Every sports bettor should be conscious of their bankroll, regardless of how much or how often they intend to bet. In order to be successful with sports betting, you will need to combine your research and sports knowledge with a little bit of mathematical precision. Even if you’re just starting out with sports betting as a hobby to inject a little more excitement into your favourite sports games, it’s important to know how to manage your money realistically. Keep the following steps in mind to get a basic grasp of how successful sports bettors manage and regulate their bankroll.
Determine the Size of Your Bankroll:
The amount of money that you should deposit into your sportsbook will depend on a number of factors, including your personal financial situation and what you are comfortable with. As a golden rule, you should never bet any money that you can’t afford to lose. Everybody is different when it comes to defining how much they can afford to lose, so take some time to assess your financial situation, be realistic, and figure out how much each week or month you can comfortably afford to spend at an online sportsbook.
Once you’ve figured out how much money you would be willing to potentially lose, come up with a figure that accurately reflects the amount of time you are willing to invest. For example, if you only plan to place bets a few times a year on large sports games and events, you should invest less than if you are planning on making multiple bets a week on smaller games. Come up with a number that you are comfortable with and stick with that. This helps you regulate your bankroll and avoid getting stuck in a trap of constantly making deposits and withdrawals while losing track of the bigger picture.
Choose a Percentage:
Once you have come up with an amount of money to set aside for your bankroll, it’s time to determine what percentage of it you will wager on any one sporting event. If you’re just starting out, it’s a good idea to select a unit size somewhere between 1-5% of your bankroll and keep the size of your bets consistent. If you want to be more conservative, bet between 1-2% of your bankroll each time you make a bet. On the other hand, if you have some experience and are a more confident bettor, you might want to consider better 3% of your bankroll, or even more if you are extra confident in your sports betting skills and knowledge.
It’s actually quite rare to see professional bettors wager any more than just 1% of their bankroll on any one event, so if you’re not sure which one to choose, stick between the range of 1-3% of your bankroll. This will allow you to stay disciplined and measured with your sports betting.
Re-evaluation:
Sports betting is very dynamic, much like the sports themselves. Because of this, it’s worth taking the time to re-evaluate your bankroll and recalculate your unit size throughout your sports betting career. If you find that you are either winning or losing in a big way quite often, then it’s likely that something needs to be adjusted. If you find yourself on a losing streak and your overall bankroll is quickly going down, it’s probably time to scale back your unit size and bet a lower overall percentage. Avoid betting more and increasing your unit size when you’re experiencing a bad run, in an effort to recoup your losses; it rarely works. Instead, if you find yourself stuck in a rut take some time to refocus and re-evaluate. Decreasing your unit size prevents you from losing too much too quickly.
If you are betting on sports purely for entertainment, decreasing your bankroll is often the right move. This allows you to stay in the game for longer and place more bets over time, even if you find yourself on a losing streak. Of course, you’ll need to take your sportsbook’s minimum betting requirements into consideration too.
To put things into perspective when it comes to how much you can expect to win, professional sports bettors tend to have a realistic expectation to win around sixty per cent of bets, so for the remaining 40% of the time, they expect to lose. Bear in mind that no matter how knowledgeable you are, losing is all part of the sports betting experience. But on the other hand, so is winning – so remember to keep your cool if you’re on a winning streak and make that your unit size stays at a healthy percentage in line with your risk tolerance. Try not to bet more than 5% of your bankroll at any one event, even if you’re having a good spell – your luck can easily and very quickly change in sports betting.
Other Tips to Consider:
Now you understand the basics of managing your bankroll when sports betting, keep these further tips in mind:
- Choose a reputable site: Only choose reputable sportsbooks to play with. When you’re just getting started, you might want to take advantage of sports betting bonus offers to get free money in your bankroll that you can use to practice with. Roger.com is a great sportsbook to get started with; it’s the best online sports betting site for several different sports and there is lots of advice on how to bet on sports with Roger.com.
- Bet with a clear mind: While it might be tempting to place some bets after you’ve had a drink or two – after all, drinking and watching your favourite sports games tend to go hand in hand – try to refrain from doing so. Betting while you’re under the influence of alcohol can cause your decisions to be impaired and you might end up placing bets that you later regret. Instead, get your bets placed before you start drinking, while your mind is clear.
Sports betting can be a fun hobby to try if you’re interested in sports and want to be in with the chance of winning some extra cash. But sensible management of your bankroll is essential to make sure that it stays fun and enjoyable.
