Bankroll Management Strategy & Tips

Avoid Exotic Bets & Straight Accumulators

So far, we’ve mainly discussed preserving your bankroll by means of sensible staking. Yet another method is to simply stick to sensible bets. Exotic bets, accumulators and Bet Builders are fun wagers that can have temptingly big odds, but those odds are large for a reason.

Bookmakers are confident in offering these types of bets with large prices, even though they could potentially cost them a lot of money. It’s because more often than not, these sorts of bets will lose.

We’re not saying that you should never take such a risk, but to be sparing. Generally, stick to sensible bets, that you think have a strong chance of winning.

Bet in Units

A common method of bankroll management is to bet in units. This often involves your stakes representing a certain percentage of your total bankroll. Say you had a bankroll of £1,000, for example. You might decide that a single unit would be 1% of that bankroll.

That would mean that at first, a single unit bet from that bankroll would have a stake of £10. If the bankroll grew with winnings, then the 1% unit size would grow. So, with a bankroll of £1,200, a 1% single unit bet would be £12. Or if the bankroll decreased, so would the value of the stake.

With a bankroll of £800, a 1% bet would have a stake of £8. This fluid method means that your level of risk decreases if you have a bad run and increases if things are going well. It creates a good balance between protecting your bankroll and cautiously increasing your risk when appropriate.

You can also adjust your level of unit per bet. If for example you were confident, you could place a 2% unit stake, while if you had doubts, you could decrease it to 0.5%.

Don’t Chase Losses

If you’ve had a bad run, it can be tempting to try and win back what you’ve lost. This can lead to bettors making emotional decisions, placing bets based on the odds, potential winnings or simply backing your favourite team.

A successful sports bettor will resist this temptation, accept that losses are inevitable and stay disciplined. Stick to your staking system and only place wagers where you think you have a strong chance of winning.

Flat Betting vs Percentage Betting

When we discussed betting in units, we discussed how to do this using a percentage of your bankroll. Another system used by many a profitable bettor is flat betting. With this system you select a level of stake and stick to it.

So say your current bankroll is £1,000. You might decide that each bet should be 1% of that bankroll, which is £10. You then stick to £10 being your level of stake, regardless of whether you’re successful and build a larger bankroll, or if the bankroll decreases in size.

A disadvantage of this system is that having the same bet size regardless of the size of the betting odds, doesn’t always make sense.

Use the Kelly Criterion

The Kelly Criterion is a mathematical formula used by many a seasoned punter. It is a system that helps to decide how much to invest in an asset to maximise wealth growth and can be applied to both financial trading and betting.

When it comes to online gambling, the formula looks at the odds and considers the implied probability of winning and losing, to decide your stake. The formula is as follows:

f = (bp – q) / b