The interview series is long-standing tradition here at Footballguys.com, covering the best resources and fantasy football minds. In this installment Drew Stukas is front and center, sharing about DFS (Daily Fantasy Sports) roster preparation, building lineups, the importance of bankroll management and more!
WHO AM I?
Name: Drew Stukas
Twitter handle: @drewstukas
Hometown: Hartford, CT
Day job: Actuary
How has your work as an Actuary helped your fantasy football and DFS prowess?
It was actually more of the other way around, with the fantasy football stuff helping me get into the actuarial field. But there are a lot of similarities between the two. For both, you are really just trying to analyze risk and probabilities and then positioning yourself accordingly. For NHL and MLB, I do a lot of work on my own projections. For NFL, I mostly just use the projections from FootballGuys.
Quick bio: Graduate of Northeastern University, I also write about MLB and NHL DFS for FantasyWired.com and DailyPuckTalk.com
What is something unique about you that few would know about? I like to read and I love Charles Dickens novels.
Favorite NFL team(s): Atlanta Falcons
Favorite NFL player(s): Matt Ryan, William Moore
How about a heartbreak story as a Falcons fan?
The Falcons have given me plenty of heartbreak. The Bobby Petrino year was pretty brutal, but the worst single moment might have been Week 17 last year getting blown out at home with a trip to the playoffs on the line.
Years playing fantasy football: 10
Years playing DFS: 3
Biggest DFS sweat: See below.
Biggest DFS win: Won $10K in the $25 NHL Goal on Fanduel last winter.
Biggest DFS heartbreak: Won a ticket for the $1K Qualifier for DraftKings' live NHL final and didn't even come close.
Favorite DFS analyst(s): David Dodds
When constructing your main weekly roster, what is the first tactic? Build off 1-2 huge value plays? The best QB-WR stack?
For tournaments, I like to build around QB-WR stacks. For my cash lineup, I usually start with the value play(s).
When you are looking at breaking a tie between two players (at any position) that cost the same and project for the same points/virtually the same points in any given week, how much weight do you assign to a player being at Home vs. Away?
Not much. It is something I consider, but only as to how it relates to the expected game flow, which is the real key for me.
Rank the following according to their importance in your construction of FanDuel GPP lineups:
- Value (i.e., DPP/H-Value/etc.)
- Variance (i.e., upside)
- Uniqueness (i.e., ownership rates)
- News (i.e., non-quantitative information)
Value, Variance, Uniqueness, News
What is your typical Sunday morning routine during the NFL DFS season?
I get my research done and my games posted/joined throughout the week, so Sunday is pretty relaxed. Just have to watch the inactive lists when they come out and make changes if necessary. But I try to have a good idea of what I want to do going into Sunday so I can easily react to any late news.
Do you have any game-watching rituals or habits?
Not really. I usually just have the Falcons game on my laptop and RedZone on the TV.
If you had to give one piece of advice to DFS players, what would it be?
Bankroll management is crucial. It can be tough to stick to strict bankroll management, especially with all the massive prize pools and live finals, but it is almost impossible to be successful long-term without it.