Different price points and the size of the field you will be competing against are very important factors to consider when choosing a tournament. However, the most important decision you will make will be whether to join tournaments where multiple or just single lineup entries are permitted.

There are a variety of different tournament formats to choose from on Fanduel. The two contests I will be discussing today both require a $10 entry fee, but that is where the similarities end.

The “$500k Sunday NFL Kickoff” and the “50k Sunday NFL Scramble” have a few major differences. The “NFL Kickoff” does indeed have a much larger field and in turn, higher payouts for top finishers. However, I highly recommend competing in the “NFL Scramble” over the “NFL Kickoff” because the latter allows multiple lineup entries.

Tournaments that allow multiple entries offer an immense amount of additional risk. Most high volume, professionals, and shark players are equipped with very sizable bankrolls. In multi-entry tournaments such as the “NFL Kickoff” you essentially expose yourself to a few very effective strategies these sharks implement each week.

Some of these players will enter a ton of different lineups to try and get an excessive amount of high-upside combinations as well as enter the same lineup many times. This is called “stacking” the tournament. Stacking is a problem because if one of those high volume lineups hits, one player could conceivably take up a large amount of winning spots in the prize pool.

In contrast, single-entry tournaments like “NFL Scramble” allow you to take advantage of the average players instead of the pros. We know this because each person is only allotted one entry in the tournament.

Know What Kind of Player You Are

Daily fantasy is about taking advantage of every edge you can and this includes knowing what type of player you are. If you consider yourself a very good player and have a larger bankroll, there are a lot of effective ways to be competitive in the multi-entry tournaments.

Personally, I prefer to limit my exposure to sharks whenever possible. The increased exposure to sharks in larger multi-entry tournaments cannot be understated. This makes my decision between single and multiple-entry tournaments an easy one. Regardless of the decrease in payouts I feel my return on investment is much greater if I can substantially decrease opponent skill level.

If you’re a new player looking to jump into the DFS tournament world, single-entry tournaments such as Fanduel’s “NFL Scramble” are by far the best entry point. It’s a great way to create lineups similar to how you would for cash games while taking into consideration the differences needed to win larger tournaments with larger payouts.

Tournament Lineup Construction

Though you will face a different crowd of players in both of tournament formats, lineup construction is very similar.

Cash games such as 50/50’s and Head-to-Head require you to make more conservative lineup choices if you want to be consistently successful week to week. Whether you finish first or just barely in top half, you get the same payout. A bonus for finishing near the top does not exist in these games.

Tournaments, such as the “$500k Sunday NFL Kickoff” and the “50k Sunday NFL Scramble” require a totally different mindset than when you construct a lineup for cash games.

You need to consider is what positions should your willing to pay up for. Or more importantly, not pay up for.

QB- Contrary to popular belief it pays off in this format to grab a top-end quarterback. Stack a top quarterback with one of his elite targets. If that combo has a good week, you’re dancing. I am a firm believer in Quarterback/Wide Receiver stacking strategy, especially in tournaments.

RB- Not a position I tend to get cute, even in tournament play. Be willing to spend big money on your stud RB1 and do your best to find a bargain at RB2. Uniqueness is very important, but the majority of people who win these tournaments historically use this strategy.

WR- Like I stated above, stack a stud WR with your top-end quarterback. The real strategy here will be finding your WR3. He will most likely be under the $6000 mark and that is where tournaments are won and lost. You need both uniqueness and upside out of the WR3 slot more than any other.

TE- In tournament play, paying for a top tight end is not a good idea. The idea of having the right balance between uniqueness and upside is how you place in the money. The majority of people who are successful in these types of tournaments go cheap at tight end. I realize the concept of position scarcity but paying up for a guy like Rob Gronkowski not only cripples your budget, it lacks uniqueness because of that position scarcity.

K- Do not pay up for a kicker if you want to have the best odds at winning it big.

DEF- This is an interesting one for me. I have had significant success in the DEF/RB stack in addition to the QB/WR stack. Think of it this way. If a defense is playing well, that team is most likely in the lead. Typically a team with the lead will be using their running back to close out the game on the ground. Good defense often leads to high volume at the RB position and high volume is never a bad thing in DFS.