Fantasy football gambling has grown into one of the biggest money makers for sports gamblers in Vegas and around the globe.
With websites such as FanDuel and DraftKings making daily fantasy contests an opportunity to win money instantly, it’s smart to have a strategy in place when playing fantasy football.
What strategies should you incorporate when drafting in your next league? Take a look at some of the best tips you will need to go from the bottom of your league to holding up that championship trophy.
Understand the Rules of Your League
This is the most important thing to know before entering a fantasy football league. The rules for each league may be different and you will want to know them in order to determine your strategy when drafting players.
Does the league replace kickers with an extra flex player? Is it a point per catch league? Can you play two quarterbacks at once? These are all very critical to what you will do on draft day, and will also determine how much enjoyment you get out of your league.
Determine What You Need Each Week to Win In Your League
This is a strategy told by esteemed fantasy football expert Matthew Berry and could be the key to you winning your league. No matter where you are slotted to draft there should be a certain amount of points you should expect from your players each week.
This floor should be the benchmark for your team and any potential boom versus bust picks in your starting lineup should be avoided. After each pick, you should understand how much your lineup can get you when at full strength and if the number isn’t what you targeted then you may have to change your strategy the next time around.
Don’t Get Too Cute on Draft Day
After you have figured out exactly how many points your team will need to be successful week in and week out its time to build it on draft day.
Once the draft starts make sure you do not have anything distracting you, as most leagues have a two or three-minute time limit for picks, which will then become an autodrafted computer pick for the best player available.
Le’Veon Bell owners who were stuck with autodrafting him this year know how big of a wasted pick he was.
Your strategy should include any combination of RB-RB, RB-WR, or WR-WR with your first two picks. The passing game has expanded so much in the NFL that wasting any of your top three or four picks on a quarterback could hurt your team in the long run.
Also understanding that outside of Rob Gronkowski and Travis Kelce, the tight end position is pretty much a mid round pick that will ultimately end up with similar results ranging from the top 3-10.
Stay true to your strategy and don’t select a kicker until the last pick!
Don’t Fall For Boneheaded Trades
It happens every year in fantasy football. Some players know more about football than others and will try to find a way to rob novices blind. Don’t fall for it! Trading Odell Beckham Jr for Michael Crabtree? That’s a dumb trade and could cripple your chances at making the playoffs.
When proposing a trade also understand that you should be as fair to the other team as possible. Insulting their intelligence won’t get you anywhere, and it could end up seeing your trades in future weeks or seasons vetoed just from sheer animosity.
If you fall for a trade from another player that is clearly looking to get over on you then you only have yourself to blame for your downfall.
Check the Waiver Wire Every Week
What should you do if you aren’t getting a lot of trade partners in your league? Or the trades are constantly being rejected or vetoed? This can make playing in a league very frustrating, as there isn’t a lot of player activity besides pickups and drops from the waiver wire.
However, don’t let this slow down your run at a championship. Successfully maneuvering through the waiver wire can still allow you to grab diamonds in the rough that could turn into cash cows for your squad.
How many fantasy players drafted Philip Lindsay after he was picked up by Denver as an undrafted free agent? The answer is probably only a handful as players in leagues say Royce Freeman handling most of the duties in the backfield.
Lindsay is only becoming one of the most consistent players in fantasy football this season, averaging anywhere between 14 and 15 points per game in ESPN standard point per catch leagues. How valuable would those points be to you each week?
The same goes for defense. You can find an excellent defense each week if you time out the schedule just right.
Keep track of the waiver wire and pick up the players no one is looking for.
Listen to the Experts
Many fantasy experts make wrong calls each week, but it doesn’t mean everything they say should be viewed as gospel or as the complete opposite of what you should be doing. If you have the opportunity to read a few fantasy articles each week take the time to do so.
An even better option would be to listen to a few fantasy podcasts while you are working out or busy around the house, as you can get a bunch of information and analysis for your league as things happen in real time.
If you can find the time to do so then pop in a podcast and get ready to crush your league.
Fantasy Football Gambling Tips You Can Use
So now that we have gone over some of the best fantasy football gambling strategies are you ready to dominate your opponents? Leave us a comment below and don’t forget to subscribe to our blog!