← DFS Glossary Reading it for Any sport MLB NFL CFB NBA MMA

NFL · Variance

What Is Variance in DFS?

Last updated October 16, 2026 by Ship It Nation

In NFL DFS, touchdowns can create large scoring swings without much change in touches or targets. With each team usually playing once per week, you also get relatively few games to judge a player's results within one season.

Why It Matters

Your lineup's scoring swings and your contest's payout swings are different: a solid score can still return nothing in a tournament that pays most of its prize money to the top finishers. Stacking can increase lineup swings by linking players' outcomes, but low ownership alone does not make a player more unpredictable. Evaluate decisions using the information available before lock, not just the final standings.

Go Deeper

Articles that put Variance to work.

NBA DFS Late Swap: How to Use News to Your Advantage NBA DFS Late Swap: How to Use News to Your Advantage NBA · 5 min read 3-Max vs. Single Entry vs. MME: Which DFS Format Should You Play? 3-Max vs. Single Entry vs. MME: Which DFS Format Should You Play? Contest Selection · 3 min read How Much Bankroll Do You Need for DFS? A Realistic Guide by Stakes Level How Much Bankroll Do You Need for DFS? A Realistic Guide by Stakes Level Bankroll · 4 min read

Example

Say your running back handles 20 carries and four targets, but his backup converts two short touchdown runs on five carries. You had the larger workload, yet the backup's touchdowns change the fantasy comparison. Check whether the backup regularly gets goal-line work before treating the result as random scoring luck.

Pro tip

Track results by contest type and slate, and review opportunity separately from touchdowns or other rare scoring events. Entering the same lineup in ten contests does not give you ten independent performance samples.

Hear Us Break It Down

Hand-picked moments from our free live streams where our hosts break down this term.

Why strong players can still have losing years You can be a strong player and still have a losing year when tournament returns depend heavily on rare first-place finishes. Keeping your stakes manageable helps prevent those swings from spilling into your life outside DFS. “You can be the best in the world. Still have a losing year.” NFL · Monday, Sep 28 1:11:34 ▶ Why touchdown results can hide a player's workload You see two players getting volume, but Hawkins collecting the touchdowns. That scoring gap can push attention away from Cam Cook, creating a potential low-owned alternative without requiring his workload to change. “We're getting it to where they're both getting the volume. It's just Hawkins is taking the touchdown.” CFB · Friday, Oct 9 10:41 ▶
More mentions 12
MON 10/19 “Let's get something with some variance in there and take a risk.” 18:23 ▶ SUN 10/18 “But then it's like, well, then you're sacrificing these skill position players at a very high variance position.” 45:44 ▶ FRI 10/16 “Even when Jalen Daniels was there, they're cheap and they will just garbage gut their way to fifteen fantasy points and sometimes they'll get some Rushing touchdown variance.” 26:27 ▶ SUN 10/11 “With the well not all the $6,000's but some of them and then it gets you into these cheaper wide receivers that just fill out around this game stack not gonna work in tournaments very often if it does I mean you're chopping it a bunch...” 1:26:28 ▶ FRI 10/9 “Yeah I mean I think that his ownership is gonna like that's gonna make him more viable for sure and then just I mean Hawkins he's priced up finally I mean he should probably even be a little like the ninety five to $9,800 um I'm not gonna...” 11:06 ▶ THU 10/8 “For variance on this fight, we just want a first-round knockout.” 16:51 ▶ MON 9/28 “Still have a losing year as FJ born and all that just shows the variance there.” 1:11:55 ▶ SUN 9/27 “It really just comes down to the touchdown variance.” 10:51 ▶ SAT 9/26 “There's still high, high variance.” 1:23:25 ▶ FRI 9/25 “Yeah ryan brown last week like if you were playing around brown double on the late slate you had a pretty solid lineup so I think it's a super super good spot and it's like it's kind of clear clear cut what I think I want to do here yeah...” 32:56 ▶ MON 9/21 “Well, it takes some luck to get there, but it could lead in your favor from the variance factor, but tight or a hoop.” 42:43 ▶ THU 9/17 “Looking back at what pros do in baseball and stuff, it is a lot more spread out than other sports, again, with just how much variance it is.” 28:33 ▶

Common Questions

How many contests does it take to overcome variance in DFS?

There is no fixed number, and more contests do not guarantee profit. Large-field tournament returns can remain uneven over long stretches because major payouts are rare. Hundreds of entries concentrated on a few slates provide less independent evidence than the entry count suggests, especially when those lineups share players.

Is high variance good or bad in DFS?

Neither by itself. In tournaments, a wider range of outcomes can help when it includes a realistic chance of an exceptional score, but extra downside without useful upside accomplishes nothing. In cash games, reliable opportunity generally matters more. Low ownership measures popularity, not how widely a player's score can swing.

How does variance affect DFS bankroll management?

Variance makes losing stretches possible even when you have an edge. Limiting how much of your dedicated DFS bankroll you risk on one slate reduces the damage from a shared bad outcome across your lineups. Top-heavy contests require particular caution, and increasing stakes to recover losses does not improve your underlying chances.

Every term we use on the shows, explained Written for the sport you play, with the moments where we use them.
Browse the glossary

Never Miss a Show

Subscribe on YouTube
Spreaker Apple Podcasts Spotify iHeartRadio Deezer YouTube Music