A Huge Night: Interview with Raider707Nation Following $108K DraftKings DFS Win
Imagine turning $446 of entry fees into more than $108,000.
Cody Paz, also known as Raider707Nation on the DK streets, had an unforgettable night on Feb. 2.
Cody, a RotoGrinders member, took home first in DK’s $400K Fadeaway, for $100K, using just 20 entries in the 150-max tournament and collected another $5K in the $30K Mid Range Jumper, placing first out of 874 contestants in that single-entry format.
That’s a pretty good ROI.
Who is Raider707Nation?
Well, I grew up in a little town called Windsor in Northern California. Very proud of where I’m from. I went to Windsor schools my entire life, got accepted to a few colleges, but ended up at the Santa Rosa Junior College, where I studied microbiology and music theory, with intention to transfer to a state school.
But I met the love of my life, Stevani, and we decided to get a place together and experience the working world. I started working as a security guard at a local casino, which is where I developed an interest in gambling, poker, and eventually DFS.
Enough with the fluff, let’s get to the good stuff. What was the sweat like en route to over $100K?
Well, I only managed to get this sweat because I was a little bearish on Isaiah Jackson. I knew he was going to be highly owned and obviously was in a great position to smash, but I always like to give myself a little edge on the field, so I faded him to 9-of-20, and Terry Taylor in 8-of-20. I didn’t set a rule to not play the two together, but the DFS lineup optimizer still gave me a few lineups with only Taylor. Once Jackson got injured on the first play of the game, I knew I was significantly ahead of the field with those lineups, and specifically, my $40 single entry lineup that I had avoided Jackson in and was exponentially ahead of the field.
My other move to get ahead of the field was that once Garland was ruled out for CLE, I decided to lock a minimum price Brandon Goodwin into 100% of my lineups. That helped a lot. Also, towards the end, NerdyTenor was threatening with a Russell Westbrook lineup.
Westbrook was 1 point away from a triple double for nearly two minutes, and that one point would have afforded him first place. Luckily, Westy missed the two shots he took in that time, the game ended, and I won.
Did you consider or make any late swaps?
Yeah, late swapping and managing risk is what won this particular tournament for me. I was already eyeing Jordan Clarkson being out, and for Trent Forrest to get some run. When Clarkson was officially ruled out and I saw Forrest at 1.93% pOWN%, I knew I was in for something good, just didn’t know how good.
How did it feel once the final game ended and you officially won?
Well, elated. Kind of relieved. It’s been a long endeavor. I always thought I could do it, but never thought it would actually happen.
I wasn’t watching the game and had my friend Jake call the game for me through an XBOX Live party chat, while I sat on the floor covering my face with my hands. At first, I was screaming and running around the house. Then, I broke down in tears. I called my mom. She has no idea what DraftKings is, or what daily fantasy sports are, but she knows how hard and diligently I’ve worked at this over the years.
When did you start playing DFS?
I got into DFS shortly after moving into my first apartment back in 2014. I think I met my friend at a local pub to watch the Raiders’ game. He had showed me that he was on DraftKings.
I was a little bearish, and skeptical at first, but I decided to sign up anyway. I remember a lot of my other sort of “screen names” were already taken and I ended up with Raider707Nation.
Well, my first taste of a real win was back in 2015. I had recently discovered NBA DFS and was surprised by how well I was doing, compared to the NFL competitions, even though I’ve been a diehard football fan since I was 7 – I never even watched the NBA until Stephen Curry started dominating the league.
Without having knowledge of what a “game stack” was, I made a lineup before I started work for the swing/graveyard shift. I couldn’t check my phone while I was working, but I remember getting on break late and checking my phone to see that I had taken 1st in a $4 contest for $2,000.
I had stacked a MIA-MIL game unintentionally, and it went 2OT. I think that’s when I really got hooked. Another friend at work had mentioned that they use RotoGrinders for MLB DFS. I decided to sign up and see what it was all about.
In terms of DFS, do you have any daily routines or approaches?
I wouldn’t say that I have any one specific routine I use. I’m not very superstitious. I would say one thing that benefits me is the amount of time I set aside to study. I constantly watch for injuries and updates.
I use all the Premium RG tools, but I try to think for myself. I find myself doing the best when I’m free from other distractions and I can solely focus on the information at hand. Other than that, I like to skateboard, play guitar, and spend time with my animals.
Do you listen to others’ advice?
Sort of, I love hearing opinions and hot takes from anyone. But like I mentioned before, I really try to think for myself.
All the RotoGrinders content guys are great.
BlenderHD laid a great foundation for any newcomer with all the Theory of DFS content. Notorious is great. Meansy, Gneiffer, STLCards.
Awesemo, Rikkidee, Pianoclub – I definitely study these guys and other of the top players builds nightly using ResultsDB (Contests Dashboard).
Did your phone blow up with messages after posting in discord and other socials?
Well, not really. RG Discord was supportive and congratulatory. I thought for sure winning 100k would lead to more Twitter followers. I’m up to 16 followers now. I don’t really use any other social media.
Any plans for the winnings?
No. Just going to take it all in and relax. I’m not a flashy kind of guy. Maybe I can afford a ticket to a Raiders game next year.
Congrats to Cody, well deserved! Let’s get him some Twitter followers. Give him one at @CCP_DFS.