What's the difference between GPP and cash in DFS?

A GPP (guaranteed prize pool) is a tournament with a top-heavy payout structure — first place often wins 15-25% of the prize pool; only the top 20% of entrants cash. A cash game (50/50, double-up, head-to-head) has flat payouts to roughly the top half of entrants. Different formats reward different construction: GPPs want ceiling, cash wants floor.

What does "leverage" mean in DFS terminology?

Leverage in DFS is the difference between how much of the field owns a player and that player's projected ceiling contribution. A high-ceiling player at low ownership is a leverage play — you win harder when they hit because fewer competing lineups share the same upside. Leverage math is what powers GPP construction and matters much less in cash games.

What is a "bring-back" in DFS terminology?

A bring-back is a player from the OPPOSING team of a stack — typically added to capture the correlated upside of a shootout game script. If your QB-WR stack needs a high-scoring game to win, the opposing team's receiver also went off in that universe. Common in NFL and MLB GPPs; rarely useful in cash games.

What does "chalk" mean in DFS?

Chalk is DFS shorthand for the highest-owned play at a given position — the "obvious" pick that a large percentage of the field will roster. Chalk is fine in cash games (high ownership means the field agrees with the projection) but is a mixed play in GPPs (rostering chalk means winning shares equity with the field).

Where can I find blog posts that go deeper on each glossary term?

Each term below links out to a dedicated blog post where relevant. The most-referenced posts: stacking, ownership + leverage, Monte Carlo simulation, bankroll management, contest selection, cash game strategy, and late-swap. See our /guides page for the full organized index.

DFS Glossary: Every Term Sharp Players Actually Use

By DFS Simulator TeamPublished July 27, 202610 min read

Every term sharp DFS players actually use — with a real definition and (where relevant) a link to a deeper piece. Alphabetical within category so this doubles as a reference you can jump into mid-slate when someone drops a term you don't recognize.

Contest types

Cash game: Any DFS contest with flat payouts, typically top ~44% of entrants doubling their money at ~1.8x buy-in. 50/50s and double-ups are the canonical formats. See cash game strategy.
GPP (Guaranteed Prize Pool): A tournament where the prize pool is guaranteed by the site regardless of whether the contest fills. Top-heavy payouts — first place often wins 15-25% of the pool. High-variance format; most winning DFS players skew cash-heavier than GPP-heavier.
Overlay: A GPP that didn't fill to capacity — the site pays the guarantee anyway, meaning every entered lineup has positive expected value from the shortfall regardless of construction quality. Announced 10-30 minutes before slate lock; sharp players enter reflexively.
Satellite: A contest whose prize is entry into a higher-buy-in contest rather than cash. Effectively a bankroll- leverage tool — a $5 satellite winner enters a $25 GPP for free.
Single-entry tournament: A GPP that limits each user to one lineup. Smaller fields, sharper opponents on average, but every entry counts equally.
Millionaire Maker: DraftKings' flagship NFL GPP with a $5M+ guaranteed prize pool and 200,000+ entries. Dominated by professional multi-entry portfolios.

Roster construction

Stack: Two or more correlated players in the same lineup — typically same team (QB + WR in NFL, top line in NHL, batting order in MLB). See stacking strategy.
Bring-back: A player from the opposing team of a stack — added to capture the correlated upside of a shootout script. If the stack needs a high-scoring game, the opposing offense benefited too.
Punt: A minimum-salary player whose projected floor is low but whose usage bump (from injury or coach's decision) creates a value spot. Used strategically to free salary for stars.
Chalk: The highest-owned play at a position — the obvious pick that a large percentage of the field will roster. Chalk works in cash; carries opportunity cost in GPPs.
Captain / MVP: The single-game DFS multiplier slot — DraftKings Showdown uses a 1.5x Captain, FanDuel Single Game uses a 2x MVP + 1.5x STAR + 1.2x PRO structure. The Captain pick is the leverage decision that decides single-game GPPs.
FLEX / UTIL: Position-flexible roster slots. DraftKings NFL has a FLEX (RB / WR / TE); NBA has UTIL (any position). Used to fit the best remaining player regardless of position.

Math + strategy

Correlation: The degree to which two players' fantasy outcomes move together. QB + WR is highly positively correlated (a QB's TD is his WR's TD); QB + opposing defense is negatively correlated.
Monte Carlo: A simulation technique that runs thousands of randomized outcome samples to estimate the full distribution of possible lineup scores. See Monte Carlo simulation explained.
Ceiling / Floor: The 90th and 10th percentile outcomes from simulation. GPP construction sorts by ceiling; cash construction sorts by floor. The gap between ceiling and floor is the honest variance measure.
EV (Expected Value): The average outcome across the simulated distribution. Not the same as ceiling or floor — a high-EV lineup can have low ceiling (tight distribution) and a low-EV lineup can have high ceiling (blowout tail).
Leverage: Ceiling divided by projected ownership — how much differentiation a play provides per unit of expected upside. GPP construction sorts high-leverage plays first. See ownership and leverage.
Ownership: The percentage of the field that rosters a specific player. Site-published post-slate; projected pre-slate by DFS analysts. High ownership = "chalk" = low leverage; low ownership = "contrarian" = high leverage when the pick hits.

Workflow + discipline

Late-swap: Site feature allowing you to replace players in a lineup after the first game of the slate has locked, up until the specific game your player is in kicks off. See late-swap strategy.
Exposure cap: A portfolio-construction limit — no more than N% of your lineups can share a specific player, team, or stack. Prevents catastrophic damage from single-player failures. See exposure caps explained.
Contest selection: The discipline of choosing which contests to enter based on rake, field size, payout structure, and your edge — often more impactful on ROI than lineup construction quality. See contest selection.
Bankroll: The total capital you have available for DFS. Standard discipline: 30x nightly buy-in for cash-heavy play; 100x for GPP-heavy play. See bankroll management.
Rake: The percentage the site takes off the top of the prize pool. Standard DFS rake ranges from 7% to 15% depending on contest type. Rake dominates modest skill edges.

All DFS strategy guides — the organized index
DFS for beginners — the getting-started walkthrough
All blog posts (chronological)

DFS Glossary: Every Term Sharp Players Actually Use

Frequently asked questions

Keep reading

Put the theory into practice