup (OL) page.  

Where should I start?

The first step: Out of all of the DFS tools on FA, the OL page is the last to be posted.  Being the last to be posted should not equal your first step of research.  The first thing I look at is the daily lineups page.  Depending on when you begin, lineups may not be posted yet, but you are provided with the pitching matchups, ballpark factors, salaries, weather and the thoughts of Vegas.  That 5-10 minutes at least gives you an idea of the slate.   From there, a read of the playbook, the coaches and rankings provides you with more insight of how the slate may play out.  Same goes for listening to the FA radio shows or video.

Find your guy:  While doing the steps above, some comments and stats may start to stand out to you, and then continue to remain in your gut as you try to make the case for or against them.  If you can make a case for rostering that player that is sticking in your gut, then you found your guy.  When I wrote the hitting coach on Sunday, that player for me was Matt Adams.  I couldn’t explain in detail why, as evident by stating in the write-up that “Matt Adams may go overlooked today, as he should be due to the fact that he hasn’t gotten a hit since June 28.  High risk, high reward play.” 

Sure enough, he broke his 0-for-27 skid with a homer and a double.  Pitching wise, I’m a strikeout guy.  I’m looking for stats or comments that will help me find my $10K guy.   Every person may have a different set of criteria, but it is important to try to establish your guy before moving on to look at the OL page.  Once on the OL page, your guy may be the same price as the player listed in the same position.  If that’s the case, why leave someone off your lineup that you made a stronger case for based off of your criteria.

When should I use the Optimal Lineups?

I believe there are only two occasions when you should directly copy an OL to use as your own.

1.) When you have an understanding and agreement of the lineup construction.

Your routine is complete, and you are ready to view the OL page.  If you agree with the choices due to having an understanding to the reasons why they are there, then fire up the OL and get ready to sweat.   If you are unsure as to why certain players are listed, then ask why.  Same goes for before lineups are posted, but want more thoughts about a player. 

Note: Doing this just a few minutes before lineups lock may not provide you as good as a result by asking earlier.  

2.) When you are in a pinch.

Sometimes things just come up.  You qualified for a tournament or entered a dummy lineup earlier in the day thinking you will have the time, but work ran late, or a last minute kid’s doctor’s appointment springs up.  If you happen to find yourself in this sort of pinch, then the OL’s are there for you. 

Did you say use the OL’s in a pinch or because I have an itch?

One of the hardest things to do I feel in DFS is to make the decision not to play a slate due to other commitments.  Entering a lineup without having any idea as to why you selected your players adds no value to your hobby and/or investment.  Including myself, many people have stocks or a portfolio, but have no idea how the market really works on a day-to-day basis.  In DFS, you have control in the sense of what contests and lineups you choose to enter, and when.  Why take that control as well as the sense of enjoyment away due to having the itch to play no matter what the circumstances are?

Create a Story

Saying that lineup stunk, I finished in X place or scored X points reflects your choices more than gives you breakdown of how the slate took shape.  Take a look at your lineup, the cash-line lineup, and the winning one at the very least, and try to tell a story.  This will help create a picture of why things fell the way they did.  It could be as simple as my pitcher was ejected while the winning lineup’s pitcher had a career night that nobody saw coming, the bullpen lost him the win which would have made me cash, or it can be more complicated such as I had a feeling Player X would be high owned to do great in the matchup, but I faded him to stand out.  Well Player X did what the matchup called for and blasted off.  If he didn’t, though, 65 percent of players would have had a goose egg in their 1B slot.

Final Thoughts

This was intended to try to make you think about how you use the optimal lineup information.  It is one of the many tools provided for Fantasy Alarm users, and currently is probably the more popular one.  I don’t believe it should be used to fill your itch to play, but used best as a tool to ask questions, and gain insight from FA staff and community members about lineup construction.  Best of luck in the second half of the season!