A couple weeks ago, I was introduced to the Fanamana Daily Fantasy app by a friend, and I found it very interesting.
This friend, Jason Garcia, used to work with me at OPENSports.com back in the late ‘00s, and we hosted a game there called Fantasy Live. Basically, you played in a Fantasy Football tournament against other players while NFL games were going on. It really was an intense game and a lot of fun, but you could only play it in like 20-minute increments, as you moved players in and out of your lineups while watching the Red Zone channel.
Now, here we are five years later, and he introduces Fanamana to me, which is a Daily Fantasy app you can download on your iPhones or Android phones for free. You enter tournaments against other players that last from Monday through Sunday. And you move players in and out of your lineup as they come up to the on-deck circle in their real MLB games.
You’re playing Daily Fantasy Baseball live, as the games are happening.
This game blows away Fantasy Live because it’s not a 20-minute sprint – it’s a one-week marathon. You open up the app when baseball games are going on, and you can see which players are in the on-deck circle to choose from for your lineup. If they get a single in the real game, they get a single in your game. Then, whoever you chose to hit next comes up to bat, and it could be a player from the same game or a completely different MLB game. If that player gets a hit, then it moves over your other player to second base. A base hit from a player will help score the runner from second base (even if the real runner in the real MLB game never even gets to second base in his game).
After six innings, whichever team in the tournament has scored the most runs, wins the tournament. (You can play head-to-head or 50/50s, too.)
My Fanamana Daily Fantasy App Strategy
The guys at Fanamana set up the writers at SoCalledFantasyExperts.com with a “Beat the So-Called Fantasy Experts” tournament last week. If anyone joined (for free) and beat all of the writers that played, then they’d win $5 credit for real cash games.
Unfortunately, I destroyed all comers with 16 runs scored in six innings!
(Even so, Fanamana was cool enough to reward the top 10 non-SCFE finishers with $5 credits anyway!)
I understand that I had an absurdly lucky game, but I do think I made some smart moves with some thoughts behind them.
6 Tips on How to Win on Fanamana
Here are a few tips I can share with you on how to master the Fanamana Daily Fantasy app games.
1. Just like real DFS, go with the lefty-righty hitting matchups.
If you see a right-handed power hitter coming up to bat, with a lefty on the mound, he deserves consideration for your lineup right then. The next time he comes up, he could be facing a right-handed reliever.
2. Do most of your gameplay when a lot of games are going on.
It’s nice when you log in during the day, when you’re in the dressing room at Dillard’s waiting on your wife, to jump on and pick a player or two from the one or two games going on that afternoon. But ideally, you want there to be six, seven, eight or more games happening, so you can choose between several players about to come up to bat.
3. Plan on playing Tuesday and Friday.
You don’t have to be watching games to know who to play each time, but watching games definitely gives you a great idea of how a pitcher is doing. Do you see him struggling, with 60 pitches in three innings? Load up some players against him – especially the opposite-handed hitters.
On Tuesday and Fridays, MLB has their Strike Zone channel, which is similar to the NFL Red Zone Channel, and it takes you around to all of the games going on that night. You’ll quickly see which pitchers are struggling.
4. Target hitters with men in scoring position in their real MLB games.
As you scan to see which players to put into your lineup, look to see which players are coming up to bat with men on base. Pitchers have a tougher time getting outs pitching from the stretch with runners in scoring position.
All stats are through May 9:
- Batting average for all MLB hitters: .251
- Batting average for all MLB hitters with runners on base: .265
5. Target hitters on teams with several runs scored already.
This only applies if they are still facing the other team’s starting pitcher. If one team has scored a bunch of runs, this could mean several things, including the pitcher doesn’t have great stuff today, the wind is blowing out, or the defense is struggling – or all three.
6. Target hitters facing starters in the fifth and sixth innings.
The idea behind this one is – you want to use hitters that are getting their third and fourth looks at the same starting pitcher. The pitcher is tiring, and he knows the bullpen is warming up. He’s more likely to make a mistake pitcher here than he is in the first or second inning.
Fanamana has freerolls you can try, and they’ll often have tournaments against other Fantasy Baseball experts, like Eric Mack of Bleacher Report, so keep an eye out!
Let me know in the comments section below if there are some DFS strategy tips I’m missing for the Fanamana Daily Fantasy app! Like yourself, I like to win!
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