If you want to improve at DFS, you need to find the types of contests that allow you to have success and continue to play mainly in those. This enables you not only to have a greater chance of success each week but also to improve in identifying contest specific dynamics and trends.

I am a lower-stakes, small-field tournament player. I do not play cash games, and I do not play large-field GPP contests unless I am just tossing in an entry for fun. The contests I am playing in typically have 60 entrants or fewer. These contests are my favorite because you do not need to get as many things right to get near the top of the leaderboard. Finding the right stacks in small fields is a great example of this. Most people do not stack enough in these types of contests. Finding the right stacks and leverage points is a great way to vault up to the top of the leaderboard.

Each week I will post my favorite stacks of the week, especially those that are likely to be overlooked in the small-field tournaments. I’ll also provide my results from the prior week and talk about what went right, what went wrong, and most importantly, what we can we learn. 

I really liked the matchup against the Lions for Sam Darnold. It rated among our best matchups for quarterbacks on this slate. With this stack outside of D.J. Moore  being so under-the-radar it was fine to get chalky everywhere else. This stack was unique enough to get me a top-three finish but did not score enough to give me a chance to win. I was about 20 points away from first place. It was no match for the Kirk Cousins-Justin Jefferson-T.J. Hockenson stack.

I have now entered 14 main slate contests at a $27 price point in fields with less than 100 entries. More recently I have been playing in 21-entry fields. I have cashed in seven of those 14 contests and returned a profit of $567 so far this season. Writing this article has really helped me develop as a small-field tournament player and I hope it has helped you.

On to the Week 17 stacks!