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Your first build

Last updated Oct 13, 2026

This is the shortest path from a blank slate to a scored set of lineups, with the default settings and no entries file. Nothing you do here touches DraftKings or FanDuel. Plan on 10 minutes, most of it waiting.

Before you start

Step by step

Open a slate

  1. Open DFS Hero. Click the date button in the top bar to pick another day.
  2. Find the slate.
  3. Click Open. The workspace opens on the Player Pool.

Leave the grid alone for a first build. See Read the player grid.

Build

  1. Click Build at the right end of the toolbar. The Settings sheet opens on the Basic tab.
  2. Leave every setting as it is. ENTRIES PREVIEW is on 150, the number of lineups DFS Hero selects for you from the pool. Build Mode is on Build Only. Projection Source is My Projection, which equals the Hero projection until you edit a player. Correlation is on Auto.
  3. Check the footer. When is on Now. The lineup count, 10,000 on Power or 500 on Essential, is the size of the pool.

  1. Click Build in the footer. The lineups panel opens on the right.

  1. Wait for the toast Built N lineups in Ns. A 10,000-lineup NFL build takes about a minute.

Read the lineups panel

  1. Entries Preview holds the 150 lineups DFS Hero selected for you. Pool holds every lineup the build made.
  2. Selection, on Balanced Exposure, picks the 150 from the pool. Rank by, on Projection, orders the list.
  3. Each card shows rank, projection, salary, ownership sum, a stack badge such as QB + 2, and the players.
  4. The footer holds Simulate.

Without an entries file the panel shows a single list and an editable count next to the Selection, as in the screenshot. With one it groups lineups by contest. See The lineups panel.

Simulate

  1. Click Simulate in the footer. The Contest Simulation sheet opens.
  2. Leave the default scenario, Sim 1: a 10,000-entry tournament with a $10 entry fee that pays 20% of the field.
  3. Optional: pick a real contest under PREFILL FROM CONTEST to copy its size, fee, and payouts.

  1. Click Run Simulation.
  2. Wait for the results. The footer button now reads Re-Simulate.

Read the results

  1. The Selection switched to Win Paths, which picks lineups that crack the top 1% in as many different simulated outcomes as possible.
  2. The scenario band shows the field size, the entry fee, and the expected ROI of the lineups it entered.
  3. On each card, the signed percent in the header is the expected ROI, the return per $1 entered. Hover it for the Exp. ROI tooltip. Win% is the chance to finish first. Top 0.1%, Top 1%, and Top 5% are the chances to finish inside those shares of the field. Cash% is the chance to be paid anything. Paths counts the simulated games in which the lineup finished in the top 1% of the field. Expand a card to see the same metrics. The best lineup in a metric carries a badge such as Best Win%.

A negative ROI on a 10,000-entry tournament is normal; the rake alone makes the average entry lose. Compare the lineups to each other. See Read sim results.

What just happened

The optimizer built thousands of different lineups from Hero projections, with Smart Randomness varying each projection a little per lineup. The Selection picked 150 that keep each player's exposure close to his share of the pool. The simulation then played the contest thousands of times, and the Selection re-picked the 150 that won in the most different ways. See How the simulator works.

The build is saved to your account and survives a reload. See Saved builds and tabs.

Next steps

  • Type a number next to the Selection to select more or fewer lineups. Nothing rebuilds.
  • Try the other Selection methods: Highest Ranked, Min Uniques, and Balanced Exposure. See Selection methods.
  • Set a Max Exp on a player in the Player Exposure grid and watch Entries Preview re-pick. See Player exposure after a build.
  • Add a stack rule and rebuild in a new build tab. See The Stacks tab.
  • Run the full loop with your real entries. See The DFS Hero loop.

Tips

  • Leave the count at your plan's cap. A deeper pool gives the Selection and the simulation more to work with.
  • Keep Build Only on. Simulating from the panel lets you change the contest without a rebuild.
  • Use PREFILL FROM CONTEST with the contest you plan to enter. The default scenario is a stand-in.
  • Change settings in a second build tab with Add new build so you can compare pools.

Troubleshooting

"No player data available" with "Player projections for this slate have not been released yet." : the slate has no projections yet. Pick another slate or come back later.

"Built N of M lineups" : the build stopped short. The line under it names the cause, for example the pool ran out of unique lineups. Lower Min Unique Players or loosen a rule.

"Couldn't start the build" : the toast names the reason, for example a count above your plan's cap. Fix the reason and click Build again.

"Build failed" : the build did not start. Try again. If it repeats, see Build problems.

The Sim tab in Build Settings is greyed out : in Build Only mode you simulate from the lineups panel instead. Switch to Build & Sim to use the tab.

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