Find contests

DFS Hero lists the contests DraftKings and FanDuel run on every slate, in two places. The Contests tab on the Day View is the Contest Lobby: the biggest contests across every slate on the date, with a button that opens the slate straight into a build. The Contests panel inside a slate lists every contest on that slate. Both show the entry fee, the field size, the prize pool, how full the contest is, and a Value column with the rake or the overlay.

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Before you start

• Pick a date on the Day View. See Day View.
• Know the contest types. See DFS terms.

The Contest Lobby

1. On the Day View, click Contests.
2. Type in the search box to find contests by their words. Every word must match the contest name, its slate, the sport, the site, or the contest type, so NFL Milly finds the NFL Milly Maker and fd main gpp finds the GPPs on the FanDuel Main slate.
3. Click All, DK, or FD to limit the list to one site.
4. Click All types and pick a contest type.
5. Click Any fee and pick a fee ceiling: Under $5, Under $25, or Under $100.
6. Click the sort menu on the right to switch from Biggest prize to Lowest rake or Lowest entry. Top overlay appears when a contest has overlay, and it is then the default.
7. Click the table icon at the top right to switch from cards to a table with every column. The card icon beside it switches back. DFS Hero remembers your choice on this device. When the Day View is too narrow for the table, for example on a tablet held upright or with Hero Chat open on a small laptop, the lobby always shows cards, and the icons hide.

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1. Click Build on a contest card. DFS Hero opens the slate and Build Settings together. Click the card itself to open the slate only. The link icon next to the contest type, Open on DraftKings or Open on FanDuel, opens the contest on the site. In Table view, the Actions column holds the same three actions as icons: Build with this contest, Open slate, and Open on DraftKings or Open on FanDuel.

What each column means

The Contests panel in a slate

1. Open a slate. See Open and manage slate tabs.
2. Click the vertical Contests rail on the left edge of the workspace.

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1. Type in Search contests to filter by name or type. "Single Entry" finds every single-entry contest.

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1. Click All types to limit the list to one type.
2. Click Field size to change the sort: Field size, Entry fee, Prize pool, 1st place, Rake %, or Overlay $. Every sort is largest first, except Rake %, which is smallest first.
3. Click the card view icon to see each contest as a card with its overlay, rake, fee, field, pool, and fill.

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1. Click the X in the panel header to collapse it back to the rail.

The Replay icon in the toolbar scores your lineups against the contest's final results. It appears once you have a finished build and the contest has final scores. See Replay.

What each column means in the panel

How it works

What Value means

Rake is the share of entry fees the site keeps. A 15% rake on a $20 contest sends $3 of every entry to the site. A lower rake is better for you.

Overlay is the opposite. When a guaranteed contest does not fill, the pool pays more than the entries collected, and the difference is money on the table for the entrants. Only a guaranteed tournament has overlay. A contest that is not guaranteed must fill, or the site cancels it. Cash games (Double Ups, 50/50s, head-to-heads) and satellites never show overlay, even when they are guaranteed. Sort by Overlay $ in the panel or by Top overlay in the lobby to find it.

Overlay only shows in the final 15 minutes before lock, because a contest can still fill until then. Even then, entries often rush in at the end, so DFS Hero shows overlay only when the contest is filling too slowly to reach its prize pool. The overlay must also be worth your entry: at least $250, and enough that the entries get back at least 10% more than their fees on average. A $10 overlay spread over hundreds of entries changes nothing for you, so it shows as rake. The amount is the overlay we project at lock. The tooltip shows the chance that it holds, the entries we expect at lock, and how much more than their fees the entries get back on average. The payout table still decides which entries cash. For now, FanDuel contests show overlay only after lock.

On a past date the overlay is settled and shows on every guaranteed contest that had one. DFS Hero started to record which contests are guaranteed in October 2026. For contests that locked before then, the overlay is the prize pool minus the entry fees, whether or not the contest was guaranteed.

Contest types

Entered contests

Once you upload your entries CSV, the panel splits into two groups. Entered comes first and holds the contests from your file with your entry count on each. All contests follows, dimmed. The split survives a search. A contest from your CSV that DFS Hero cannot match to a known contest shows 1 unmatched contest from your entries with an Add payout info button. See Upload your entries and Contest simulation settings.

Field sizes and fill percentages change as entries come in, so recheck the contest near lock.

Tips

• Sort the panel by Rake % on cash games. A lower rake on the same payout wins every week.
• Check Fill on big GPPs late. A contest well short of full a few hours before lock may end with overlay. Come back in the last 15 minutes and sort by Overlay $.
• Use Build on a Contest Lobby card when you start from a contest, not from a slate.
• Search by type in the panel. "Double Up" and "Satellite" match the names as well as the types.
• Read the field size before you pick a contest to simulate. Contest Simulation uses the field size and payout ladder of the contest you pick. See Contest simulation settings.

Troubleshooting

"No contests found for today" : the date's slates have no contests yet. Check back closer to the slate.

"No contests found for this day" : a past date has no contest data.

"No contests match these filters" : your Contest Lobby filters or search exclude every contest. Widen the contest type or the entry fee, or click Clear search.

"No contests for this slate." : the slate has no contest data yet.

"No contests match your filters." : your search text or type filter excludes every contest. Clear the search box or set All types.

The Replay icon is missing : the slate has no finished build, or the contest has no final scores. Build lineups first, and wait for the contest to settle.

Related

• Day View
• Open and manage slate tabs
• Upload your entries
• Contest simulation settings
• Contest results
• Replay
• DFS terms