If you’re new to DFS (Daily Fantasy Sports), you are likely seeing a lot of terms flying around when you read about it or listen to other people talk about it, whether it’s on the radio or around your virtual water cooler. To help you get started, here are some commonly used terms and what they should mean to you.
GPP, or Guaranteed Prize Pools, are typically games with a large number of people playing. The prizes in these contests are often quite large, but so are the maximum number of entries allowed. For example, there is a GPP today that has a $1 entry fee and first place wins $4,000. The top 9,577 in the contest all win money. However, this contest allows for up to 47,552 entries. This means that the top 20 percent will win some amount of money. Some people call this a “lottery ticket” just to add some additional jargon.
Cash games are thought of as smaller contests, where the likelihood of winning is much higher. You will see them in the applications as 50/50 or double up/triple up, etc. In a typical $1 contest on a 50/50, you would expect to make 90 percent of your entry fee back, but you only have to finish in the top half of the entry field. In a double up, you will get double your entry fee, but around 40 percent of the field will win. These are among our favorite bets.
Stacking is when you take a few players on the same team and enter them in the same lineup. This can be particularly advantageous in MLB games, as getting the two, three, and four batters in a lineup where the team scores ten runs can be a big difference maker. Consider that you will get points for the hit, when you score a run, and when you get an RBI. Think of a case where the two hitter hits a double, then three hitter walks, and the four player hits a home run. You get three runs, two hits, one walk, and three RBI. On a site like DraftKings.com, that is 29 points right there, which could very well have you on your way to winning. The tricky part is figuring out which team is going to go off on any given night.
Chalk is a term that can be applied to an individual or to a stack. When you hear people refer to a player or “stack” as “chalk” or “chalky,” they are telling you that they think the player or stack will be used a lot. Depending on the type of game that you are playing (GPP or Cash for example), this can be a positive or a negative for you. In a large GPP field, you will not want to have a lot of heavily-owned players. This will make separating yourself from the field difficult. The difference between making money and not can be a little as a few tenths of a point. Conversely, in a cash game, chalk can be helpful. If you and 30 percent of the field use Mike Trout, and he hits two home runs, having him in your lineup means that 30 percent of the field have those points, and when first and fiftieth pay the same amount, being grouped in a large portion of the field doesn’t hurt you in the same way.