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Comments
I don’t understand this. Why do I see names like BritDevine and Hoop in $1 50/50’s to win 80 cents?
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2017 DraftKings FFWC Finalist
Actually, my DFS algorithm did become self-aware. It sucked. I had to unplug from the internet and wipe my PC to get it under control. Now I come up with lineups by hand. So far, less successful, but beats the headache of potty-training a baby algorithm.
i hate when that happens

Come on Chop…you know just as well as anyone that those beginner contests aren’t available for very long if you play consistently. To say this is an option for someone who wants simply to play low stakes with pros is a joke.
If I head down to casino and play my $1/$2 limit Holdem, I don’t have to worry about Johnny Chan sitting next to me. I think that is all these guys are trying to say.
Personally, I think this falls to the sites to prevent. If money is to be had, people are going to have it. We aren’t talking about a bunch of Peace Corp volunteers here. We are talking about professional gamblers. Of course they are going to go after every penny they can.
Who the hell am I? I’m the guy who would like to see DFS stick around and not have the ecosystem become so toxic that it becomes unsustainable and the industry collapses and we all lose….nice to meet you.
I mean…this says it all. No one wants to understand this^^^^^
They just want to assume that everyone that has an issue or a complaint is simply just a loser who feels like they are entitled to win. There is a bigger issue at play here and your post absolutely nailed it. +1
Yeah, because I am sure this is what DFS founders had in mind when they created this thing. “It should be all about computers and algos.” Right.
I wonder if the sites would agree with your “casuals shouldn’t play cash”? If the site operators had a brain cell to share between the lot of them, then they would get busy understanding more and more players are getting hip to this and it will end badly for DFS.
This isn’t going to change unless the sites change it. They don’t seem interested in doing that. They understand, like some here understand, that DFS is a dying whale. It just takes a while for such a large beast to float to the surface. Meanwhile, everyone is just trying to get their fill before the thing washes ashore and rots in the sun.
Dude, all posts very well said.
The part that I never understand is that the guys with the most to lose the ones that get paid to write columns, work for sites, and are successful at dfs dont consider this a possibility. most of them are under the build a better lineup theory. But they will also say, in the long run a player will lose vs a pro with a sophisticated computer algorithm.
all the sites are going away but fd and dk, slowly 1 by 1 they are dropping out. and these guys keep saying it is the sites problem to regulate it. why would the sites change it pretty soon there will be only 2 and then they can do what ever they want because you will have no other options
horrendous description of big pharma actually, a lot of those are prices being set by pharma as they lobby effectively in the political sphere and there is no way to check them at pretty much any level
they have patents that last so long that no one can effectively put up an alternative. truly a horrendous take – they are setting drugs to prices to maximize profit.
if that was your dfs example, then i guess you have a good one even as no one can check dfs players like no one can check big pharma because it isnt in their interest to do so. But to act like they’re putting up fair market, competitive prices is truly a twisting of the situation my stomach has a hard time handling
Looool
this is a really good thread. Its cool that roto grinders gives players from all different success and experience ranges a place to discuss dfs. Lots of different opinions seem right at the same time. I know from my experience that its discouraging when you have a low win % and are passionate about the game. I like competing against the best players. I just wish i was a better player and had more money. As for people busting hoop and bird wings balls for playing for $1 or peter gibbons scooping up my $2 h2hs. Those guys also have the balls to post 10 and 5 k h2h and as soon as i learn how to win I’m gonna get all my $1 back.
I disagree. I’m not so sure these guys follow their own advice. The stuff they through out there, I do already (for the most part). I your a sports/fantasy fan you probably know these things. But then they go and use the computer programs to actually put the LU’s in. You are playing an algorithm not a person. I listened to an interview with a shark (dont remember which one) and this dude actually said he is not even a fan. AND he doesnt even watch the games. He just does he algorithm and wins. Pathetic. Doesnt watch the games lmao? It’s very frustrating because my knowledge of any particular sport is probably far superior, yet I cant beat him in fantasy because his computer knowledge is far superior to mine. JMO
Dont insult peoples intelligence with the beginner contests lol. That lasts for what? 50 games or so then your not a beginner anymore. Thats a joke and its deceiving.
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2016 DraftKings FBWC Finalist
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I am one of the most technologically incompetent people that I know. Being profitable without the ability to create your own models is doable. It just takes a lot of work as does pretty much anything worth doing.
Of course it is. because hes RG contributor lmao. Unfortunately, the pros are in every contest, for the most part. So telling the OP to only enter tournaments probably wont help. There arent any pros in the tournaments? People just get frustrated when you are playing people that have computer programs to pick there LU’s. You cant beat that. And dont tell me they dont. If you are knowledgable with computer programs, you can be successful in DFS, period. And it shouldnt be like that. It should be if you are knowledgable in sports.
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Yes, but that is literally an impossible thing to fix.
Ironically, I believe a solution to the problem of algorithms is out there in the form of leagues. Unfortunately, there are two things that prevent it from being widely used.
First, nobody wants to be the one to manage and promote a league that could be made up of hundreds of people that could strictly exclude anyone who is considered a pro (likely based on a daily entry volume).
Secondly, the prize pools wouldn’t be attractive enough, because the reality is people are greedy and don’t really care about pros and algorithms as much as they care about the ability to turn $1 or $2 into $300+.
You guys have no idea how algorithm’s and scripts work. What it mainly does is makes a ton of lineups faster. Rotogrinders has a lineup builder for free. You can make 500 lineups in 30 seconds. Go ahead and try it.
Like other posters say it should be about how smart you are at sports and not how good you’re algorithms programs is.
I agree. I’ve spent probably $10,000 this NBA season and Havnt collected one red cent. I have no knowledge of setting up a sophisticated program. No late swaps, dead money, I made my last deposit with draft kings. Imo, I’m better off playing with the books, buying a lottery ticket. I’ve had better luck with scratch offs! Ha.. Oh by the way what got me hooked I got lucky and guessed a winning Nascar lineup that paid 2k 1st place. Turned around the next week or so and won 2, 500 by guessing and winning a baseball lineup, pure ass luck guys. When i do have a Nba lineup over 300, 338 my best I won 6$$.. Ha.. Gl guys.. I think I made 5 entries in that 8$ contest on DK nba tonight, a few single entries. If I lose this minnow is dead. Tired of feeding these dam sharks! Gl men, I wish I would’ve found y’all sooner I may done better or bailed sooner.. Jay, baldeagle46
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I’m well aware of what algorithms/lineup builders do. The point I was making is that your average Joe is much more likely to create their own lineups without the use of a lineup builder/algorithm than someone entering $500+ each night.
Also, algorithm’s don’t simply make a ton of lineups faster. They make the best possible combinations of lineups based on the information available. They are basically solving hundreds of math equations without making a single error (in terms of what the data tells them). So if you believe they do the work a person can do (just faster), then I will again disagree with you.
Finally, I know RG has a lineup builder for free. I don’t use it because for me it isn’t enjoyable to have a computer make my lineups. I’ve tried it, it does amazing work, but it takes away part of my enjoyment as a player. I’m aware of the disadvantage it puts me at, but that’s why I feel leagues are a way to create an even playing field if someone (likely a site like RG or another DFS community) took the time to manage one in a way that removed players that are more likely to use algorithm’s than others. No, I don’t expect them to because it would literally be a nightmare to manage and would eat up far more time than it is worth.
Algorithm, schmalgorithm. I love all this talk about how an algorithm for DFS gives those that use them such a huge advantage. I think some people don’t understand the difference between an algorithm and a script. Scripts give MME players an advantage over other MME players who don’t use them because it allows them to create, enter, and edit more lineups faster. However, scripts are available to everyone, they’re even free on this site, so advantage negated. If you want to mass multi enter you should be using scripts. If you don’t want to learn how to script, simply don’t mass multi enter, as it will be difficult to create, enter, then adjust 150 lineups by hand to account for late breaking news. I only run between 1 and 10 lineups per night, and have no need for a script. Plus I enjoy making each lineup.
Ok, I digress, just because someone has an algorithim for DFS doesn’t mean it’s any good. The algo could be crap. The algo could be flawed. For example, it could overemphasize certain variables, while underemphasizing more important ones. Understand the algo is written by a human, and if the human who wrote it sucks at DFS, their algo will suck as well. Top players who wrote their own algos, would crush with or without the algo, just because they are accounting for the right variables when predicting athletic performance, the algo can just do it faster. The algo can do in seconds what a pen and paper guy can do in a hour. Yet if you have an hour, and anyone who takes DFS seriously should, not having an algo doesn’t put you at a disadvantage. JMHO.
This is the best solution to this problem I have seen to date! It is the equivalent to the use of “weightclasses” or “divisions” in other sports or high school and collegiate sports! I would think DFS regulators would have little objection to this, and in fact champion its use to level playing fields for all DFS players. And, hey, if you’re a little guy and you want to go up against the “big boys”, at high stakes, go for it………..but not the other way around! I would also see not reason to limit it to cash contests only, however, entry limits do, in themselves, tend make things fairer for everyone.
Again, great idea!
It is a great idea….which is probably why the sites won’t adopt it.
This will just kill all the games because it’ll remove all the high volume guys edge by forcing them to play each other so they’ll stop playing and that’ll basically be the end of the sites.
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I’ve always thought that sites could make a system like that work if they simply offered a very limited amount of those type of games.
For example, offer only one contest per day (maybe a 100 man GPP) at say a $1-$2 entry fee that is only available to individuals who play $10 or less per day. When it fills it fills and better luck getting into it next time. I wouldn’t imagine a game like that would have a huge impact on the overall night’s worth of contests.
Regardless, with the way things are currently going the sites have little (if any) need to offer something like that. Especially considering the extra work it would take to generate the proper codes into their system.