You’ll see most of these terms used without explanation once you’re in a few DFS threads or articles — this is the one place to look them up instead of guessing from context.
Ownership
The percentage of lineups in a contest expected to roster a given player. 25% ownership means roughly 1 in 4 entries has that player. Matters most in GPPs, where your score only counts relative to the field.
Chalk
A player, team, or game projected to be highly owned. The “obvious” plays most of the field is on. Not a bad thing by itself — chalk is often chalk because it’s a genuinely good play — but stacking too much of it in a GPP means you’re not differentiating from anyone.
Leverage
Rostering a lower-owned player close in projection to a more popular one, so when your guy hits, you gain ground on the whole field stuck on the chalk.
Ceiling
A player’s realistic best-case score for the week. What matters most in GPPs, where you need a spike, not just a solid outcome.
Floor
A player’s realistic worst-case score for the week — assuming things go about as poorly as they reasonably could, not a total bust. What matters most in cash games, where consistency beats upside.
Game Script
The flow of a game based on the score, and how it changes usage. A team protecting a big lead leans run-heavy late; a team playing from behind throws more.
Slate
The specific set of games included in a contest. A “main slate” covers most of Sunday’s early and late games; a single-game (showdown) slate is built around just one matchup, with a much smaller player pool.
GPP
Short for Guaranteed Prize Pool — a tournament with a fixed total payout regardless of entries, paid out top-heavy to a small share of the field. The opposite structure from a cash game, where roughly half the field cashes at a flat rate.
Stack
Rostering a QB with one of his own pass-catchers, so their scoring is linked — when he throws a touchdown, someone in your lineup catches it. Adding a pass-catcher from the opposing team on top of that is a bring-back, betting the whole game turns into a shootout.
Punt
Deliberately rostering a low-salary, low-projection player at one spot to free up cap space for stronger plays elsewhere. Not a mistake — a deliberate tradeoff.