HOW TO PLAY

DAILY FANTASY SPORTS

Experience the daily fantasy sweat and live the vibe of victory.

Daily Fantasy Sports iOS App IconDaily Fantasy Sports Google App Icon

HOW TO PLAY

DAILY FANTASY SPORTS

Experience the daily fantasy sweat and live the vibe of victory.

Daily Fantasy Sports iOS App IconDaily Fantasy Sports Google App Icon

How to Play

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Pick a Contest

Browse the lobby to choose from a wide range of contests across all different sports. A contest is the specific competition you and your lineup will be competing in against other players for prizes. Generally a contest is for a specific real life game or set of games. You can sort by total prizes, contest type, sport, and more to find the perfect contest for you.

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Draft a Lineup

Once decided on a contest, next you’ll want to draft a lineup of real players competing in the chosen games. In our salary cap contests, you’re given a fictional $50,000 as a salary cap to spend on your team. Each eligible player is assigned a salary. Create your lineup by selecting players listed in the Player Pool. Once you’ve filled all positions in your lineup (unique to each sport) while staying under your $50,000 salary cap, you can submit your lineup into the contest.

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Sweat the Sweat

Watch your players accumulate points based on their performance in actual games. Track your team online or on your mobile device in our app and see your players earn points in real time.

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Check Results

Check the standings when the last game is over and bask in your drafting genius. If you’ve won or placed into a paying position in a contest, the amount you’ve won, as determined by the prize structure of that contest, will be credited to your DraftKings account as soon as the contest ends. You can use your winnings to play even more contests or you can withdraw.

How to Play

Magnifying_Glass.svg
Pick a Contest

Browse the lobby to choose from a wide range of contests across all different sports. A contest is the specific competition you and your lineup will be competing in against other players for prizes. Generally a contest is for a specific real life game or set of games. You can sort by total prizes, contest type, sport, and more to find the perfect contest for you.

Lineup.svg
Draft a Lineup

Once decided on a contest, next you’ll want to draft a lineup of real players competing in the chosen games. In our salary cap contests, you’re given a fictional $50,000 as a salary cap to spend on your team. Each eligible player is assigned a salary. Create your lineup by selecting players listed in the Player Pool. Once you’ve filled all positions in your lineup (unique to each sport) while staying under your $50,000 salary cap, you can submit your lineup into the contest.

Phone.svg
Sweat the Sweat

Watch your players accumulate points based on their performance in actual games. Track your team online or on your mobile device in our app and see your players earn points in real time.

Trophy.svg
Check Results

Check the standings when the last game is over and bask in your drafting genius. If you’ve won or placed into a paying position in a contest, the amount you’ve won, as determined by the prize structure of that contest, will be credited to your DraftKings account as soon as the contest ends. You can use your winnings to play even more contests or you can withdraw.

Contest Types

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Casual

Open to players who have over 50 contests under their belt but haven’t earned an experience badge.

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Head-to-Head

Face-off against a single opponent. Score higher and bring home the win.

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In-Game Showdowns

Fantasy contests for just the second half and overtime (if it happens) of a single game. Pick the players you think will crush it in the clutch.

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Tournament

Small and large field contests with huge prizes. Mix it up in private or with the public.

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BEST BALL

Season-long fantasy contests where you build your roster in a Snake Draft, then use that same team for the entire season—with no roster management needed.Learn more about DraftKings Best Ball

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Flash Draft

Compete while watching a live game.
Learn more about DraftKings Flash Draft.

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Single-Game Showdown

Draft your lineup from just the two teams competing in a single game while staying under the salary cap.

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Leagues

Create private contests to play with your friends. Compete in any sport at any time and track your results on your league’s exclusive leaderboard.

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Tiers

Draft a team from sets of smaller players. No need to worry about positions or a salary cap. Simply pick one player from each tier.

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Snake Draft

Teams take turns picking players in a live draft and the order reverses each round. Once it’s complete, sit back and watch without having to manage your roster.Learn more about DraftKings Snake Drafts.

Free-To-Play Pools

Free contests where you simply make picks for a range of questions or topics. Your payout depends on the number of players, total prize amount, and number of winners.

50/50s

All you gotta do is finish in the top half of the field and you win!

Satellites and Qualifiers

Compete for tickets that get you entry into higher-stakes contests.

Beginner Contests

A great way for DFS rookies to get in on the action. We recommend starting here or in low-cost private contests.

Invite Your Friends

Everyone loves a friendly rivalry. So compete with your pals in a private, friends-only league or a head-to-head contest for $1, $5, or $10.

Contest Types

DFS_Casual.png

Casual

Open to players who have over 50 contests under their belt but haven’t earned an experience badge.

DFS_H2H.png

Head-to-Head

Face-off against a single opponent. Score higher and bring home the win.

DFS_In_Game_Showdown.png

In-Game Showdowns

Fantasy contests for just the second half and overtime (if it happens) of a single game. Pick the players you think will crush it in the clutch.

DFS_Tournament.png

Tournament

Small and large field contests with huge prizes. Mix it up in private or with the public.

DFS_Best_Ball.png

BEST BALL

Season-long fantasy contests where you build your roster in a Snake Draft, then use that same team for the entire season—with no roster management needed.Learn more about DraftKings Best Ball

DFS_Flash_Draft.png

Flash Draft

Compete while watching a live game.
Learn more about DraftKings Flash Draft.

DFS_Single_Game_Showdown.png

Single-Game Showdown

Draft your lineup from just the two teams competing in a single game while staying under the salary cap.

DFS_Leagues.png

Leagues

Create private contests to play with your friends. Compete in any sport at any time and track your results on your league’s exclusive leaderboard.

DFS_Tiers.png

Tiers

Draft a team from sets of smaller players. No need to worry about positions or a salary cap. Simply pick one player from each tier.

DFS_Snake_Draft.png

Snake Draft

Teams take turns picking players in a live draft and the order reverses each round. Once it’s complete, sit back and watch without having to manage your roster.Learn more about DraftKings Snake Drafts.

Free-To-Play Pools

Free contests where you simply make picks for a range of questions or topics. Your payout depends on the number of players, total prize amount, and number of winners.

50/50s

All you gotta do is finish in the top half of the field and you win!

Satellites and Qualifiers

Compete for tickets that get you entry into higher-stakes contests.

Beginner Contests

A great way for DFS rookies to get in on the action. We recommend starting here or in low-cost private contests.

Invite Your Friends

Everyone loves a friendly rivalry. So compete with your pals in a private, friends-only league or a head-to-head contest for $1, $5, or $10.

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Experience Badges

Know exactly who you’re playing. Players will have different badges throughout the site that signify experience level. These badges signify contest entry milestones for highly-experienced players. Anyone with an Experience Badge is ineligible for Beginner or Casual contests. However, if a player earns a badge after contest entry, they will remain in the contest. For more information, click below to check out our badges page.

LEARN MORE

How to Play Glossary

PMR

PMR or Player Minutes Remaining is simply the total amount of game time left between all the players in your lineup. Track your PMR relative to other contestants to see how you stack up.

OPRK

OPRK or Opponent Rank tells you how many fantasy points per game the opposing team allows to players of a specific position. It can help you judge the matchup that a certain fantasy player faces.

50/50

A contest type where lineups finishing in the top half of the field win cash no matter the number of entries. All winning entries receive the same prize money.

Bankroll

This is how much money you have available in your DraftKings account to enter contests.

GPP

GPP or Guaranteed Prize Pool is a tournament-style contest in which there is a set amount of money in the prize pool up for grabs, regardless of the number of entries.

Chalk

A term used to describe a player that is projected to have a high ownership percentage. A “chalk” player is an obvious, conventional pick because they are widely expected to perform well.

Multi-entry

A contest type in which multiple entries are allowed. Each participant can submit as many lineups as they'd like, up to the maximum amount of entries as stated in the specific contest details.

FPPG

FPPG or Fantasy Points Per Game is the average amount of fantasy points a given player scores during one game. It’s a great way to quickly get a feel for a player when building your lineup.

Salary

In our salary cap contests, you have $50,000 to compile your roster. Each player listed in the Player Pool has an assigned fictional salary, which will fluctuate based on their recent performance.