Lock, exclude, and filter players

Before a build you shape the pool in two ways. A lock forces a player into every lineup, and an exclude removes a player from the pool so the optimizer never uses them. Filters change what you see in the grid, not what the optimizer can use. The one exception is the Pool section of the Filters popover, which turns a view into a pool change with one click.

Before you start

• Open a slate and find the Players panel. See Read the player grid.
• Locks and excludes are per build. A new build tab starts with everyone in the pool.

Lock and exclude a player

Every row starts with two icons: a padlock and a circle with a slash.

1. Click the padlock to lock the player into every lineup.
2. Click the circle to exclude the player from the next build.

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Click the same icon again to undo. A page reload keeps locks and excludes. The player details card has the same two icons at its top left.

What a lock does to the build

A locked player is in 100% of the lineups the next build produces. That has two side effects:

• The lock overrides the player's Max Exp and every exposure cap in Build Settings.
• Two locked players at the same single position, for example two QBs on an NFL slate, leave no valid lineup. The build fails with "Couldn't build lineups". Unlock one of them.

A lock on an excluded player clears the exclusion, and the reverse. On a showdown slate, a lock on the CPT or MVP row makes the player captain in every lineup, and a lock on the base row puts the player in a normal seat in every lineup. A player fills one seat, so the build does not start when both of the player's rows are locked, or when more than one CPT or MVP row is locked. An exclude on the CPT or MVP row only stops the player from being captain, and an exclude on the base row removes the player from every slot.

What an exclude does to the build

An excluded player leaves the pool. The optimizer never picks the player, whatever the projection. A My Proj edit does not bring an excluded player back; only the circle icon does. Excluding too many players blocks the build with "Pool too small".

Select several players at once

Select sits next to the Players title. It puts a checkbox on every row in place of the two icons, and a bar appears at the bottom of the grid.

1. Narrow the grid first if you want: pick a position tab, or set a value filter such as Hero Own at most 6.
2. Click Select. Tick the players you want, or tick the box in the header to tick every row on screen.
3. Untick any player you want to keep.
4. Click an action in the bar: Exclude, Include (put excluded players back), Boost, Dock, or Lock. Boost and Dock move every ticked player's projection one step of 5%. Max Exp opens a small box with 50 in it; type the cap you want and click Apply to set it on every ticked player.

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Every action leaves Select mode. Exclude, Include, Boost, and Dock show an Undo link for ten seconds. Clear unticks every row, and Done leaves the mode with no change. On a phone the bar docks above the Build button, with Boost one step, Dock one step, Lock, and Max Exp behind More. See Boost and dock a player.

The Filters popover

Click the chip at the right of the tab strip to open the popover. Every control applies at once; there is no Apply button.

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The Pool section only shows before a build. After a build the Player Type options change to Used in Lineups, Build Pool, Locked, and Excluded, and the Leverage chip goes away. Actual appears on a past slate with final scores. Sports with player status data add a Player Status section, for example Confirmed Starter, Projected Starter, and Non-Starter on NBA.

Pick Locked or Excluded under Player Type to see only those players.

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Set a value filter

1. Open the popover and expand Value Filters.
2. Click the Salary chip. A row opens above the chips with Min, Max, and the unit.
3. Type 7000 in Min. The grid narrows to players at $7,000 or more, and the chip reads Salary ≥ $7,000.

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Click the x at the end of the row to clear that stat. Value filters stack with the position tabs and with the name search. When a filter set hides every player, the grid says so and offers Clear filters. When the name search matches no player, the grid offers Clear search.

Turn a filter into a pool change

The Pool section is the fast way to build from a hand-picked list:

1. Filter the grid to the players you want, with the position tabs, a value filter, the name search, or any mix of them.
2. Open the popover and click Pool = visible. Everyone off screen is excluded.
3. Clear the filters. The excluded players stay dimmed.

Use Exclude visible the other way around: filter to the players you never want, then click it. All players (reset) brings everyone back.

Filtered in the Exposure tab of Build Settings works the same way for exposure caps. See Player exposure limits.

The name search

On a computer, the Search players box sits in the Players header, next to Select. On a phone, tap the magnifying glass at the top right, next to the menu. The box opens over the build tabs. Type part of a name and the list narrows as you type. The search matches the name in the grid and the site's own name, and it ignores accents. It works the same in the table and in the cards, and it stays when you switch between them. Click the x in the box to clear it. On a phone, tap Cancel to clear the search and close the box.

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The name search is a view filter only. It does not change the pool.

Clear everything

• One lock or exclude: click the icon again.
• Every exclusion: All players (reset) in the popover.
• Every boost: Clear boosts in the popover.
• Every filter: Clear all at the top of the popover, and clear the name search box.
• Every per-player edit at once: Reset all player edits, then Reset in the dialog. It clears Rdm %, exposure, projection, ownership, mins, boosts, forced position, locks, and exclusions. Build settings and other build tabs are kept.

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Reset all in the header of Build Settings also clears locks, along with stacks, exposures, and sport rules.

Tips

• Lock sparingly. Three locks on a nine-slot roster leave the optimizer six slots to differentiate 150 lineups.
• Prefer a high Min Exp to a lock when you want a player in most lineups but not all. See Player exposure limits.
• Exclude injured or inactive players the moment news breaks. A player with a projection stays in the pool until you remove them or DFS Hero refreshes the projections.
• Use Pool = visible with a Salary value filter to build a punt-free pool for cash games.
• Use Select to drop the low-owned players at one position: set Hero Own at most 6, pick the QB tab, tick the header box, untick the one you want to keep, and click Exclude.
• Check the Locked and Excluded counts in the popover before every rebuild. Locks from an earlier idea are easy to forget.

Troubleshooting

"Pool too small. {count}/{rosterSize} roster slots. Reset exclusions in the Pool menu." or "Pool too small to build. {n} players in pool, {rosterSize} roster slots needed. Reset your exclusions in the Pool menu.": you excluded so many players that fewer remain than the roster needs. Open the popover and click All players (reset), or add players back one by one.

"Couldn't build a valid lineup with these settings. Your locks, filters, stacks, or salary range may be too strict for this slate. Loosen them and rebuild.": the locks conflict with each other or with a rule. Unlock a player or relax the rule.

"No players match the current filters": the filters hide everyone. Click Clear filters in the grid, or Clear all at the top of the popover.

"No player name matches your search.": the name search matches no player in the view. Click Clear search in the grid, or fix the spelling.

Related

• Read the player grid
• Player exposure limits
• Exposure tab
• Group rules
• Build problems