Review of DraftKings Daily Fantasy Sports Site

How To Use DraftKings

This review of DraftKings will give insight to the multiple areas within the website and the features that they offer all of their DFS players. Not only are those highlighted, but other key details such as how to choose your games, make deposits, request withdrawals, check for promotions, and download their app to use on any mobile device with internet capabilities. Included are sections that discuss the legalities of DFS, some of the most frequently asked questions regarding DraftKings, and the how-tos of DFS.

Getting Started On DraftKings

2012 was the founding year for DraftKings in Boston, Massachusetts. Despite this late start, DraftKings has one of the easier-to-use websites in the DFS industry. It’s not just easy to use - it is also thoroughly well thought-out in terms of aesthetics, giving everything a very “slick” look. This only bolsters the impression that DraftKings is a high-quality, professionally managed website. Good looks aside, you’ll find everything you need laid out in a very logical manner, so locating the sign-up menu is a cinch.

In fact, prior to actually creating your free account, practically every button you can click on will take you to the sign-up menu. You’ll then enter information like a username, email address, password, location (either in or outside the United States), and date of birth. You need to be at least 18 to participate in DFS contests in most states. Then, you join any of the DFS contests at DraftKings. You get $50,000 in fake salary to build lineups with eligible players. The pricing for each player is not the same. You can't build with only the highest-rated guys, you have to take some risks to afford the guys you want.

How To Choose A DraftKings Lineup

So you’re all signed up, and you’ve decided what sport and what contest type you’re interested in, but you still aren’t sure how to choose your DraftKings lineup. Fortunately, this is not too arduous a task, and it’s actually one of the most enjoyable parts of playing daily fantasy sports. As we previously mentioned, DraftKings uses a simulated salary cap system wherein players are given $50,000 with which to draft their fantasy lineups.

This is where a lot of the DFS strategy comes in. Better athletes with higher stats will accordingly command higher “salaries,” so you’ll have to decide which positions to emphasize in order to get the best players possible while not going over your salary cap. Once you’ve decided on your lineup, lock in your roster by clicking the enter button and join the contest you selected earlier. From then on, it’s all up to your chosen athletes.

DraftKings Contest Types

No review of DraftKings would be complete if we didn’t cover one of the more exciting aspects of this daily fantasy sports site’s offerings: multiple contest types. Unlike picking a sport at say Texas online sportsbooks or Florida online sportsbooks, picking a sport a DraftKings is only half the battle. DraftKings keeps things interesting by making numerous contest types available to players, some of which are industry exclusives. As of this year, DraftKings offers the following contest types:

Beginner – everybody has to start somewhere, and the beginner contest type is suited for you if you’re in that category. That’s because DraftKings will match you with other newbie players, enabling you to work on perfecting your strategy without having to worry about facing more advanced players. You can still win money in these contests, but usually not as much as in other types.

Guaranteed Prize Pool – often shortened to GPP, these are tournament-style contests with a large number of entrants. The bigger cash prizes are available the higher up in the tournament bracket you make it, but usually, the top 10 percent of entrants will win real money.

50/50 (Double-Up) –these contests are popular with more skilled players, as they enable entrants to win amounts worth twice the entry fee for finishing in the upper half of all contestants.

Multipliers – these are basically the bigger, badder version of 50/50 contests and are usually dominated by very experienced players. Entrants can expect to win anywhere from three to ten times the initial entry fee if their lineup does well in a given contest.

Head-to-Head – these contests are great for players who want to go mano-a-mano with a friend, and many a daily fantasy sports rivalry was played out using this contest type as well. That’s because this is a winner-take-all contest, in which the victor wins double his or her entry fee.

Qualifiers/Satellites – think of these contests as stepping stones to more prestigious and more profitable tournaments. Qualifiers, also known as satellites, give winners and players that finish in the upper echelons of DraftKings contests to advance to other contests that may be worth some truly high-dollar prizes.

Step Tournaments – this contest type is similar to the previously discussed type, except that winners advance in rank from very low entry fees (a minimum of $2) through four successive levels, vying for the chance to win cash prizes of as much as $200.

Leagues – this is one of the newest additions to the DraftKings contest type list. In essence, players can form their own private daily fantasy contest to play amongst friends on an invitation-only basis. Real money can still be won in these games, but the limits may be lower than contest types open to all players.

FreeRoll – these free-to-enter contests are the polar opposite of every other type we’ve mentioned so far. Winners don’t receive real money for picking the best lineups. Instead, they win DraftKings Dollars – a form of token that can be exchanged for various things on the main DraftKings (entry into other contests, for example), but not redeemed for cash. This is the only form of DraftKings play available in some states.