The topic of “value” is something you read or hear about on a daily basis when it comes to NBA DFS strategy. The idea is that each player, dependent on their salary, needs to score a certain number of fantasy points to “pay for himself”. It’s a way to make sure that every dollar you spend is being converted into the correct number of fantasy points. The value calculation is fairly simple, but can still be difficult to grasp for new players. I’ll do my best to explain it below:

Draftkings Value Calculator Value

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• Expected value is the anticipated utility of a given opportunity, whatever it is. Usually it’s a wager, an investment, etc. EV is easy to calculate: EV = (Outcome 1)(Odds of Outcome 1) + (Outcome 2)(Odds of Outcome 2) + etc.

The “Value Calculation”

Find a complete list of rules and explanations for scoring for soccer fantasy contests.

On DraftKings, you get a $50,000 salary cap. How many fantasy points do you need to score from that $50,000? Well, 300 would be a really good goal. Almost all nights, that’s going to be comfortably inside the cash line. If you want to achieve 300 points from $50,000 in salary cap space, you need to get six fantasy points for every $1,000 you spend (300/50 = 6). That means earning 300 fantasy points from $50K in salary is the equivalent of earning 6x value. If you were to score 350 points, that would be 7x value and 250 points would only be 5x value. Those numbers are for your entire lineup, but it makes more sense to break it down on a more individual basis. If every player in your lineup achieves 6x value, you’ll earn 300 fantasy points.

The idea of breaking it down individually levels the playing field between players who cost $10,000 and players who cost $4,000. While it would be awesome if they did, we cannot realistically expect our $4,000 players to score as many fantasy points as our $10,000 players. The value calculation asks both players to do their fair share, which is achieve six fantasy points for every $1,000 in salary. Your $4,000 player only needs 24 fantasy points to pay for himself, while your $10,000 player needs 60 fantasy points to achieve that same value.

Not All Players Are Created Equal

If you’ve read, watched or listened to anything I’ve ever said, you’ve probably heard me utter “not all players are created equal”. This is where variance comes into play. Some players have extremely volatile fantasy outputs while their counterparts might be more consistent. Here’s a graphic from the Player Scoring Calendar to help explain:

What you’ll notice is that James Harden and Anthony Davis have essentially identical season averages of DraftKings points per game. Harden averaged 59.03 DKPPG while Davis checks in 58.28. On paper, they look like very similar players, but when you look closer, they couldn’t be more different. Harden is much more consistent, scoring between 50-60 DraftKings points on most nights. Davis has flashed higher upside (games in the 80s and 90s), but also has a lower floor. Thanks to duds and/or injuries, Davis is more susceptible to a game in the 30s or 40s which is certainly not acceptable from a player of his salary.

The last column in my Player Scoring Calendar is “StdDev” which is standard deviation. If you’re not familiar with SD, check it out, it’s just a mathematical calculation based on a range of outcomes. The more spread out the outcomes, the higher the standard deviation. The closer the outcomes, the lower the standard deviation. Harden’s 9.62 StdDev is one of the lowest in the league, meaning he’s one of the most consistent players in the league. Davis, and his 18.07 StdDev, is one of the most volatile players in the league.

So why does this matter? It matters because the “type” of player you roster should fit with the type of contest that you’re playing. In cash games, you are look for sure points with little risk. You should be looking for consistent players who are not going to kill you with a dud. In GPPs, where a much higher score is necessary to win, you are willing to take on more risk to capture more reward. That’s why you should b thrilled to roster volatile players in an attempt to get their “ceiling game”.

The Problem With Standard Deviation

I love StdDev and I use it daily. However, while StdDev is a nice snapshot of volatility, it doesn’t tell the whole story. Anthony Davis’ large StdDev really just says that he has games that are very far away from his season average. Well, for fantasy basketball, we don’t care if his games are far away from his average as long as they are ABOVE his average. He could have a game that is 30 points different than his average. If it’s 30 points OVER his season average, that’s great! If it’s 30 points UNDER his season average, we hate him.

Draftkings Value Picks Today

The Solution

That’s where the Value Chart comes into play. Since I have every Game Log for every player this season, I’ve been able to compile how often a player actually hits value. Here are the top 10 players, based on average DraftKings salary.

Now THIS is a chart! Let’s go back to the the Harden vs. Davis example. Now it’s very easy to see the difference between these two players. James Harden, who is a virtual lock to reach 4x value, is going to reach 5x value half the time but he has rarely hit 6x value. Davis has laid some eggs, failing to reach 3x or 4x as often as Harden, but the upside is tremendous. A whopping 36% chance for him to hit 6x and also has games of 7x, 8x and 9x value. This cements the fact that, in general, Davis is a GPP type of player while Harden is better for cash games.

Fun Facts

• James Harden ranks 316 of 444 of players hitting 6x value.
• LeBron James has the best 6x conversion rate of anyone with the average salary over $6,800. His average salary is $9,600. (This is insane)
• The league average of scoring 5x value is 31.46% while 6x value is 18.4%.

Now What?

As you dig through this chart, you’ll notice that most of the players who achieve 6x value more often as usually less expensive. This makes sense, right? A guy who cost $5,000 only needs 30 DraftKings points to hit the number while someone like Russell Westbrook might need 72 DraftKings points to reach the same mark. I would argue that it’s okay for your studs to only hit 5x value if your lower salary players can reach 6x, 7x or even 8x value. It’s a give and take. The glaring thing is how insane some players have been this season. LeBron James and Hassan Whiteside are hitting 6x value at ~40% of the time, both with large price tags on a daily basis.

Welcome to my big list of DFS tools. These tools include lineup optimizers, projections, rankings and any sort of thing that a DFS player may want to utilize to draft their team. In short, this page is a top list of tools for daily fantasy sports players. I add to this list as I come across new and unique offerings. Some of them are free but most are paid. Take your time and check through the following list to find what you are looking for. I’m constantly adding links as I come across them in my daily travels around the web so bookmark this page and check back on the regular.

Jump to A Sport Specific Tool

Growing List of DFS Tools – 2021 Update

• • FantasyCruncher.com – Probably the best rated lineup optimizer used by the vast majority of professional players in the industry. Easy enough for weekend gamblers like me to use and highly customizable so the professionals can create optimized multi-entry lineups. Paid monthly. Try it free for the 1st week. If you max enter contests this is a must have. See my FantasyCruncher review now published.
  • FantasyData – An entire host of tools for DFS including projections, lineup optimizers, rankings, premium content, average draft position, mock drafts, idp rankings, stats red zone stats, snap counts, advanced qb metrics and seriously dozens of more features available for a monthly fee of around $10 with a three day free trial.
  • Fantasy 5×5 – **Avoid until update – This site now appears as if it is no longer being updated. We have reached out to the owner to get information. NBA and now MLB specific tools for Fanduel/DK. Injury boosts, assist boosts and a lot more specialized tools (learn more here)
  • DailyFantasyNerd.com – Optimizer, Projections and upgraded / premium products. Free basic subscription and $15 / mo w/ 7 day free trial
  • FantasyNational – PGA specific stats engine, simulator and lineup generator. $30/mo or $250/year.
  • FantasyPros.com NFL– Update now requires payment, no longer free.
  • Awesemo – expensive but arguably worth it if you are a serious professional DFS player (or want to be one). Many use this site for their ownership projections.
  • One Week Season – premium DFS content from some of the brightest in the game (JMtoWin)
  • DailyFantasyFuel.com – free tools, optimizers and matchup-analysis – NHL
  • FanSpeak.com – quick and easy lineup builder where you can prioritize a position and build for tourney or cash game.
  • Numberfire / usatoday – requires credit card (even with free trial). 7 days free then $19 / mo for DFS players (football)
  • LineStar App (fanduel android and apple / fantasyduel) http://fscapp.co (mobile strongsuit) – these are from fantasysportsco.com
  • FantasyLabs.com – Tools have gone down hill since newer ownership sometime in 2018. I used to subscribe subscribe to FantasyLabs during football season but no more. My full review of FantasyLabs is now published.
  • lineuplab – NFL-Pro is $19.95 / mo, advanced is $29.95 / mo. Other sports cost additional.
  • rotoviz.com – looks like you have to pay just to get in the door, but it’s cheap. Only $9 for the season. give them your email address for a free article every day.
  • rotowire.com – free NFL optimizer for the main DFS sites.
  • sportsline.com for nhl – free optimizer recommended for NHL players.

This guy greets you at FantasyGeek.
Just showing that ’cause I thought he was pretty cool.

• http://fantasy.geekewl.com/ (this guy runs a default lineup from the major lineup generators and ranks them weekly to see who’s default optimizer does best. Interesting concept.
• Borischen.co – Data visualized for each position from FantasyPros expert picks
• FantasyPros.com – combined rankings from professionals in the industry
• Vegas Odds and Lines – find the high scoring games and pick the right players from those teams

Draftkings Value Calculator Estimate

• Rotogrinders optimizer – free if you register through them for a dfs site. Used by many so be wary of lineups generated.
• 4for4 – $99/year for the DFS package w/ projections, rankings, optimizers, analyzers and a ton of tools
• ProFootballFocus – Paid subscription model for projections and player grades.
• Fantasy 5×5 – NBA tools for Draftkings and Fanduel. Find out who benefits when someone is injured. See who’s playing, visuals of relevant data and more basketball specific DFS tools. See my Fantasy 5×5 review here.

NBA DFS Tools and Lineup Builders

• FantasyCruncher.com – If you multi-enter NBA GPP’s then you need FantasyCruncher. It makes building multiple optimized lineups slick. It’s simple enough for weekend players like me to use and highly workable for you pro’s who build lineups. Paid monthly. Try it free for the 1st week. If you max enter contests this is a must have. See my FantasyCruncher review now published.
• Basketball Monster – Somewhere around $90 per season of basketball and it adjusts downward as the length of season shrinks. Players of NBA dfs seem to love this site.
• Next Man Up tools from hashtag basketball – Freeand looks interesting. You can see what other players average when a selected player is out.
• FantasyPro’s NBAis pretty solid and free.
• Vegas NBA Lines – let the books do the heavy lifting for the over/under.

Baseball MLB Optimizers and Lineup Tools

• SaberSim – Baseball simulator – play thousands of events and make projections.
• FanGraphs – Baseball stats. An absolute ton of MLB data at your fingertips. Free or become a member and remove ads for $3 / month.
• Rotoballer – Batter v Pitcher
• Baseball Savant – Stats, daily matchups and tons of data
• Pitcher Analysis and Tracking – Brooksbaseball
• FantasyInsiders – Another paid service with daily research, discussion and projections for fantasy MLB
• The Bat – Rotogrinders / Derek Carty’s Projection System for MLB – Seasonal pass for $175

PGA – Golf

• FantasyNational – currently the most golf centric set of tools
• FantasyCruncher – news and tools for PGA DFS

eSports Stats and Tools

News and Player Info

• r/ff – the fantasy football sub on reddit.
• Rotoworld NFL – latest injury reports and player specific updates.
• RotoWire – last minute news and info.

Types of Tools:

• Lineup optimizers / builders
• Projections
• Matchup Analyzers
• Player rankings / ratings
• Bankroll Trackers
• Excel lineup optimizers
• Algorithm’s for specific metrics (e.g. Red Zone Target Algorithm)
• Lineup importers
• Paid lineup services

About These Tools

A good DFS optimizer is a tool in your handbag that helps you build lineups faster than doing it on your own. An optimizer is like upgrading your car to a race car. If you are a good driver they will get you to the finish faster but you still have to be a good driver.

In short, a line-up optimizer is only as good as the projections used as inputs.

Optimizing the lineups are the easy part, it’s coming up with the best projections and player selection that wins the money.

These lineup builders are designed to help you build optimal lineups in less time. But remember, they are only as good as you make them. I highly doubt that over time using the default team generated by any of the tools will be a winner. Instead these are designed to give you the information you need to help build the best possible team you can.

Should you use one of these tools/service?

My opinion is that you should not buy lineups. I’ve been tracking results on some of these sites over time and what I have found is that they don’t have a winning record. Of course do your own research but I would not recommend anyone spend money on a lineup. If the lineup is awesome then the guy you bought it from would have played it himself.

Now, should you use these tools and lineup optimizers? This is a different question because these tools help you build out your lineups. I will say that you can’t just go click the button on any sites optimizer and have it spit out a winning lineup for you. That will not, has not and will probably never work over the long haul. You have to put in the work to build your team. The optimizers can help you do that faster. You can use tools to help you build teams, find value and target players and stacking combinations that you might not have thought of.

My #1 favorite free tool I always is the always up to date NFL Odds and Lines.

Let the bookies do the heavy lifting. They do have skin in the game so you can expect them to give you excellent insight into what the true experts think about the upcoming game.

Don’t just think buying access to any one optimizer, projections service or even the touts selling lineups that you will easily win money. It’s not going to happen. You still have to build your team, find value and put in your own research. These tools will help you speed this process up once you find the ones that suit your playing style.

I am looking to review the more popular and promising tools over the coming weeks. I will give you my honest opinions and ask for yours as well. I want to create a quality list of recommended tools and lineup builders that visitors lucky enough (or smart enough) to land on my site will find truly helpful and worthwhile.

Below are the tools I’ve reviewed and my ratings:

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