To be able to understand the daily fantasy games that FanDuel offers, we at Footballguys wanted to get a jumpstart on the 2013 season and run an interview series with some of the biggest Daily Fantasy players in the business. What better way to learn the tricks of the trade, then by interviewing the guys that have the experience and results as some of the top players at FanDuel.
In this particular interview we sit down with one of the true pioneers of the Daily Fantasy Sports world in, Beermakersfan (Chris). We discuss in detail his excitement for the new found growth in the DFS world along with strategies on how to prepare and submit a lineup when entering FanDuel's Vegas FFFC qualifier. Be sure to follow Chris on Twitter for more Daily Games insights @beermakersfan
BEERMAKERSFAN (CHRIS) INTERVIEW
First off, what is your Fantasy Football background?
I am very passionate about football, especially anything to do with fantasy football. I’ve been playing fantasy football for a long time, dating back to the stone ages when your scoring came out of the newspaper box scores. I now play in all types of leagues ranging from High Stakes, dynasty, season long keeper and redraft leagues but my favorite is definitely the Daily/Weekly format.
What initially spiked your interest in the Daily Fantasy Games industry?
I stumbled upon FanDuel a few years ago when I was doing research for one of my fantasy baseball drafts. At first, I didn’t believe something like this existed and I had not yet heard of it. I was instantly hooked because I loved the fact that you get to create a new team every week, it’s like a new draft every Sunday morning. I also liked the fact that with the right combination of research and knowledge you can pocket some serious coin.
How do you feel about Daily Fantasy Games compared to the season-long (redraft/dynasty) leagues?
I am a big fan of both but daily fantasy sports have definitely become my priority these days. I have a bunch of season long leagues that I’ve been a part of forever, and I love coming out to Vegas to play in the FFPC, but there’s nothing like the rush of a FFFC qualifier and trying to get that all expenses paid trip out to Vegas to play for the big money. I truly feel, with a slight bias perhaps, that someday in the near future that daily fantasy sports overtakes season long leagues.
Being one of the true pioneers of Daily Fantasy Football what is your reaction to the recent explosion on the Daily Fantasy Games scene?
I LOVE IT!!! It’s crazy to see how far this industry has come in such a short amount of time. It has truly grown by leaps and bounds from when I started playing years ago. My hope is that all the hardcore season long players start to learn more about the weekly game so this upswing can continue. There will come a day very soon where we will see a $1,000,000 grand prize in one of these tournaments.
Can you talk about how you have prepared in the past for the FanDuel’s Vegas FFFC Championship?
First off, I feel this is the premier event in all of daily fantasy sports and I experienced both the highs and the lows of this tournament. I was a finalist in 2010 and had a sub-par showing partly because I was so distracted with all the hoopla of the weekend. FanDuel puts on an amazing weekend for all the finalists and it really turns into quite the party. When I won in 2011, I tried to block out all the other distractions and stick with what got me there in the first place. Against a field of 11 other people you have to factor in what players will be the popular picks and try and find the diamond in the rough, for me that day it was a 4 TD performance by Maurice Jones-Drew and a big game from Antonio Gates that helped me win the title. Biggest piece of advice is do not over think things and use the same techniques and strategies that got you to the dance in the first place.
What was your process on a week to week basis with the qualifiers?
I am very aggressive with the qualifiers, I like to put together a few different teams with a core of 4-5 guys I really like that week and sprinkle in different high upside guys on each team. It’s important to scour the salaries for the players that you feel are underpriced that week and also swing for the fences on the high upside guys that can put a big number on the board for you. It’s also very important to think outside the box because some of these qualifiers have 2500+ people in them. It doesn’t take a genius to take Drew Brees but who has the stones to roll with Nick Foles. If you follow groupthink then you probably won’t be going to Vegas.
Do you have any other favorite league types on FanDuel (H2H, 50/50, 3-man, 5-man, 10-man, 20-man, tournaments); if so which ones do you play regularly? And why?
The thing I love about FanDuel is the massive amounts of contests they have and at every different buy-in level. They cater equally to the veteran daily fantasy players, high-stakes guys, and the brand new user. My favorite contests are the GPPs because you have the opportunity to turn a small buy-in to a hefty payday, but I also love H2H because it’s mano y mano and that’s what fantasy football is all about. I’m also a big fan of the satellite tournaments they have added where you can win a ticket to one of the big qualifiers for just a few bucks, perfect for the new or lower stakes players.
Can you discuss some of the FanDuel features you like best when it comes to playing daily fantasy football?
I'm a huge fan of the user-friendly set-up of the site. They make things very easy on the new user to jump right into the action. I love the quick player replace feature where you can swap out players from all your lineups in a few quick clicks. I also think they have come a long way with their mobile site which is huge for making last second changes when on the go.
Is there anything you think FanDuel could improve upon with their football leagues and contests?
I would love to see the FFFC continue to grow and I know that FanDuel will continue to push the envelope on this tournament. The main things I would like to see would be the ability to create multiple contests with one click to make things more streamlined so you can enter a lot of contests quickly and efficiently. I would also love to see a late swap feature where if you had guys in your line-up that played the late games, you would have the ability to swap them out before their game started if a late injury hit.
What advice or tips would you give to a rookie just starting out in the Daily Fantasy Games scene?
My biggest piece of advice would be to take it slow, dip your toes in the water before you jump in because there are a lot of sharks in the water. FanDuel offers free games, which is a great way to get used to the site before jumping in because most new users will take some lumps before figuring things out. I would also highly recommend familiarizing yourself with both the scoring system and player salaries on the site because each site offers slightly different scoring systems and salaries.
How are you planning your bankroll management (percentages) for the upcoming football season?
I tend to play 20-25% of my bankroll in a given weekend. Daily Fantasy is a game where you will experience hot and cold streaks and based on that I will adjust up or down accordingly based on how things are going. It’s important to understand that you will have bad weeks so risking too much of your bankroll will have you clicking that add funds button more often than you’d like.
It is week 1 of the NFL season and you just got a free $100 to play with on FanDuel, how do you spend the money?
I’m a gambler so I’d be all-in on the FFFC and the chance at a six figure payday but for a new user I’d suggest spreading out your action across mainly H2Hs and 50/50’s. FanDuel has a massive base of players so there are always different opponents out there to play against.
Are there any other players in the Daily Games industry that people should be looking out for?
Wow, there are so many guys out there that I have a ton of respect for, too many to name in fact. Let me say this, if you’re new to daily fantasy sports you will find out very quickly who the best players are so watch out for the sharks people.
What type of daily fantasy football information would you like to see in the future from the Footballguys community?
I am a huge fan of the Footballguys community and if you guys add even a small percentage of what you have added to fantasy football community it will be a win-win for everybody. I would love to see a weekly projections segment based on the scoring and salaries, as well as an over-priced/under-priced column that would identify the top values and busts for any given week. Anything that helps the new-user helps the community grow and at the end of the day, continuing to grow the daily fantasy sports market share is a positive for all of us involved with this amazing industry.