๐Ÿ“š LEARN ยท LINEUP BUILDING

๐ŸŽ“ How to Build & Enter the Best Lineups โ€” Click-by-Click

The contest decides what a good lineup is. This guide shows you exactly which buttons to press so every entry you upload is built for the contest you're actually playing โ€” 1 lineup or 150.

โšก The 30-second version: pick your real contest from the dropdown โ†’ lock your beliefs (or set your rules) โ†’ Build โ†’ Sim โ†’ sort by the stat that wins YOUR format โ†’ Export to DK. Every step below is just that, slower.

๐Ÿ–๏ธ THE HAND-BUILDER โ€” click by click (you pick, we perfect)

1
Open it: Menu โ†’ your sport โ†’ โญ Hand-Builder (MLB ยท MMA ยท PGA). Tonight's slate loads automatically โ€” MLB has a slate dropdown top-left if more than one is live.
2
Lock your guys: in the player table, tap the first column next to a player. One tap = ๐Ÿ”’ locked into every lineup. Two taps = ๐Ÿšซ banned. Third tap clears it. (MLB: tap a roster slot on the left, then tap the player you want in it โ€” โœ• removes him.)
3
Pick your mode: ๐Ÿ’ต Cash (pays for floor, no risky stacking) or ๐Ÿš€ GPP (pays for ceiling, builds correlation). This changes the engine, not the label.
4
Set your rules (MLB): type teams into ๐Ÿšซ exclude teams to ban them from auto-fills ยท pick a stack shape (Auto follows your mode; or force Max 5 / 4 / 3 / No stacks) ยท toggle ๐Ÿ”„ Late Swap when games have started so fills only touch players DK still lets you change.
5
Set the count and hit Build: every empty seat fills smart โ€” cap-legal, salary-maxed, diversified so 20 lineups aren't 20 copies, real captains only where the format has captains.
6
Export DK CSV: ready-to-upload files with player IDs, auto-split at DK's 500-per-file limit. Upload in the DK lobby โ†’ Upload Entries.

How many to build: single entry โ†’ build 20, submit the best Win% one. 20-max โ†’ build 60, keep 20 different stories. 150-max โ†’ lock ONE anchor max and let diversity work.

โšก THE AUTOMATIC WAY โ€” click by click (you set rules, we drive)

1
Open the full builder: MLB Contest ROI Sim ยท MMA 150-MAX Builder ยท PGA Captain Lab ยท MLB Single Game Lab.
2
Pick your REAL contest from the dropdown. This is the whole secret โ€” every contest is loaded with its true field size, fee, and payout curve. The sim runs YOUR tournament, not a generic one.
3
Playing something not listed? Use Custom: type the field size, entry fee, and pick the payout shape (top-heavy GPP / small-field / single-entry / flat cash). The Monte Carlo runs those exact numbers.
4
Set your rules: exposure caps (nobody over X% of your set), min salary, max dupes, and any core you want built around. Nothing is forced โ€” your caps hold.
5
Hit Build โ†’ Sim. Thousands of lineups get built, then simulated inside your contest against a field that plays like the real one โ€” correct chalk, correct captain ownership. Locked players ride in every lineup and rank first.
6
Sort, slice, export โ€” next section.

โœ‚๏ธ SORTING THE POOL โ€” enter only the killers

Your contestSort byWhy
150-max / multi-entry GPPTrue ROI โ†’ then RAROITop slice of a 5,000 pool by ROI is already elite; the RAROI re-sort keeps the ones that profit without a miracle.
Big-field tournament (one shot at glory)Win% / Top-1%Tournament winners usually sim NEGATIVE average ROI โ€” our tracked winner simmed โˆ’29.8% and returned 5,455%. Ceiling wins trophies.
Single entryWin%One bullet can't average its way to first. Commit to one script.
Cash / double-upCash rateBoring is correct. Highest floor survives the cash line.

Final gate before export โ€” the ฮฃown badge: real big-field winners land in an ownership band, and the badge turns green when your lineup is inside it. Too chalky = you split the pot when you win. Too thin = you need three miracles. In the band = leverage without lottery.

๐Ÿ”„ LATE SWAP โ€” fixing lineups after early games start

DK's rule: once a player's game starts, he's locked in that seat โ€” everyone else can still be moved. Our tools: in the MLB Hand-Builder, flip on ๐Ÿ”„ Late Swap โ€” fills will only use players from games that haven't started, so a re-fill never suggests an illegal move. In MMA, the builder's Late Swap panel lets you mark finished fights and re-optimizes every still-open seat from the loaded pool. Your builds save automatically, so come back mid-slate and your lineups are waiting.

The one-line philosophy: lock your beliefs or set your rules โ†’ sim against YOUR contest โ†’ sort by what wins THAT format โ†’ export. We ask the contest 10,000 times what a good lineup looks like before you spend a dollar. Every pick we publish gets graded, win or lose.

Questions? The playbooks (Articles) tell you WHO to play each slate โ€” this page is HOW to turn that into entries.