Single Game FanDuel Strategy Guide
Daily fantasy strategy for single game FanDuel slates involves taking a stance on ownership and understanding various lineup construction options in addition to “picking” the right players.
Single Game Fanduel DFS Basics
Before starting, review your roster options, scoring, and salary cap. On FanDuel, your six-man lineup, including one MVP and five flex players from either team, must stay under the $60,000 cap. Kickers and defenses are allowed to be rostered alongside offensive skills players.
The MVP (top of lineup) earns 1.5x points. Salaries for players are higher in the MVP spot than in Flex positions. The salary distribution will be a factor in getting the best lineups without excessive duplication from other players.
FanDuel Winning Strategy
In most cases, the MVP position will be the best player on the field across both teams. When the MVP choice is too “chalky” or salary constraints become limiting, you want to consider lesser owned MVP options.
The FLEX positions are where you can get unique picks to decrease the chance of duplicate lineups. Be mindful of defenses and kickers, as in many game scripts, they can have very stable floors with good odds for upside. Kickers are also a great way to capture touchdown equity.
Let’s say you have a quarterback who spreads targets around like Mahomes. Grabbing Mahomes and the Harrison Butker catches a strong amount of passing touchdown points without guessing on which pass catcher has a higher than usual outing.
Kickers are great choices for cash games and have less risk. Also, kickers will easily be a few thousand dollars less than top offensive skill players. It’s a balancing act between salary constraints, upside, and ownership.
| Players | Stats | MVP Points /Salary | Flex Points/ Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patrick Mahomes | 3 Passing TDs, 270 yards, 1 INT | 32.7 / $19,600 | 21.8 / $13,000 |
| Harrison Butker | 3 extra points, 2 (30-39 yard) field goals | 13.5 / $9,900 | 9 / $6,500 |
| Hollywood Brown | 3 receptions, 40 yards | 8.25 / $10,800 | 5.5 / $7,200 |
| Xavier Worthy | 2 receptions, 22 yards, 1 touchdown | 13.8 / $8,400 | 9.2 / $5,600 |
You can observe how different lineup variations may produce varying outcomes depending on the flow of the game.
Worthy and Mahomes make a strong pairing, but if many players also select Worthy, it could result in a situation where you have to split the prize among numerous people, making your win feel much less fulfilling.
Butker presents an opportunity for some variance and increased stability, especially if touchdowns go to Pacheco or Kelce on this particular night. Both quarterbacks and kickers can keep you competitive in a wider range of game scenarios.
Not to mention, how does single game FanDuel salary factor in when leveraging scores from players you select on the opposing team?