Welcome to an introduction on how to play DraftKings Pick6! If learning a new game format feels daunting, you have come to the right place.
Here, we’ll discuss a basic overview and breakdown of the relatively new format available at DraftKings, including some strategies to think about when getting started.
DraftKings Pick6 Strategy Guide (2025)
If you have played Pick ‘em contests on sites like Underdog or PrizePicks, there should be a seamless path to understanding and getting you all set for the action.
If not, no big deal. We are here to help introduce you!
How To Play DraftKings Pick6
In short, you are selecting whether a player will exceed or fall short of a projection determined by DraftKings.
Your Pick Set consists of 2-6 selections that will be entered into a pool to compete against other users’ Pick Sets of the same level.
If three picks are in your Pick Set, you will compete against users who also submitted a Pick Set at the same Level.
The statistical categories to choose from are vast and dependent on the sport.
WHAT IS DRAFTKINGS PICK6?
According to the DraftKings website:
Pick6 is a peer-to-peer daily fantasy sports (DFS) contest variant offered by DraftKings.
Build a lineup, also known as your “Pick Set”, by choosing 2 or more players (3 or more in CO) and selecting whether you believe they will outperform their stat projections.
Compete in contests against other users’ Pick Sets and win prizes by making the required number of correct picks.
The entries you compete against are determined by the number of picks you decide to make in your Pick Set (your “Pick Level”).
Your Pick Set will only compete against entries of the same Pick Level. The pool of available athletes and their associated stat projections is called a “Pick Group”.
PRIZES AND PAYOUTS
The prize distribution follows a tiered structure based on accuracy.
This means your winnings depend not just on your accuracy, but also on how many other users achieved the same level of success.
The majority of the prize pool will be paid to users who have successfully selected all of their picks in a set.
DraftKings describes a typical contest payout as a “$500 split among all entries with 6/6 picks correct. $200 split among all entries with 5/6 picks correct. $100 split among all entries with 4/6 picks correct.”
More DraftKings Pick6 STRATEGIES
The unique thing about Pick6 compared to other Pick ‘em games like Underdog is that you are competing against other users.
Their success (in addition to yours) determines the amount of the payout that will go to the winning Sets.
Because of that fact, it can be beneficial to have a contrarian approach to your picks in pursuit of larger payouts.
Player On/Off Splits
For example, let’s assume you are playing an NFL Pick6 contest and Justin Jefferson is a popular pick in the industry to exceed his receiving yards projection.
Omitting that pick from your Pick Set can give you a leg-up on the competition if Jefferson fails to exceed his projection.
We can take it a step further if we introduce correlation by thinking about who might benefit from Jefferson’s failure.
Including his teammate Jordan Addison to exceed his projected receiving yards in your Pick Set could give you another degree of separation from the field, and thus boost your payout in a given contest if you are correct.
Correlating Picks
Once you’ve mastered the basics of how to play DraftKings Pick6, correlating picks in a given game can also be a beneficial, advanced strategy to consider.
A fast-paced game in the NBA could lead to multiple players exceeding their projections. Additionally, an overtime contest could give you a further advantage.
Similarly, game-script can be an important part of statistical projection.
In the NFL, teams ahead on the scoreboard generally increase their rushing rate, while trailing teams often drop back to pass at a higher rate.
Pairing a favored running back with an underdog pass catcher in your Pick Sets can lead to correlated results that benefit your selections.
Having a trusted source of your own projections is key to identifying the DraftKings projections against which you might find the most edge for a given slate.
The peer-to-peer format adds another wrinkle that can make this format loads of fun and highly profitable for the most savvy users.
