DFS 2023: Are DraftKings and FanDuel Worth It?


If you are looking to join DraftKings or FanDuel in 2020, you might be looking for some advice to give you reassurance that you should do it. Playing fantasy sports can be incredibly fun, but also incredibly competitive, depending on what type of league or format you are in. And before you go shell out hard-earned money, maybe you are looking for some advice: Are DraftKings and FanDuel worth it in 2020?

To answer that accurately, it is probably best to break that down into two different questions:

  • Are DraftKings and FanDuel worth it if you are looking to win money?
  • Are DraftKings and FanDuel worth it if you are justing looking to have some weekend fun?

At the end of the article we discuss 10 research and fantasy advice websites that can help you succeed in daily fantasy sports.

Are DraftKings and FanDuel worth it if you are looking to win money?

Yes, if you are an experienced fantasy player willing to put in the time to do daily research to improve your craft, you can potentially win money playing DFS.

No, if you are an inexperienced fantasy player and don’t want to have to do daily research, DFS will likely prove to be too competitive for you. But, of course you could still win money because fantasy sports still relies, at least in part, on chance.

Are DraftKings and FanDuel worth it if you are just looking to have some weekend fun?

Yes, if you are a sports fan, FanDuel and DraftKings are fun, especially if you enjoy season-long fantasy. Also, if your favorite team isn’t playing, DFS is an exciting way to make the other games mean more to you. Here are some pros and cons to playing DFS.

Pros and Cons to Playing DFS

Pros

  • Adds excitement to a slate of games
  • Gives you a chance to win large amounts of money
  • Versatile gaming options
  • Doesn’t have the season-long injury risk of regular fantasy sports

Cons

  • Filled with a lot of experienced DFS players
  • Hard to differentiate your roster due to so much free advice available
  • Takes daily research and dedication to master

3 Tips for Beginner Players

Beware of Sharks – Start with beginner contests and work your way up from there. Experienced veteran players lurk on both platforms, so before you jump out there and start throwing money around, begin perfecting you craft by starting in beginner tournaments.

Understand Risk Management – If you throw your entire bankroll into a huge GPP tournament, there is a very realistic shot you might lose it all the same day. So try spreading your bankroll around into different types of tournaments and games. For a beginner, try a 50/50 split: 50% of your entrants should be tournaments and 50% should be cash games (cash games are things such as heads up games where you double your money). Of course, this can change once you understand what you like, but this gives you a healthy balance to start between risk and reward.

Get Help Use Help – GHUH. Get help use help. There are a lot of both free and paid DFS resources out there. There are podcasts you can listen to, blogs you can read, advice sites you can subscribe to, social media personalities you can follow. The points is this: emerse yourself in information. Allow experienced players to teach you and prepare you. Then, as you grow, you can start to learn and formulate your own opinions. If you are looking for a podcast to follow, try the FantasyPros podcast – that’s my favorite.

10 Research and Fantasy Advice Websites

Here are 10 research and fantasy advice websites you can use to help get your foot in the door with daily fantasy. If you are wanting to take it seriously and try to learn how to make serious money off of DFS (like many people have done), you will have to become familiar with research websites and tools.

  • Number Fire (Parent Company FanDuel) – Catch-all Research Website for Fantasy
  • RotoGrinders – Membership-based Research Website for all sports.
  • RotoWorld – Membership-based Research Website for all sports.
  • Fantasy Labs – Membership-based Research Website for all sports.
  • RotoQL – Membership-based Research Website for all sports.

Research Time: Are DraftKings and FanDuel Worth It?

The questions is, do you really want to put in the time to do research. If the answer is yes, and you feel like you are skilled at fantasy sports, there is definitely a chance that you can find success.

Realistically, you will need to put in probably a minimum of 30 minutes a day just to research who is playing, and what the daily matchups are. Just be aware that some pros spend multiple hours everyday compiling their lineups.

Again, I strongly advise finding a fantasy advice website (one of the sites listed above) that you can lean on. These sites will help cut down on the amount of time it takes for you to prepare on a daily basis.

Many of the advice sites have stats in easy-to-read charts and tables, have lineup tools that have you select your best lineup, and give you multiple opinions from different experts so that you can hear more than one opinion.

Daily Fantasy is different than season-long fantasy, and leaning on experienced veterans really helps shorten the learning curve.

Can You Play DFS for Free?

Yes, you can play DraftKings and FanDuel for free. Both platforms allow you to sign up and participate in free contests without making a deposit.

If you do choose to make a deposit, $5 is the minimum deposit allowed on both platforms. If you want to read more about playing DFS for free, you can click the link to read our article on the issue.

Paul Johnson

Paul has been with us from our beginnings. He focuses on a wide range of sports, including NFL, NBA, MLB and golf.

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