Bankroll Management 101
It goes without saying that bankroll management is crucial when it comes to making a profit out of sports betting. It is quite impossible for a punter to win every bet. The mathematical law of probabilities simply forbids it (unless you have inside information). Which means that if a bettor does not pay attention to the amount of money they place on each bet, it is more than likely that they will go bankrupt. That is why proper bankroll management is imperative if you want to have a sustainable source of income.
The picture of the repercussions of submitting to this addiction is quite gloomy and there are plenty of examples of:
Defining a Bankroll
A bankroll is defined as the amount of money a person puts aside to be used for a specific purpose. In our case, the amount of money from your total income to be allocated for bets. However, it is not just any amount of money, nor is it whatever is left after all your basic expenses are covered. There are rules and:
- You need to decide on how much you can lose if everything goes downhill.
- You need to exercise full control of yourself. You cannot start acting like a junkie looking for his fix.
- You need to confidently practice successful bankroll management strategies that will result in a sustainable profit in the long run. I.e., you must not go after “the big score”.
The Fundamentals of Bankroll Management
The whole point of bankroll management is not just to avoid losing everything. It is to implement ways that will provide a steady stream of profit while minimizing the losses. Generally speaking, the penultimate scenario is to risk only the initial amount of money. The aforementioned ways will guide you on actually investing this amount through a set of strategies so that it provides the initial profit. Then you can use this profit to continue. It sounds simple. It actually is.
The first thing to always have in mind is that the house will always make a profit unless there is a one-in-a-million occurrence of a completely unforeseen set of results that will make them pay tremendous amounts in punter profits. We have already explained how the bookmakers calculate their odds. So, how do you “go beat the bookie” as the saying goes?
Rule #1: The punters are not the underdogs. A properly applied bankroll management provides the means to make rational betting decisions, strengthen your hand and allow you to fight on equal terms. Let’s talk about that.
Practicing Proper Bankroll Management
1. Choose your bankroll
The first and foremost step is to determine how much you can afford to lose and consider this amount as already lost (psychology 1-0-1). It must be an amount resulting after you have already deducted from your total income any and all amounts that cover your regular expenses and any and all amounts that should be directed to your life’s savings.
2. Choose a staking plan
Roughly speaking, this plan refers to the percentage of the bankroll of your step 1 that you will place as a stake for each bet. Professional bettors adopt different approaches when it comes to determining this percentage. There are 3 available models to choose from. Let’s have a brief explanation on each:
The flat betting model:
Most bettors choose to use the same unit for each and every wager regardless of the odds and the confidence level. The flat betting model is mostly considered as one of the safest ways to ensure profitability. The only thing you need to do is to decide on your unit size per single bet and adhere to this fixed stake during your betting journey. One unit equals to a set amount in the currency used. For example, you may set your unit to be €5.00.
Percentage model:
The only difference between the percentage and the flat model is that, while the latter requires you to set a fixed unit size in advance, the former lets you determine your stake according to your bankroll. For example, should you start with a €1,000 bankroll and opt for staking 1% of your bankroll on your first bet, this means that you will place €10. If you lose this bet, your bankroll will dwindle to €990, which means that on your next bet, you will place €9.90.
Confidence model:
As the name suggests, this model entails defining confidence levels for each bet and adapting your unit size accordingly. You can wager using a scale of 1-10 (10 being the riskiest, 1 being the likeliest). Although this model is adopted by most professional tipsters, it is not recommended for rookies until they are sure that they have acquired the ability to win most of their confidence-based bets consistently.
3. Do your homework
The one common denominator that you will find in every sort of advice that has to do with winning bets, is to do some research before placing your first (or any bet for that matter) bet. This research should include finding out all available information pertaining to the event that you wish to bet on. Form and status of the opponents, weather conditions, injuries, punishments, etc…
Most of all you should always listen to the advice of those providing professional betting tips on the subject. They may not be 100% successful, but they are eminently capable of properly analyzing the specifics covering each event.
4. Track your bets
Regardless of your overall strategy, keeping track of your bets is essential. To audit your performance, you can create a spreadsheet and keep an account of the details listed below:
- Date of your bet
- Betting market
- Stake
- Odds
- Result of the bet
- Profit/Loss
Tracking your results will provide you with the needed data for the determination of whether your model works or not. You can also find out which markets you are better at, which sports are eating off of your bankroll and how the odds are affecting your profitability. Alternatively, you can open yourself an account at the best betting software, where you will have the chance to check your betting activity through the most advanced filtering systems.
Conclusion
To make a steady profit out of betting is a marathon, not a sprint. It is possible that you could become a millionaire overnight, however, the chances of it happening are extremely low to negligible, and you should never let such a chance determine your bankroll management. Take the steps we have described, arm yourself with patience and discipline, team up with the best betting agent to feel safe about your money, and above all, stay the course to the end!
One last piece of advice: There will be times that you will find yourself in the middle of a losing or a winning streak. You must not let the losing streak bring you down or the winning streak cause you to drop your guard and increase your risk level! Keep your head and any losses will be replaced very quickly, while unexpected profits may help you cover other needs.
