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Re:Top fantasy sports player uses software, analytics to rea... by downandout on Thursday December 24, 2015 @02:40AM (#10787476)
Another explanation might be that he wants to get everyone else playing the set of lineups his algorithm is spitting out. In GPP (guaranteed prize pool) tournaments, there are usually very large fields and the prize structures are heavily weighted toward a tiny pool of top finishers. The key to winning these tournaments isn't necessarily picking the lineup with the most expected fantasy points, but rather having lineups that very few others have, because you are looking for an extreme result that is different from that of your competition. GPPs are won much more through application of game theory than they are through any analysis of the specific games or players.

If he gets a large percentage of the DFS player pool to play his algorithm's lineups and he goes a different direction, he'll crush the GPPs.

Re:Top fantasy sports player uses software, analytics to rea... by giarc on Thursday December 24, 2015 @10:21AM (#10788412)
I'm not a game theorists or anything but you don't win by having a different team, you win by having a different team that also does well.

If his software is telling people to pick XYZ great lineup, he has to come up with a better lineup otherwise they all share the prize and he gets nothing.

Re:Top fantasy sports player uses software, analytics to rea... by fredophile on Thursday December 24, 2015 @01:27PM (#10789104)
He doesn't need to come up with a better lineup. An inferior lineup with a higher payout could lead to a fighter expected value. For example, if he has a lineup that wins 1/5 the times the best lineup does but pays out 10 times as much he would double his returns.
Re:Top fantasy sports player uses software, analytics to rea... by downandout on Thursday December 24, 2015 @01:26PM (#10789099)
It matters to some degree which players he picks, but in the case of GPPs it matters much more that the lineup is unique. There are lots of lineups that have nearly the same expectation.