Introducing SimLabs: DFS Sims Lineup Generation FAQ
See below for a SimLabs video tutorial.
What Is SimLabs?
SimLabs is the easiest DFS lineup generation experience available.
We simulate every aspect of a DFS slate, from the plays in each game down to the results of a DFS contest.
We then display the results of each simulation in an easy-to-use interface, where you can generate competitive DFS lineups with just a few simple inputs based on your own personal preferences.
We created SimLabs with the purpose of simplifying advanced DFS play and providing a route for all players to have access to advanced tools.
— DFS game theory is challenging.
— Existing lineup tools can be complex and have a high learning curve. They can also be time consuming.
— The experience of DFS has become overwhelming to many current and former participants.
SimLabs is a simple tool that allows you to quickly generate competitive lineups with game theory considered.
How Does SimLabs Work?
- We simulate the games thousands of times.
- We follow a process to generate a massive pool of lineups from those simulations.
- The generated lineups are shaped and filtered to look like a real-life DFS contest field of lineups, as we project it to look across 3 common contest types.
- We simulate the results of a DFS contest thousands of times using the lineups available to each contest and then tabulate the results.
- Each lineup is rated relative to other lineups in the “universe” to show how they performed.
… and all of the above happens long before you ever even open the tool!
-We allow you to combine the results of the simulation with other factors, such as their projections, correlation elements, upside, and ownership.
You can weight and control these to form your own personal lineup models.
How Do I Operate SimLabs?
- Select your preferred number of lineups.
- Choose the contest type that best fits what you intend to enter.
- Set your “Results Range.” Results range helps ensure that every lineup set returned by SimLabs is relatively unique to you. Setting a wide range will add diversity to your results. A lower range will contract the possible range of returns.
- Choose “Get Lineups” to see results based on your personal preferences, which you can edit in the advanced tab.
Why DFS Simulations?
Simulations are used widely in many areas of society to help answer questions that are not easy to replicate in the real world.
In sports they can only play the game one time. In DFS, that means you and your opponents can only experience one random outcome from a whole set of possible outcomes each slate.
DFS Simulations use probability to help make decisions about the upcoming slate as if it could be played many times. The results of each “trial” are logged and tabulated to help conclude what decisions are more probable to experience success.
SimLabs uses simulations to help predict which lineups—among a field of many—could reach the ultimate goal of success more often and/or with greater returns than others.
How Do I Customize SimLabs Results?
You have options to customize your results:
- Choose players to include or exclude from every lineup.
- Adjust your advanced setting to change the SimLabs Rating weights. We’ll talk about those more soon.
- Use the Saved lineups tool to lock in lineups you like, and repeat the process to find more lineups using new customization settings.
What Is “Contest Field” And Why Does It Matter?
The contest field changes the group of lineups that are evaluated by the simulation. This changes the results you will see returned to SimLabs.
Large Field: The most diverse field of lineups. The field size varies but is intended to help select lineups for the large-field GPP contests available on each slate.
Small Field: Designed to represent a more well informed, smaller field of entries. The small field evaluates 5000 of the best lineups and is intended to help compete against a stronger caliber of competition.
Single Entry: The highest quality of lineups are evaluated to help succeed in a contest in which entering more than one lineup is prohibited or less likely. The single entry evaluates 2000 of the best lineups and is intended to help compete against a very strong field of competition.
What Is “Results Range” And How Does It Work?
Results range helps ensure that every lineup set returned by SimLabs is relatively unique to you. Setting a wide range will add diversity to your results. A lower range will contract the possible range of returns.
How Does The Advanced Settings Tab Work?
Use the advanced setting tab to customize your SimLabs experience. Each slider represents a weighting percentage within the SimLabs Rating, and your returned lineups will vary in response to your settings.
Simulation Weight: We simulate the slate in full, including both the game results and DFS contest results. Simulation Weight applies a higher value to lineups that showed greater returns in those simulations.
Projection Weight: Sets the weight of Simulated fantasy points within your SimLabs rating. This is the most classic way to evaluate your lineups.
Ownership Weight: Sets the weight of Simulation ownership within your SimLabs rating. A higher weighting percentage will increase optimal rates of your lineup but also expected ownership. A low ownership setting will expect lower optimal rates and ownership. Having high optimal rates is generally good, but likewise, it can be advantageous to have lineups that are more unique (lower ownership).
Upside Weight: Set the weight of Upside weight within your SimLabs rating. A higher weighting percentage favors upside but may also favor volatility. Upside includes several factors, including the deviation level of the lineup, as well as its frequency of recording high-end finishes within the simulation.
Correlation Weight: Set the weight of correlation within your SimLabs rating. A higher weighting percentage favors stacking and correlated lineup construction.
How Can I Edit The Current Build?
There are multiple ways to alter the lineups available in your “Current Build.”
Automatic Replacements: Click the Red “X” button at the top right of a lineup card or the far left column in the grid view. You will notice a unique experience: a new lineup will instantly appear in its place!
Exposure Control: You can’t currently ask SimLabs for a set amount of any given player (something common in optimizer products), but you can use the simple + and – controls on the exposure tab to limit or increase the number of lineups featuring a given player within your current build.
Save Lineups: You can combine the results of multiple builds via the saved lineups feature and narrow down to your favorite teams there.
What Is The Bar Chart At The Bottom Of Each Lineup Card?
There are 5 key ratings displayed here that are part of the SimLabs overall rating.
These ratings are on a scale between 0 and 99. More often than not, you’ll see Lineups with a lot of green ratings. That’s because we prefer you to be looking at SimLabs’ idea of a good lineup first before you go and galaxy-brain yourself into something more exotic 🙂
Projection: A 0 to 99 rating of this lineup’s projection relative to other lineups in the field.
pOWN: A 0 to 99 rating of this lineup’s ownership rating relative to other lineups in the field. A high rating here means higher ownership is very likely but typically also means the lineup is filled with strong optimal plays.
Top 100: A 0 to 99 rating of this lineup’s frequency of appearance in the top 100. A higher rating means it finished in the top 100 more often than other lineups in the field. Yes, this number does change based on your contest field type.
ITM: Stands for “in the money.” A 0 to 99 rating of this lineup’s frequency of making the cash line. A higher rating means it finished “in the money” more often than other lineups in the field. Yes, this number does change based on your contest field type.
SimWgt: Stands for “Simulation Weight.” This is a 0 to 99 rating of how well the lineup performed in a contest simulation based on your field type. A higher rating means that the lineup earned more money over time against the other lineups in the field. Yes, this number does change based on your contest field type.
What Happens In The Templates Tab?
This is where you can easily store and recall your favorite advanced settings. We thought you might like that.
- Set your number of Lineups, Contest Field, and Results Range.
- Set your advanced settings.
- Name and save your template.
- Later, return to this tab to recall your setting from the “select template settings” drop down menu.
How Do I Export Lineups To DFS Sites Using SimLabs?
While using the tool, you can ‘bookmark’ your favorite lineups to add them to the “Saved Lineups” tab. Then hit the “Download Lineups” button to create a .CSV file (the same way you do with our Lineup Optimizer) to be able to upload those lineups on DraftKings.
What Do The Charts Mean On The SimLabs Dashboard?
Simulated Cash Lines for This Slate: SimLabs simulated the slate thousands of times, and this chart visualizes the cash line for each trial.
Simulated Winning Scores for This Slate: SimLabs simulated the slate thousands of times, and this chart visualizes the winning score for each trial.
Optimal vs. Projected Ownership: This chart visualizes players with a large difference between their optimal appearance rate and projected ownership.
Top Stack Percentage: This chart visualizes player stack optimal appearance rates as compared to projected ownership.
Can I Edit The Players In Each Lineup?
This functionality is not currently available in SimLabs. Exporting lineups to a DFS site or the optimizer can also allow you more manual editing options within individual lineups. In the near future, SimLabs will support automatic export to our optimizer for immediate editing.
Will My Results Look The Same As Others?
We have taken steps in the design to focus on a unique experience for users and done so with integrity of responses.
— The results range feature is designed to provide diversity of responses even if two users generate lineups with the exact same model settings.
— The model settings further help a community member set a specific combination of metrics that aid them in customized, unique responses.
— Player exclusions, inclusions, and exposure settings are also exceptionally useful in making a generation response
— Using the saved lineup feature and leveraging multiple executions to achieve a lineup set can also be a strong tool for maintaining a unique SimLabs experience.
Just like any lineup generation tool, it is possible to receive the same lineup as someone else in response. This is where your skill and knowledge of the game of DFS come into play, as you always have the power of decision-making in your hands as to how you ultimately decide to compete with your opponents.
Can I Set Individual Exposures Like In The Optimizer?
No. You can find our amazing tools for lineup optimization here, which have even more ways to take control of your lineups, including exposure limitations during lineup generation.
Exposure to any player in any “current build” can be adjusted player by player within the exposures tab after you have generated lineups.
What Is The Difference Between SimLabs And An Optimizer?
Optimizers are designed to provide the best response possible when given a set of rules.
SimLabs is more simplistic. You tell SimLabs how to evaluate lineups, and it will generate a unique response of high-quality options for your review.
The experiences are different and each has its advantages and disadvantages.
Optimizers provide a very high degree of control and customization, as well as a virtually unlimited number of response permutations. However, they also come with a high learning curve and require many of DFS’ biggest challenges (e.g. correlation, diversity, lineup evaluation) to be approximated and/or manufactured.
SimLabs is simple, easy to use, and has a holistic view in evaluating a lineup. Elements like correlation and upside are naturally accounted for within its design. However, you won’t have the depth of control options or response permutations (in some but not all cases) as the optimizer.
Why Should I Trust SimLabs?
We are dedicated to creating game simulations that are true to life.
We understand that a relevant player pool is essential to a realistic contest simulation and use our expertise to create a true-to-life experience.
We have dedicated engineering resources to deliver a reliable, fast contest simulation that will help you more easily generate high-potential outputs.
You should always have a healthy skepticism of outside advice and the knowledge that all models are based on assumptions. SimLabs is no different, but we work tirelessly to ensure our output can accomplish the goals of being advanced, competitive, and simple to use.
Since You Provide Lineup Ratings, Is There Still Skill Involved?
There is always skill involved in playing DFS against opponents, and no DFS tools can claim a guarantee of your success. That is the beauty of a zero-sum game against opponents: the skill of decision-making always belongs to you.
We provide a highly-researched, data-driven, and technologically-powered evaluation of every lineup that passes through SimLabs. This is intended as a resource in your decision-making that can be trusted among many factors as you assemble your strategy for the upcoming slate.
Some words of wisdom: You may find success in bursts via blind trust of the opinions and advice of others. However, the time-tested success stories in DFS typically balance the wisdom of the crowd with their own data-driven strategies to find success over time. Consider this as you review your SimLabs responses and use your knowledge and skills to take ownership of the lineups you elect to enter in play.