FanDuel DFS: Always Be On The Lookout For The Bonanza

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Back in August, I broke down the basics of FanDuel DFS and then provided you a handful of DFS strategies. Now, let’s take it a step further. It can be very easy to get overwhelmed staring at all the different games when trying to create a DFS lineup. We think we have to diversify our lineup in order to gain exposure to players in a lot of different games. While that strategy can and has worked, you’re also putting a lot of pressure on yourself to predict multiple outcomes across a wide variety of games. A huge reason why stacking can be so successful in DFS GPP tournaments is it increases the correlation between multiple players on your roster while decreasing that wide variance you otherwise would have to overcome. Essentially, you’re minimizing the amount of predictions you have to get right while also increasing the uniqueness of your tournament roster. Remember, being contrarian is key in tournaments when playing against thousands of other people.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at a few stacks on steroids that can give you an extremely unfair advantage in GPP tournaments if you’re able to predict them correctly. Allow me to introduce to you the concept of the bonanza. Aside from bonanza being the GOAT word, the google machine tells me one of its definitions is “a large amount of something desirable.” That sounds like a game with a ton of touchdowns and fantasy points to me. That’s exactly what we’re looking for.

Let’s take a look at two kinds of bonanzas with examples from last season included:

1. The Back and Forth Bonanza

The time to stack players on both sides of the ball in the same game is when two good passing offenses are going against two bad passing defenses. That is a combination that can produce fireworks. Your hope is that the game becomes a shootout and both teams put up points in bunches. If you think you’ve identified a back and forth bonanza, the QBs, pass catching RBs, WRs, and TEs in that game are all in play.

Example from last season: Week 8 – Giants 49 Saints 52
Drew Brees and Eli Manning both had field days throwing against the porous Giants and Saints defenses in this one. When it was all said and done, Brees had thrown for 505 yards and 7 TDs while Manning put up 350 yards and 6 TDs himself. Since pass catchers are tied to their QBs, Odell Beckham Jr., Shane Vereen, Ben Watson, Brandin Cooks, Willie Snead, and even the corpse of Marques Colston all had fantastic fantasy games as well. Despite there being thirteen other NFL games besides this one back in Week 8 of last season, DFS players didn’t need them. Those that loaded up on players in this game won large amounts of money.

2. The Domination Bonanza

This is when you stack most players on one team because you believe they’re going to completely destroy their opponent. You’re looking for an elite offense with an overall favorable matchup meaning they’re going against a team with not only a bad offense, but a bad defense as well. Your hope is that the team you’ve identified to dominate puts up points in bunches and because the other offense is futile, will have the ball for the majority of the game as well. If you think you’ve identified a domination bonanza, the QB, RBs, WRs, TEs, K, and D for that team are all in play.

Example from last season: Week 13 – Colts 10 Steelers 45
With Andrew Luck already out for the season by this point, the Colts offense was unable to get much going with a 40-year-old backup QB. Thus, the Steelers potent offense had the ball for most of the game and fantasy points for pretty much everyone came in bunches. Ben Roethlisberger, DeAngelo Williams, Antonio Brown, Martavis Bryant, Markus Wheaton, Chris Boswell, and the Steelers defense all had fantastic fantasy outings. Those that ignored the rest of the games for that week and hammered Steelers players won large amounts of money.

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Conclusion

Yes, two examples of bonanzas is a very small sample size. The fact of the matter is bonanzas do not happen every week. In fact, they can actually be somewhat rare. This makes identifying a bonanza an even more difficult thing to do. However, it is not impossible. Each week provides us with its own story. If we pay enough attention, we can start to connect the dots based on the material we have gathered from a week-to-week basis to at least lead us in the direction of a potential bonanza. If you’re able to identify one and play the right guys, it could pay off in a big way. Be on the lookout and when you feel it in your heart that one is coming, you just might be on the end of a big payout at the end of the day.

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