Now that the NBA season is in full swing, millions of fans are testing their luck at DraftKings.  Unfortunately, the majority of people that play never see real winnings. Why? They refuse to do the necessary research to increase their odds. We’re going to run through a few of them today, because even by using 1 or 2, you will see an increase in your overall point totals and how you place in each contest entered.

Deciding which Contest to Play

Ask most people who have tried DraftKings, they typically enter a contest with huge potential. After all, 2015 has been their biggest ad campaign yet, especially right before the NFL season started. Their Millionaire Maker opportunity for only $20 offers the chance to change lives, so millions of people are trying their hand in it. Unfortunately, your chances of winning are pretty slim.

In order to reach a point where you’re winning every night, you need to choose your contests wisely. Reduce the amount of people you have to play against and all of the sudden your winning percentages will increase. For instance, the Head-to-Head contests will be a one-on-one competition, so you have a 50% chance of winning. These are the contests where you should be playing for more money. If your bankroll is $100, consider playing head-to-head contests with 25% of your money.

Double and triple-up contests (where you double and/or triple your money) have a little less winning percentage, but they are beneficial when played right. These contests shouldn’t take up any more than 15% of your bankroll.

Finally, the tournaments provide huge returns with a very minimal winning percentage. If you are going to try your hand at tournaments your total bankroll play should be no more than 5%. We recommend sticking with a simple $3 tournament if you want to win big. However, a good place to start is the quarter tournaments. You can win up to $1,000 on an arcade tournament, and for .25 cents, that’s a pretty substantial payout.

Picking Your Team

Once you have a handle on how to play with your payroll and what contests to choose; it’s time to pick your team. If you are playing a head-to-head tournament then you want to stay conservative with your choices. Make sure the players you are choosing are consistent, play a lot of minutes, and have ideal matchups against their opponents. The majority of your competition will not be utilizing the same strategy, which will only increase your chances of winning with this approach. Just remember, you won’t win 100% of the time, but going in with a good strategy is much better than not having one at all.

Spend some time incorporating these strategies for about a week. It will give you some time to tweak your strategy and build upon this model.