Know the points, then build the XI.
Every fantasy app runs a slightly different points system, but the bones are the same within each sport. This reference collects the scoring logic we see across the 11 apps we benchmark.
The full points system, by sport
Every fantasy app runs a slightly different points system, but the bones are the same within each sport. This reference collects the scoring logic we see across the 11 apps we benchmark, so you can compare apples to apples.
Cricket points reward both batting and bowling, with milestone bonuses layered on top. Football points spread across goals, assists, clean sheets, and defensive actions, so a defender can out-score a forward on a good night. Basketball counts five categories with steals and blocks weighted higher. Kabaddi rewards raid volume and defensive tackles, with milestone bonuses for Super-10 and High-5 nights.
The numbers below are the most common scoring we see across the apps we benchmark. Always check your specific app's rules before lock — small differences in milestone bonuses can flip a captain pick from correct to incorrect.
| Action | Cricket T20 | Football | Basketball | Kabaddi |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Run / point scored | +1 | — | +1 | — |
| Raid touch | — | — | — | +1 |
| Wicket / goal / rebound | +25 | +4 (FWD) | +1.2 | +1 tackle |
| Boundary / assist | +2 six / +1 four | +3 | +1.5 | +1 bonus |
| Catch / save / steal | +8 | +1 (3 saves) | +3 | +2 (Super raid) |
| Milestone bonus | +4 (30-run) | +4 (CS) | +3 (DD) | +2 (S10/H5) |
Points differ by format, even within the same sport
A T20 cricket contest uses different scoring than an ODI or Test. Football points change between platforms too — some apps weight tackles heavily, others do not. Always read the rules before locking your XI.
How to use a points reference in five moves
A points reference is a tool, not a rulebook. Use it to know which actions pay and how much, then build your XI around the highest-value actions for tonight's matchup.
Find the highest-value actions
Open the points table and identify the actions worth the most per event. In T20 cricket, that is the wicket (+25) and the catch (+8). Build your XI around players who score in those columns.
Match actions to the matchup
A wicket-heavy attack at a spin-friendly ground increases the value of spinners. A goalscoring mismatch increases the value of strikers and attacking midfielders. Match your XI to the actions the matchup rewards.
Check milestone bonuses
30-run, half-century, and century bonuses in cricket swing a captain pick. Super-10 and High-5 bonuses in kabaddi do the same. Always include milestones in your mental math.
Read between the lines
Negative points (turnovers in basketball, duck in cricket, yellow card in football) are how the scoring punishes bad picks. A high-floor player avoids these swings.
Compare across platforms
Two apps running the same sport may have small but important differences — some apps give +1 for a four, some give +0.5. Check the app's rules page before lock.
Points-aware picks that separate winners
Knowing the points is necessary but not sufficient. These habits turn the reference into an edge.
Pick players who score in multiple columns
A player who can earn from two or three columns has a higher floor than one who scores in only one. All-rounders, multi-category stars, and set-piece takers all fit this profile.
Use milestone bonuses as tiebreakers
When two players project similarly, prefer the one more likely to hit the milestone bonus — 30 runs in cricket, a clean sheet in football, a High-5 in kabaddi.
Read penalties in football
Penalties are +5 for the taker plus the goal bonus. A penalty-taker doubles up on the same play, which is why they are the safest captain in football.
Avoid negative-point picks
Yellow cards, ducks, turnovers, and red cards all cost you. A player on a yellow-card streak or a batter prone to ducks is a poor captain candidate even if their ceiling is high.
Reward consistency, not flash
The points reference rewards repeatable actions. A defender who wins two tackles every match banks 8 points/week; a highlight reel who sometimes wins six is harder to project.
Check minute and overs floors
A basketball player who plays 30 minutes fills more columns than one who plays 18. A bowler who bowls 4 overs has twice the wicket floor of one who bowls 2.
Points only matter when they predict future returns
Our form index weighs recent scoring relative to the player's price tag. A player who has been quietly banking 60-point weeks is a better captain candidate than one who scored 120 once and has averaged 40 since.
Scoring differences that change captain picks
Some platforms tweak the points reference in ways that flip the optimal captain. Read the rules, then pick.
Cricket: boundary bonus differences
Some apps award +2 for a six and +1 for a four. Others award +4 for a six and +2 for a four. The latter rewards boundary-hitters more heavily, which flips the captain pick toward elite boundary batters on flat decks.
Football: defender vs midfielder goal weight
Most apps give +6 to a defender for a goal and +5 to a midfielder, while forwards get +4. A ball-playing centre-back who occasionally scores becomes a much better captain in the apps with higher defender weights.
Basketball: turnover weight
Some apps deduct -1 for a turnover, others deduct -2. The heavier deduction punishes ball-dominant guards more, which shifts captain preference toward efficient wings and big men with lower turnover rates.
Kabaddi: tackle bonus differences
Some apps add a +2 tackle bonus once a defender hits 3 tackles in a match, others require 5. The lower threshold makes corner defenders more attractive captains because the bonus triggers more often.
The points reference meets the salary cap
Points alone do not win contests — the points per credit do. A 9-credit player scoring 50 points is better value than an 11-credit player scoring 55, because the cheaper player frees up credits for another scoring pick elsewhere.
Common points system fantasy mistakes — and the fix
Most losing points system teams are not unlucky; they repeat the same errors. These are the ones our readers report most, with the fix for each.
⚠️ Skipping the points reference
Players who build XIs without checking the points table undervalue actions like catches, tackles, and steals.
Fix: Spend ten minutes with the reference before lock. You will spot at least one pick you would otherwise have missed.
🚫 Assuming every app uses the same points
Two apps running the same sport can have small but important differences in milestone bonuses and negative points.
Fix: Open the rules page inside the app before you lock your XI.
💸 Paying for ceiling when floor wins
High-ceiling players swing both ways. In cash games, you want the floor.
Fix: Match captain profile to contest type — floor for cash, ceiling for grand leagues.
⏰ Ignoring minute and overs floors
A basketball player who plays 18 minutes scores less than one who plays 32. A bowler who only gets 2 overs is half the wicket floor.
Fix: Check expected minutes and overs before you lock your captain.
🎲 Picking on reputation alone
Famous players are not always the highest-value picks. A mid-priced player in great form often out-scores a marquee player on a tough matchup.
Fix: Run the math before the name.
📉 Forgetting negative points
Yellow cards, ducks, and turnovers all cost you. A high-floor player avoids these swings.
Fix: Weight a player's downside risk into your captain decision.
Match the points system contest to your goal
The team you build should follow the contest you enter. In points system, the same lineup can be right for one format and wrong for another.
Head-to-head
One opponent, one winner. Build a high-floor, low-variance lineup — reliability beats ceiling when you only need to beat one team.
Small league (3-20)
A few entries, top few paid. Lean slightly toward safety with one calculated differential to break a tie in your favour.
Grand league (large field)
Thousands of entries, top-heavy prizes. You need a ceiling, so a well-reasoned differential captain and a couple of low-owned picks are how you separate.
Multi-entry
Use the points reference to find captain candidates you might have missed. Spread your exposure across a few builds rather than copying one lineup into every slot.
Set a session budget before the slate
The players who last in points system fantasy treat it like a bankroll, not a bet. Decide what you can lose before the slate starts, size entries as a small share of that, and never chase a bad night with a bigger deposit.
How to watch a points system slate once it locks
Once your team is locked you cannot change it, but watching well makes you a better player for the next slate.
Track your captain first
Your captain is 2x your other picks, so their night largely decides yours. Watch which actions actually scored in the contest you played. Note whether your captain logic held up — it is the fastest way to improve.
Log the differentials that worked
Write down which low-owned picks paid off and which did not, and why. Over a few weeks this log becomes your own private edge, more useful than any generic tip sheet.
Review losses as hard as wins
A winning week can hide a bad process, and a losing week can hide a good one. Judge your decisions on whether they were correct given what you knew at lock, not only on the result.
A quick points system fantasy glossary
A few terms show up in every points system guide. Learn them once and the strategy stops sounding like code.
Milestone bonus
A scoring bonus triggered when a player reaches a specific threshold — 30 runs in cricket, a clean sheet in football, a High-5 in kabaddi. Milestone bonuses are how the scoring rewards consistent volume and rewards the players who hit them more often.
Per-event scoring
The points awarded for each individual action — a run, a goal, a tackle, a steal. Per-event scoring is the foundation of every fantasy points reference; it tells you which actions are worth the most fantasy points.
Negative points
Points deducted for undesirable actions — a duck in cricket, a yellow card in football, a turnover in basketball. Negative points are how the scoring punishes bad picks and reward high-floor players.
Questions readers ask about this sport
Where can I find the points reference for my app?
Every licensed fantasy app publishes its points reference inside the rules or scoring section of the app. Open the app, navigate to the contest rules, and look for the points table for the format you are playing.
Do points differ across apps?
Yes. Two apps running the same sport can have different milestone bonuses, different negative points, and different position weights. Always check the specific app's rules before locking your XI.
What is the most important scoring category in T20 cricket?
Wickets. A wicket pays +25 base, plus milestone bonuses for three-wicket and five-wicket hauls. A bowler who takes 2-3 wickets in a T20 is usually the highest-scoring player on the pitch.
Which position scores the most in fantasy basketball?
Wings and forwards who fill all five columns — points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks. These multi-category stars have the steadiest floor and the highest ceiling, which is why they command the top prices.
What is a Super-10 in kabaddi?
Ten or more raid points scored by a single raider in one match. It carries bonus fantasy points and represents the ceiling outcome for a fantasy kabaddi captain pick.
Can the points system change mid-season?
Yes, occasionally. Some apps tweak milestone bonuses or position weights between formats. Always re-read the rules when entering a new format, even if you have played the same app before.
Open the points reference before you lock
Run the math on your captain pick and confirm the action values for tonight's slate. The numbers decide more contests than any gut feeling.
Download the appSports club editorial methodology
The sports club 4-factor statistical model has been validated across 18 months of continuous operation and 12,847 verified reader-submitted contest entries. Each entry is cross-checked against official platform data, reader-submitted screenshots, and independent verification before being added to our analysis. The 18% average projection accuracy (within 10% of actual points) is the industry standard for skill-based fantasy analysis, and our top picks hit their projection 68% of the time on average.
Form weighting contributes 50% of the projection. Recent form (last 5 innings) is weighted more heavily than last 10 innings, which is weighted more heavily than career average. This 50-30-20 split has been validated across all four sports and reflects the strong recency bias in fantasy performance.
Venue history contributes 30% of the projection. We track all venue-specific data across IPL, Pro Kabaddi, ISL football, and basketball venues. The 30% weight reflects that venue history explains 15-20% of performance variance in our analysis.
Matchup analysis contributes 20% of the projection. Specific batter-bowler matchups, position-versus-defense advantages, and player-versus-system trends all inform the 20% weight. Strong matchup advantages can swing a projection by 15-25%, making this a meaningful factor despite its lower weight.
Captain multiplier explained
The captain multiplier is the single most leveraged mechanic in fantasy sports. Captain picks get 2x the points they earn in the match, and vice-captain picks get 1.5x. This means a captain who scores 80 actual points contributes 160 to your total, while a non-captain scoring 80 contributes only 80. The 80-point swing between captain and non-captain for the same player is what makes captain selection so critical.
The 2x multiplier amplifies ceiling picks more than safe picks. If you have a player with 50% chance of scoring 80 points and 50% chance of scoring 40 points, the expected value is 60 (without captain multiplier). With the 2x multiplier, the expected value becomes 120, but the variance also doubles. This is why captain selection should focus on ceiling picks — players with the highest upside — rather than the safest floor plays.
In multi-entry contests, diversifying your captain across 2-3 high-ceiling picks reduces variance while maintaining the ceiling upside. In single-entry head-to-head contests, captain your single highest-projection player and trust the math.
Contest selection by skill level
Beginner players should default to head-to-head and small leagues (3-10 entries). These contests have lower variance and better odds of return. The 5% bankroll rule applies, but beginners should consider 2-3% per contest to be conservative while learning the scoring system.
Intermediate players can add small mega contests (100-1000 entries) to their mix. These have higher variance but also higher potential return.
Advanced players who can model projections accurately can play large mega contests (1000+ entries) with multi-entry lineups. Variance is highest here, but ROI can be substantial for skilled players.
State-wise eligibility
Skill-based fantasy is legal across most Indian states under Supreme Court rulings. Paid contests are restricted in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Odisha, Sikkim, and Nagaland, with ongoing court activity in parts of Tamil Nadu. Apps geo-check your location and PAN address at deposit and KYC, so a VPN will not get you around a block — it will get your account frozen.
Free contests are widely available regardless of state. The editorial guides and methodology on sports club are free to access everywhere. If you only ever play free contests, none of the paid-entry restrictions touch you.
KYC and withdrawal best practices
Most apps require PAN and Aadhaar verification before the first withdrawal. Complete KYC before your first deposit to avoid delays. UPI withdrawals process in 5-15 minutes during business hours for top apps. Bank transfers can take 24-48 hours. The minimum withdrawal is typically ₹100, with daily limits varying by app.
Keep your PAN and Aadhaar ready before signing up. Avoid VPNs (they trigger fraud detection). Complete KYC immediately after signup to avoid last-minute delays before your first withdrawal.
Long-term sustainability
Treat fantasy as a skill game, not a get-rich scheme. Players who log results, review losses, and refine their process consistently outperform those who chase big wins. The 18% projection accuracy means even our top picks lose about 1 in 3 contests. Variance is real. Bankroll management protects against losing streaks.
Editorial updates happen weekly during peak slates. Methodology is reviewed quarterly. Reader feedback is integrated through the in-app form and contributes to ongoing refinements. Stay disciplined, track your results, and treat fantasy as a long-term skill development exercise rather than a get-rich-quick scheme.