The player grid is the main panel of a slate tab. It lists every player DFS Hero can put into a lineup on that slate, with the salary, the projection, the ownership, and a few numbers from the simulation. The players in it are the pool the optimizer draws from. After a build, the same panel turns into the exposure table.
Before you start
- Open a slate. See Open and manage slate tabs.
- This article uses the Sunday NFL DraftKings Main slate. Other sports add a few sport columns, listed below.
The panel at a glance
The Players header holds Select, the Search players box, and the more menu. See The grid more menu. The tab strip holds the position tabs, the freshness stamp, Game Sim, StackIQ, the filter chip, and the grid or card view toggle. The two icons at the left of each row lock or exclude the player; Select acts on many rows at once. See Lock, exclude, and filter players.
The position tabs
Click a tab to show only players who fill that position. Each tab shows how many pool players remain at that position. Clicking a second tab adds it to the first. Click ALL to clear the tabs.
The tab set follows the sport and the site. Showdown slates add CPTN (DraftKings) or MVP (FanDuel) and UTIL. Golf, tennis, NASCAR, and DraftKings MMA have one position and show no tabs.
The "N of M" chip
The chip at the right of the tab strip counts the players on screen out of every player on the slate. The pool is smaller than the slate because DFS Hero drops players with a zero projection, players in postponed games, and players you excluded. Click the chip to open the Filters popover.
What each column means
The default view (Advanced Mode off) shows these columns, left to right.
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Lock and exclude icons | The lock puts the player in every lineup. The circle removes the player from the pool. |
| Name | Click the name to open the player details card. To find a player, type in the Search players box in the Players header. On a phone, tap the magnifying glass at the top right. |
| Boost | An ice icon and a fire icon. Each click moves the player's projection 5% down or up, three steps each way. Hidden on a phone. See Boost and dock a player. |
| Pos | The roster position. A player with two positions shows both, and the cell opens a dropdown to force one. |
| Team and Opp | The team and the opponent. Hidden for golf, MMA, NASCAR, F1, and tennis. |
| Value | Projected points per $1,000 of salary. |
| Optimal | How often the player lands in the winning lineup across the simulated worlds. The default sort. |
| Lev | Leverage: how much more or less the winning lineups use the player than the field does. Negative means the field is on the player more than the sim likes. |
| Hero Own | DFS Hero's projected ownership. See Projections and ownership. |
| Hero Proj | DFS Hero's projection: the player's simulated average game. A boosted or docked player shows the boosted number in a warm or cool cell. |
| My Own | Your ownership number. Starts equal to Hero Own. |
| My Proj | Your projection. Starts equal to Hero Proj. The optimizer uses it under My Projection, the default Projection Source. |
| Rdm % | The randomness applied to this player's projection during a build. Filled by Smart Randomness. See Randomness. |
| Min Exp | The lowest share of lineups the next build must give the player. Default 0%. See Player exposure limits. |
| Max Exp | The highest share of lineups the next build may give the player. Default 100%. |
The purple cells (My Own, My Proj, Rdm %, Min Exp, Max Exp) are the ones you can edit. A Hero Proj, My Proj, or My Own cell turns warm orange when its number is above the Hero number and cool blue when it is below, the colors of the boost and dock icons. A cell you changed also shows a × that resets it, and the My Proj and My Own headers count the players you changed. See Projections and ownership.
Sport columns
Some sports add columns between Opp and the projection columns:
- NBA: Start, Vegas, Mins (editable), FPPM, USG.
- WNBA: Start, Mins (editable), FPPM.
- MLB: Hand, Order (the batting order, with a dot when the order is confirmed), Runs, ERA, wOBA, ISO.
- NHL: Line, PP, Goals.
- NFL: Vegas (Advanced Mode only).
- Soccer: Start.
Order sorts ascending first, so the leadoff hitter is at the top.
Advanced Mode columns
Turn on Advanced Mode in the more menu to add the simulation columns after Value.
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Vegas | The team's implied points total from the betting lines. |
| Floor | A realistic cold game: the 25th-percentile simulated score. |
| Ceiling | A near-best game: the 95th-percentile simulated score. |
| 2X to 5.5X | The chance the player returns that multiple of salary value. The multiples depend on the sport and site. Hidden on showdown slates. |
Scored slates in the past also show Actual (the real score) and Act Val.
Sorting
Click a column header to sort by it; a second click reverses the order. Sorting only reorders rows; it never changes the pool.
Grid view and card view
The two icons at the far right of the tab strip switch between Grid view and Card view. Card view shows one card per player with the main stats, the lock and exclude icons, the RDM, MIN, and MAX inputs, and the boost icons. The PROJ number is your My Proj and can be edited on the card. Card view is the layout DFS Hero uses on a phone.
The freshness stamp
The clock in the tab strip shows when DFS Hero last updated the projections for this slate. Projections change through the week as news lands, so check the stamp before you build close to lock. A reload loads the latest numbers.
The player details card
Click a player's name to open the details card.
The card holds the matchup, the game total and spread, the implied team total, the player's main figures, and MIN % and MAX % inputs for his build exposure. RANGE OF OUTCOMES is a curve of simulated scores from the floor to the ceiling, with the chance to reach each multiple of salary value under it. FORM and LAST 10 show recent results. Three icons at the top set an alert, lock the player, or exclude the player.
Tips
- Sort by Lev to find players the field underrates. A high positive Lev with a solid Optimal is the classic tournament pivot.
- Use Value for cash games and Optimal for tournaments. The two lists differ a lot at the top.
- Compare Hero Proj with the 50th percentile in Game Sim. A big gap means a boom-or-bust profile. See Game Sim.
- Check the freshness stamp on Sunday morning. A stamp from the night before means the inactives are not in yet.
Troubleshooting
"No player data available" or "Player projections for this slate have not been released yet.": DFS Hero has no projections for this slate yet. Come back later, or pick another slate.
"Failed to load player data": the load failed. Reload the page.
"No players match the current filters": a filter hides every player. Click Clear filters in the grid, or open the filter chip and click Clear all.
Related
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