Where the real edge is: (1) calibration - knowing big chalk is safer than the line implies changes how you spend teams; (2) season-long allocation - walk-forward, replanning weekly beat greedy line-following by +8% survival in classic pools and +50% in 2-pick contests (2012–2025); on the actual 2026 schedule the optimizer’s opening plan beats greedy by ; (3) trap avoidance - evidence-backed risk flags on rest, momentum and schedule spots.
Probabilities. Weeks with posted lines: consensus moneylines, de-vigged, then recalibrated on 5,065 games (slope 1.08 - corrects the favorite-longshot bias). Future weeks: market-implied power ratings (fit to 2026 win totals + the 83 posted early-season lines, HFA 1.5) plus an in-season Elo overlay - each final score updates team strength by its margin vs the closing spread (25 Elo pts = 1 pt of spread, 0.10 pts of rating per point of cover margin; FiveThirtyEight-style MOV update as fallback when no line existed; seeded from the win-total prior), so unpriced weeks track current form. Spread → win probability via the historical margin distribution (σ=13.45), plus schedule-known rest adjustments (+1.2 pts off a bye), then horizon-decayed and recalibrated. Backtested 2006–25: future-week log-loss falls from .666 (static preseason ratings) to .643; games with posted lines still use the market unchanged.
Optimizer. Hungarian assignment maximizing Σ log P(win) across all remaining picks (supports multi-pick weeks, used/banned teams, mid-season entry). It reserves teams for weeks where they’re the only good option and spends redundant safety now.
Validation. Every effect was tested with the closing line as an offset (walk-forward out-of-sample, 2012–2025). Claims that failed - including overriding the market’s weekly #1 - are disclosed in the Evidence tab, not shipped.
Data: nflverse (1999–2026 schedules, results, closing lines), DraftKings win totals (May 2026), posted 2026 lines as of July 2, 2026. Projections update as lines post - re-check before every deadline. Not affiliated with Splash Sports. No guarantee of outcomes; play responsibly.