NFL DFS Week 1: Cash game breakdown on FanDuel and DraftKings

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MINNEAPOLIS, MN – AUGUST 24: Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook (33) rushes for an 85 yard touchdown in the first quarter against the Arizona Cardinals at U.S. Bank Stadium on August 24, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by David Berding/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

NFL DFS Week 1: Cash game breakdown

The key here is identifying good chalk and bad chalk. This article is going to try and key in on the good chalk plays so you can play them in cash games and be safe. In the last few years I’ve been able to cash NFL at an astonishingly high rate on both sites utilizing this strategy. NFL cash games on FanDuel and DraftKings are 50/50s, head to head games, and double-ups. Double ups are going to likely be the hardest of these types of games. Also, do not enter the big double ups unless you’re maxing them out.

This has been quite a week! I don’t know about you awesome Fansiders but for a 4 day work week, it’s basically felt like at least 6. The Thursday night football game certainly did not help ease the tension or desire for football to come back into our lives. It was basically an extension of the preseason and was horrendous to watch.

I’m planning on providing you with the cash game plays for the main slate for both FanDuel and DraftKings in this article. Ideally, this will come out on Friday’s or Saturday’s each week once we’ve had an opportunity to identify the chalk. Let’s start out defining exactly what we mean by chalk and what cash games are.

Chalk is a term used in the degenerate gambling world I love so much and it means the favorite (typically a heavy favorite). In terms of daily fantasy and this article, chalk are guys who are high owned. It’s really simple game theory – if there is a heavy favorite and they’re highly owned and do well, you’re going to be hurting if you don’t play them. On the other side of this coin is where my guy Thunder Dan lives. He identifies the chalk in order to NOT play them in hopes they do poorly and you have massive leverage on the field. His article for tournaments can be found here. Let’s dive into the cash plays for you this week. If there is a play specific to one site, I’ll point it out.

The key here is identifying good chalk and bad chalk. This article is going to try and key in on the good chalk plays so you can play them in cash games and be safe. In the last few years I’ve been able to cash NFL at an astonishingly high rate on both sites utilizing this strategy. Cash games are 50/50s, head to head games, and double-ups. Double ups are going to likely be the hardest of these types of games. Also, do not enter the big double ups unless you’re maxing them out.