The Stacks tab tells the optimizer to put correlated players together: a quarterback with his receivers, or a run of hitters from one batting order. On a classic NFL, CFB, MLB, NHL, soccer, or League of Legends slate, the Correlation dial on the Basic tab stacks your build by default. On Auto, it gives the build the stack mix that real top-1% lineups showed for that slate size. NBA, WNBA, and CBB slates and showdown slates get no stack by default. A checked rule on this tab replaces the dial, and the dial then reads Custom rules. Use this tab when you want to set the exact stack yourself, for example in a GPP, where one team's big game has to lift several of your players at once.
Before you start
- Open a slate and open Build Settings. See Build Settings overview.
- StackIQ can write stack rules for you. See StackIQ.
Step by step
- Click Build in the workspace toolbar, then the Stacks tab.
- Pick a stack family with the toggle at the top, for example Position Stack or Team Stack.
- Click Add Rule.
- Fill in the rule. For an NFL position stack, leave Position on QB, set Condition to At Least 2, and pick WR and TE under Stack With.
- Lower Max exp %/team to spread the stack across teams.
- Add more rules if you need them, up to 5. Uncheck a rule to keep it without applying it, for a build with and without it.
- Click Build in the footer.
Stack families by sport
| Sport | Families on the tab |
|---|---|
| NFL, CFB, Soccer | Position Stack or Team Stack |
| NBA, WNBA, CBB, LOL | Team Stack only |
| NHL | Position Stack or Quick Stack |
| MLB | Team Stack or Quick Stack |
| Any showdown or single-game slate | Showdown Distribution |
| Golf, NASCAR, F1, MMA, Tennis | No Stacks tab |
Switching the toggle clears the rules of the family you leave.
Every control
Position Stack rules
| Control | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Position | The anchor position, for example QB. | First position |
| Team Mode | Where the stacked players come from. Same Team is a classic stack. Opponent is a bring-back from the other side of the game. Same Game allows either side. | Same Team |
| Condition | At Least, At Most, Exactly, or Between, with a count from 0 to 10. | At Least 1 |
| Stack With | The positions that count toward the condition. | Empty |
| For Teams | Restricts the rule to the teams you pick. Empty means every team. | All teams |
| Lines (NHL only) | The lines the stack can come from: 1, 2, 3, pp1, pp2. Empty means all five. A playbook that lets Stack IQ pick writes each line with its team in front, for example EDM:pp1, and that line applies to that team only. Player Floors can remove the players such a line needs; the build then stops with an error that names the line. The build uses exactly the lines you see. When you change the rule's teams, in For Teams or in StackIQ, the lines of a removed team go, a team you add gets all five of its own lines (for example FLA:1 to FLA:pp2), and the other lines stay. A rule with no team picked already covers every team, so picking a team there, or clearing the teams, leaves the lines as they are. | Empty |
| Max exp %/team | The largest share of the pool any one team can carry this stack in. With several teams under For Teams, one value per team. | 100 |
Team Stack rules
Stack Size is how many players from one team the lineup must include, from 2 up to the site's per-team cap. Max exp %/team and For Teams work as above.
MLB team stacks add three fields:
| Control | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Stack Size | Hitters from one team, 2 up to 5 on DraftKings or 4 on FanDuel. | 4 |
| Max Gap | How far apart the stacked hitters can sit in the batting order: ANY, NO GAP, 1 PLAYER, 2 PLAYERS, 3 PLAYERS. | ANY |
| Batting Orders | Toggles 1 to 9. Only hitters in the chosen slots count. | All |
| Positions | C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, OF. Empty means all positions. | All positions |
Quick Stack (MLB and NHL)
One row per preset combination, for example 5-3 on MLB or 5-2 on NHL, plus a No stack row. Weight is the share of the pool that uses the combination, and the checked weights must total 100%. Teams restricts the combination to the teams you pick. Max Exp caps each team within it.
Showdown Distribution
One row per split of the 6 roster spots between the two teams: 5-1, 4-2, 3-3, 2-4, 1-5. Check a row and enter its Exp %, the share of the pool that should use that split.
How it works
A rule is a hard constraint on every lineup. At Least 2 under a QB position stack means every lineup carries 2 of the QB's teammates from the Stack With positions. Smart Randomness still varies the players inside the stack from lineup to lineup.
Team Mode: Opponent builds the bring-back. Add a second rule with Position QB, Team Mode Opponent, Condition At Least 1, and Stack With WR. Every lineup then has a receiver from the team the QB plays against.
Max exp %/team is the exposure control for stacks. A value of 30 means no single team carries the stack in more than 30% of the pool, so the build spreads stacks across the slate.
Two checked rules that cannot both be true in one lineup make the build infeasible.
Tips
- NFL and CFB: QB plus 2 receivers, with one opponent receiver as a bring-back, is the standard GPP shape.
- MLB: a 5-3 or 4-4 hitter stack through Quick Stack gets most of a lineup's upside from two offenses. Use Max Gap of 1 to keep the hitters consecutive.
- NHL: stack a full line through Lines so one goal credits three of your players.
- Keep Max exp %/team under 40 in large fields. A pool where one stack sits in every lineup is a single bet.
Troubleshooting
"Maximum rules reached (5/5)" : the tab holds 5 rules. Delete one to add another.
"Weight: {n}% (must = 100%)" : the checked Quick Stack weights do not add to 100. Adjust a weight or uncheck a row.
"Couldn't build lineups" or "Your rules ruled out most lineups before they could be built." : the rules cannot be satisfied together, or only a few lineups satisfy them. Loosen the condition, widen Stack With, or uncheck a rule, then rebuild.
No Stacks tab in the sheet : the sport has no team structure. Use the Groups tab for player-to-player rules instead.
Related
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