HOW TO PLAY
DAILY FANTASY SPORTS
Experience the daily fantasy sweat and live the vibe of victory.
What is daily fantasy sports?
Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) mirrors season-long fantasy sports but condenses it into a shorter, more sweat-inducing format. Heart-throttling contests range from a day to a week depending on the sport. Competitors draft a player roster and those athletes earn points based on their in-game performance. Sweat the sweat each and every play. Test your skills with friends or with other fans nationally and let victory chase you for a change.
DraftKings DFS is legal in most US states. Check out where DraftKings DFS is available.
How to Play
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.
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.
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.
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
Single Stat
Draft any three players to your roster and compete to see who can get the most of a single stat category. No need to worry about fantasy points and salary caps.
Casual
Open to players who have over 50 contests under their belt but haven’t earned an experience badge.
Head-to-Head
Face-off against a single opponent. Score higher and bring home the win.
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.
Tournament
Small and large field contests with huge prizes. Mix it up in private or with the public.
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
Flash Draft
Compete while watching a live game.
Learn more about DraftKings Flash Draft.
Single-Game Showdown
Draft your lineup from just the two teams competing in a single game while staying under the salary cap.
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.
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.
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.
Beginner Contests
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.
Experience Badges
Strategy and Research
New to Daily Fantasy Sports? Check out DraftKings Network for in-depth fantasy sports news, including expert analysis for fantasy lineups and more.
Life’s more fun with skin in the game, and any unfairness gets in the way. We’re committed to maintaining a fair and level playing field to preserve the competitiveness of the game
Additional Help Resources
For more information visit our Help Center. To learn more about our other products, visit our Sports Betting, Casino and Marketplace pages.
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.