Best Practices: Underdog Fantasy & Prize Picks Strategy

Prize Picks and Underdog Fantasy are incredibly fun. But having a plan going into entering slips is imperative if you want to have long-term success. I’ll make this clear and concise by using bullet points that highlight some common strategies and best practices. I will continuously update this list as the year goes so bookmark this article.

Best Practices for Prize Picks and Underdog Fantasy

Flex 5’s provide you with the most +ev (expected value) for Prize Picks
3 Pick Parlays are more optimal on Underdog Fantasy (insured 5’s then 4’s follow)
Sportsbooks singles are a preferred way to build a bankroll
Having a bankroll predetermined before playing is ideal
Having a “unit size” predetermined before playing is ideal
i.e. 1% of bankroll might = $5 per unit = $5 per Flex 5 slip on Prize Picks
i.e. 1% of bankroll might = $1 per unit = $1 per 3 Pick Parlay on Underdog Fantasy
Hedging investment by not using any one player across all slips entered is optimal. That way if someone rolls an ankle or there is an NBA blowout, you’re slips are not all chalked due to that one player

How to Handle Plays That BUMP!

Plays posted are usually +EV and then backed up by data-driven research
Once a play bumps (ex: Jokic o9.5 AST is the posted play but when you check Prize Picks his player prop has been bumped to 10.0), it is no longer +EV and there are going to be more optimal plays on the board to play
This means that if you miss the player prop line posted, it’s often better to just skip it altogether. There will usually be plenty of more plays on the board that will provide better +EV than taking the bumped line

Can You Use Plays Across Platforms?

Because there are no player prop odds on Prize Picks and Underdog Fantasy, as long as a player prop line (Jokic o9.5 AST) is available on both Prize Picks and Underdog Fantasy, it would be in play on both even if the plays posted only show Jokic o9.5 AST on a slip for one platform
This is helpful because plays listed often bump during the day and sometimes when you check in later you might not be able to field a Flex 5 on Prize Picks or 3 Pick Parlay on underdog Fantasy unless you use picks posted for the other platform (which is fine as long as the player prop stat is identical)
Prize Picks and Underdog Fantasy plays are not for sportsbooks