How To Transition From DFS To Online Sports Betting – Updated December 2024
Legal sports betting in the U.S. is a reality and spreading across the country. If you live in a jurisdiction that has legalized online sports betting you’re probably wondering what you can bet on, and where you can bet on it. Since you’re already familiar with daily fantasy sports I will point out some similarities between DFS and sports betting to help make the transition seamless.
Since the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn PASPA in May 2018, the 1992 federal ban on sports betting, already 14 states (and Washington D.C.) have legalized or launched full-fledged sports wagering in their borders. Legislation has been approved in states like Delaware, Indiana, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Mississippi. With the new wave of sports betting taking over, many more states are expected to finalize legislation in 2019. Sports betting in New Jersey has provided a roadmap for success and if other states have been paying attention they should hit the ground running with an emphasis on online wagering.
Daily fantasy sports entered the average American sports fans life with a bang in September 2015. It seemed not a single timeout could pass in an NFL game without seeing an advertisement for DraftKings or FanDuel. While the entrance of sports betting has been muted to date, as the rollouts have been state-by-state, we are entering an era that will rival the heyday of Daily Fantasy Sports in terms of advertising, and promotions available to fans and bettors.
Online Sports Betting Promo Codes
Finding the best line on a particular bet is vital to earning high returns on your investment, and make no mistake, each bet you make is an investment. To help maximize your chances at betting the best line, and ultimately increasing your ROI you should have accounts at multiple sites.
For more information on each book, the bonus and the requirements to fulfill them, and other general information I suggest checking our NJ online sportsbooks page.
If you don’t live in New Jersey or a state with easily accessible sports betting, and in particular prop markets, check out our Sleeper promo code and Underdog Fantasy promo code.
To place a Fantasy Pick’m entry you are required to choose between two and six players and payouts vary accordingly. Game types also come in many variations including Over/Under on specific projections which are most similar to what you would see on other sites.
Speaking of player markets, as a RotoGrinders reader you have probably played your fair share of daily fantasy sports contests. Almost all of the skills you have acquired by researching for lineups can be applied to sports betting. The same data you use regularly for daily fantasy can be repurposed and utilized for prop betting.
If you were researching for the Fantasy Basketball Millionaire contest on Draftkings for Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and Toronto Raptors you may have noticed that a starter for Toronto, Danny Green, had struggled mightily in the previous round shooting, and his minutes declined as well. Despite his struggles against the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Final, he has been an exceptional shooter this year and throughout his career. Knowing recency bias would affect a large percentage of the players competing you may have chosen to use him in some lineups. This same research would have been beneficial on the prop market where he was projected to score only 6.5pts despite averaging 10.3pts for the season. His eventual 11 pts in Game 1 was right around his season average and cashed a win for prop bettors.
Another great example comes from Game 3 of the NBA Finals. The Over/Under for Curry’s points was 32.5 in Game 2 and Curry scored only 23 points. Curry’s points prop actually opened at 31.5 for Game 3, even though Klay Thompson’s status was in question after straining his hamstring the game before Game 2 and Kevin Durant remained doubtful. While sportsbooks increased the prop once Durant and Thompson were officially inactive, they didn’t increase it enough. Curry’s points prop closed at just 34.5 in Game 3. The seasoned DFS player likely projected a huge game for Curry. With Durant and Thompson on the bench, there were very few scoring options for the Warriors other than their superstar point guard. As the DFS player predicted, Curry assumed more of a scoring role, smashing the player prop for a game-high 47 points. In fact, by pure necessity, Curry led his team in assists and rebounds, with the Over hitting in each of those categories as well.
Using Tools To Your Advantage
The previous examples were very basic and easy to spot for a seasoned DFS player or sports bettor. However, for those of you who like to dig much deeper, you can do that right here on RotoGrinders. There are several research tools at your disposal to help gather information for many sports. Sticking with the NBA there are Player Projections which will be a good baseline to look for prop bets based on points, assists, rebounds. CourtIQ focuses on a players performance depending on which teammates are on the court. This could be especially valuable in the playoffs when coaches use fewer places in their rotation. The DFS alerts app can also be very beneficial since a prop market may not move immediately as a result of a late scratch and you can get a bet in on a player who wasn’t supposed to start.
This doesn’t stop with the NBA, similar tools that are popular for DFS players in MLB, NFL, NHL
RotoGrinders Online Sports Betting Resources
Additionally, be sure to use our RotoGrinders betting resources. For the
Online Sports Betting Bankroll Management
As a DFS player, you have no doubt wrestled with decisions of which contests to enter from time to time. When big guarantees are put on GPPs it can be tempting to enter higher stakes than your bankroll permits or to put in more entries than would be deemed wise. Players who have long term success generally move up in stakes only as their bankroll grows and they have enough money to sustain short term losses. If you’re looking for long term success in sports betting that is the path you should follow as well. For DFS there are benchmarks in terms of # of buy-ins for a particular stake. Conversely, many successful bettors follow the Kelly Criterion, which recommends betting a percentage of your bankroll equal to your percentage edge on each individual bet (if you have a 2% edge, bet 2% of your bankroll). However, if you are a novice better you won’t know what your edge is and you should probably follow something more familiar like having a set # of buy-ins or bets like you would for DFS.
Identifying Value and Line Shopping
One of the most transferable skills good DFS players have is the ability to find and exploit value. If you are using the player projections tool and think Tom Brady’s matchup is great, your next step should be to check out the props markets on various sportsbooks. At this stage, another tool from the DFS toolbox comes in handy, line shopping.
Prices across DFS sites are rarely the same. If Tom Brady is $8500 on FanDuel he may be $7200 on DraftKings. Players who use both sites may choose to use him only on DraftKings at a cost savings and use other QBs on FanDuel to diversify their lineups. In sports betting a comparable exercise would be line shopping. The Los Angeles Lakers might be +550 to win the title at one sportsbook and +700 at another. The only difference with line shopping is it never makes sense to bet anything but the best available line.
We’ve been hard at working developing an odds comparision tool for line shopping purposes, so be sure to check back often as we’ll link it here upon release.
Beat The House Vs. Beat The Market
Let’s face it, it’s difficult to beat the house, which is why it’s so important to use the tips above. Anybody who tells you differently is probably not telling you the truth. But it is possible, and unlike in a daily fantasy GPP with thousands of entrants, in sports betting you are only competing with the bookmaker and the line they have set. Many factors influence that line, including others betting in the market but the bookmaker is your sole opponent.
Now that sports fans have gotten a taste of huge prize pools and wagering small amounts to potentially win massive amounts of money, traditional sports betting may not seem as exciting. You can’t bet $20 on the Golden State Warriors and have $1 million waiting in your account the following day. Nothing in sports betting will replace that. But sports betting can be a complement to playing DFS. Using a portion of your bankroll for DFS and taking shots at big prize pools, while using another portion to sports bet can help smooth the valleys between DFS wins and the inevitable losses since nobody cashes 100% of the time, or anywhere close to it.
If you think you’re ready to dip your toes into sports betting follow the RotoGrinders links to the various U.S. sports betting sites. Once you sign up, remember to use your ability to research with RotoGrinders tools, manage your bankroll efficiently, line shop with accounts at multiple sportsbooks and take advantage of the bonuses offered. Doing this will give yourself the best shot to win a few bucks!