How Does Underdog Fantasy Work? Tips to Play Underdog Pick Em & Best Ball Rules
Underdog Fantasy is a growing daily fantasy sports (DFS) platform that offers various fantasy sports formats, including Best Ball and Pick 'Em contests. The platform simplifies the traditional fantasy sports experience by removing lineup management, making it an appealing option for both new players and fantasy football league veterans.
Best Ball Contest Format on Underdog Fantasy
Best Ball is a format where you draft a team of players, and your highest-scoring players automatically make up your lineup each week—there’s no need to manage rosters, make trades, or deal with waivers. The platform tracks your team’s performance throughout the season, and your highest weekly scorers are used to calculate your score. This makes it a "set it and forget it" fantasy experience, perfect for users who enjoy drafting but prefer less ongoing management.
Underdog Best Ball Rules and Scoring
For starters, when drafting best ball rosters, you will compete against 12 other teams. You will be in a draft with 12 other Underdog Fantasy users who are simultaneously constructing their rosters in the draft. There are 18 draft rounds in each draft as a Best Ball Mania roster consists of 18 players. You can make up to 150 entries in the tournament, and each will start in its own 12-team group.
In Best Ball on Underdog Fantasy, rosters are drafted from a pool of 18 players, and the scoring system follows these general guidelines:
- Reception: 0.5 point
- Receiving Yard: 0.1 point
- Rushing Yard: 0.1 point
- Passing TD: 4.0 points
- 2-PT Conversion: 2.0 points
- Receiving TD: 6.0 points
- Rushing TD: 6.0 points
- Passing Yard: 0.04 point
- Interception: -1.0 point
- Fumble Lost: -2.0 points
This format allows for a simplified but competitive structure, where the focus is entirely on drafting the best possible team. Get the latest Underdog Fantasy promo codes here.
Best Ball Mania Tournament Rounds
This best ball fantasy football tournament involves a tournament schedule of four rounds. Round one consists of weeks one through 14 of the NFL season. Each week, you will compete against the same initial 12-person group for that roster. At the end of the 14th week, the two top-scoring teams will progress to round two, which is considered the quarterfinals. In 2022 the tournament buy-in was $25, and all such teams to advance won $35.
The quarter-finals (round two) involve week 15 only. Groups are whittled down to ten-person, and only the team with the top score in each group that week advances. This team wins $75 and goes to round three, the semi-finals.
In the semi-finals (round three), which consist of week 16 only, there are 16-person groups. Only the top-scoring team advances and wins $1,000, advancing to the final, round four.
Round four is the final round and is for week 17 only. It consists of a 470-person group, and prizes are gradient depending on finishing position, with $2 million for the user to win first prize.
Best Ball Mania Roster Construction
Each best ball tournament roster you construct must contain 18 players of varying positions as shown below. As you can see, there is some flexibility to the type of players you roster as you have plenty of roster spots that are not specified by position:
- Quarterback: 1
- Running Back: 2
- Wide Receiver: 3
- Tight End: 1
- Flex: 1
- Bench: 10
Underdog Best Ball Strategy
To excel in Underdog Fantasy Best Ball, strategy is key. Here are some tips to give you an edge:
- Drafting for upside: In Best Ball, you want players who can deliver big weeks rather than consistent, low-output performances. Target players with high ceilings who can score big on any given week.
- Stacking: Combine players from the same team, such as a quarterback and a wide receiver, to maximize points when their team has a strong performance.
- Roster balance: A typical best ball roster would include a balanced mix of quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends. A good strategy might involve selecting 2 quarterbacks, 6 running backs, 8 wide receivers, and 2 tight ends to cover all your bases.
Best Ball Mania: Underdog’s Premier Event
Underdog Fantasy’s Best Ball Mania is one of the largest best ball contests in the industry. With millions of dollars in prizes, Best Ball Mania allows users to compete against others in multi-round tournaments that span the NFL season.
- Best Ball Mania IV, the 2023 version of the contest, will offer an even larger prize pool and more participants than ever before. Drafting strategically and advancing through multiple rounds is essential for those aiming to finish at the top.
Recommended Read: DFS Apps like PrizePicks
How Does Pick 'Em Work on Underdog Fantasy?
Underdog Fantasy’s Pick 'Em feature lets users wager on player performances by predicting whether a player will go higher or lower than a specific stat line, such as passing yards or touchdowns. This format combines elements of prop betting and fantasy sports, making it accessible for both fantasy enthusiasts and sports bettors.
Pick 'Em Strategy and Tips
Here are a few strategies for success in the Pick 'Em contests:
- Research player stats: Look at recent performance, injury status, and matchups to make educated picks.
- Utilize injury reports: Knowing when a key player is injured can dramatically impact a game and provide an advantage in predicting underperformance.
- Confidence Score: Some users rely on tools, like the Confidence Score, to determine the likelihood of a player hitting a particular stat line, adding a data-driven element to their picks.
Best Ball Mania III Recap
Best Ball Mania III has come and gone, and the 2023-2024 NFL season contest has yet to be posted. Still, the previous tournament should give us a good idea of what we can expect for our next Best Ball Mania, presumably Best Ball Mania IIII barring a naming convention change.
This last tournament was the largest contest in the history of best ball in terms of the prize pool, with $10 million total and $2 million to first place. All with only a $25 buy-in. The tournament schedule and scoring were equivalent to what we expect for Best Ball Mania in 2023.
Let's take a look at some basic tournament details and the payout structure to give us some idea of what we might expect for the next contest. It is worth noting that even second place garnered a $1 million prize, while third took home a half-a-million. Also, consider the $1 million bonus to the top overall scoring team, and you can see why this was a groundbreaking tournament in the history of best ball.
Prize Breakdown
- 1st - $2,000,000
- 2nd - $1,000,000
- 3rd - $500,000
- 4th - $200,000
- 5th - $100,000
- 6th - $75,000
- 7th - $50,000
- 8th - $40,000
- 9th - $30,000
- 10th - $20,000
- 11-50th - $10,000
- 51-100th - $5,005
- 101-200th - $3,750
- 201-300th - $2,500
- 301-400th - $1,500
- 401-470th - $1,000
- 471-940th - $505
- 941-2350th - $200
- 2351-3760th - $100
- 3761-5640th - $90
- 5641-7520th - $75
- 7521-37600th - $40
- 37601- 75200th - $35
- *BONUS: $1,000,000 to the top overall scoring team*
Best Ball Mania III Tournament Details
- Total Tournament Entries: 451,200
- Draft Size: 12 Teams
- Draft Rounds: 18 Rounds
- Max Entries (Per Individual): 150
- Price to Enter: $25
- Rake: 11.3%
- Pick Clock: Fast Drafts - 30 Seconds / Slow Drafts - 8 Hours
Understanding Underdog Fantasy Injury Rules
Underdog Fantasy has injury rules in place, especially in Best Ball and Pick 'Em contests. In Best Ball, injuries are handled automatically—since your best lineup is always used, any injured players will be replaced by your bench without needing manual intervention. In Pick 'Em, however, an injury early in a game can void certain wagers, particularly if the player did not complete enough action to justify a result.
How to Withdraw Money from Underdog Fantasy
Withdrawing winnings from Underdog Fantasy is straightforward:
- Navigate to the "My Account" section.
- Select "Withdraw" and choose your preferred withdrawal method, which can include bank transfers or PayPal.
- Follow the prompts, and your funds should be available within a few business days.
Underdog Fantasy: AI Sports Betting Integration
For users who are also into AI sports betting, Underdog Fantasy offers a unique experience through its integration of AI-powered data. By leveraging advanced sports simulations and predictions, users can enhance their Pick 'Em strategy and fantasy selections with data-backed insights. The AI tool from Lines.com runs thousands of simulations on player performances across all major sports leagues, providing score predictions and winner picks. This feature supports smarter decisions for those playing MLB, NFL, NBA, and more.
Key Benefits of AI-Enhanced Picks:
- Game-by-game analysis: Get detailed breakdowns of player stats and matchups.
- Confidence scores: Determine how likely a player is to hit their projected stat line.
- Cross-sport predictions: Although this guide focuses on MLB, the AI sports betting algorithm also covers other major leagues like the NFL, NBA, and NHL.
You can also check out Edge AI Picks, the prediction pick service provided by Lines.com.
How Does Underdog Fantasy Work: A Final Look
Underdog Fantasy offers a streamlined fantasy sports experience, where users can focus on drafting, strategy, and even NFL predictions without the hassle of managing lineups throughout the season. With formats like Best Ball and Pick 'Em, combined with the power of AI predictions, Underdog Fantasy makes both fantasy sports and sports betting more accessible and engaging. Whether you're looking to win big in Best Ball Mania or perfect your Pick 'Em strategy, the platform provides the tools and data to help you succeed
For more DFS platforms, check out our reviews and promo code guides:
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