CASH Game Strategy Reminders
The first thing to discuss with regards to cash games is contest selection. What? Yes, contest selection matters for cash games as well. Let’s walk through the type of cash game contests that I would focus on for NFL DFS.
- Find large Contests. The 11 man double-ups might seem great as 5/11 will place and you only have to beat 6 people. Then you really notice the chalk and that two or three “pros” have the exact same lineup minus one player. It’s not that all of them are sharing lineups, but its that they’ve done this long enough that they have a trusted process that will lead them to the same spot. Can you beat them? Yes. Is it annoying to sweat in an 11 man contest? Yes. Go for the larger contest. Sort by the size of the contest descending and then go from there.
- 50/50‘s…. Simple math, they’re the best in terms of the pay-line with 50% of the field cashing. You aren’t pulling back a full 2x but you will want to target the largest 50/50’s you can find.
- Double-Ups … Same logic here on the size of the contest, find the bigger ones and preferably the ones with SINGLE ENTRY into them.
- 3-man … Some will enjoy a 5 man contest or even the 10 man leagues, but one alternative to the normal cash games will be the 3 man contests. Look for ones that arent full close to lock as those generally will give you better variance on the players in them.
WEEK 2 CASH GAME PLAYS
Last week we saw the chalk hit, this week with pricing tighter and less time to prepare I expect us to see a little bit less success with the chalk plays.
This is going to break down the players who are being targeted in cash and you’ll find them as the chalky plays and there are reasons why folks are driving them to be the chalk plays. But for each position I offer up a potential pivot who can separate you at lower ownership in cash. Does ownership matter in cash? Yes. It does sometimes when there’s bad chalk there. The goal is to win.
QUARTERBACKS
Click here for Week 2 QB Projections
A quick reminder on Quarterbacks. We don’t worry too much about ownership with them in tournaments and in cash games we don’t worry about forcing in a high priced stud first. Build the rest of your lineup and see where the value is and then determine how you want to spend at QB. This week Roethlisberger is back home where he historically averages a much higher volume and has had great success vs this Chiefs team in recent years. Cam Newton and Matt Ryan square off in what should be a higher scoring game than what Vegas thinks. Meanwhile if you want a 4PM hammer, Jimmy Garrappolo is a good safe floor pick against the Detroit Lions, however I trust the three guys ahead of him more in cash this week.
- Ben Roethlisberger
- Cam Newton
- Matt Ryan
- Jimmy Garappolo
RUNNING BACKS
Click here for Week 2 RB Projections
Even I have to admit the current projection we have for Kamara seems inflated. This is a spot where the Saints could limit his touches in an attempt to use him as a decoy as the Browns will no doubt be focused on him as much as they can this week. He’s the new LeVeon Bell though, and thus he is always the top cash game option. James Conner remains still fairly priced and as a home running back for a team who is likely to score a ton of points he is once again in play in the mid range.
- Alvin Kamara
- Todd Gurley
- Melvin Gordon
- Kareem Hunt
- Christian McCaffery
- Devonta Freeman
WIDE RECEIVERS
Click here for Week 2 WR Projections
You will find this week that it’s optimal to find value in two of the WR spots this week. Julio Jones for me is a near lock in all formats this week and after that I’ll be down in the mid to low range, although there’s good reason to pay for Antonio Brown as well if you can afford him.
- Julio Jones
- Antonio Brown
- Michael Thomas
- Corey Davis
- DeAndre Hopkins
- Kenny Galladay
- Nelson Agholor
Value / 3rd WR:
- Cooper Kupp
- Mike Wallace
- Mike Williams
TIGHT ENDS
Click here for Week 2 TE Projections
Value Value Value. You will find lots of value here at Tight End this week and depth as well. Some will look at TE as a decent FLEX spot this week however in cash we still want the safety of a RB in the flex spot.
- Travis Kelce
- David Nokua
- Jordan Reed
- Zach Ertz
- Jared Cook
- Ricky Seals-Jones
- Jimmy Graham
DEFENSES
- LA Rams
- LA Chargers
- New England Patriots
- New Orleans Saints
