Bankroll Management in Sports Betting

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Getting started with Bankroll Management in sports betting is easier than it may seem at first. It’s a matter of reviewing your budget, a few options for strategy and routine, and making a decision.

Do not stress too much about this initial decision! Once you get started, the next step is to re-evaluate. In other words, this is not a permanent decision. Think of it as a test-run. 

So the first step is to decide what your budget for sports betting is. This is the base of what you can do. It is the bankroll you will manage. 

From there, ask yourself if you work best with routines or strategies. 

• In other words, do you work best with an automated structure? One that you set up and then can follow along with simple rules? Then look for a routine
• Or, do you like to have guidelines? Do you prefer to set advice that directs how to make bets, but till gives you some wiggle room? Then look for a strategy. 

Routines are great for a number of reasons. You are guaranteed to stay within budget. You will learn to bet with a cool head, and not let your heart rate get the best of you. 

Plus, they are the easiest to evaluate. Because the rules are so strict, it is easy to see changes you make. 

There are two main routines to choose from: Unit-based, or percentage-based

Bankroll Porcentage Approach

Another approach to Bankroll Management in sports betting is the percentage approach. This requires a little more planning.

That’s because how much you bet is a percentage of the funds left in your account. So you should decide how much to put into your account with this in mind. 

• The advantage here is that you will risk a little bit less every time. So it will be a long time before you use all your funds. This is for long-term, dedicated bettors. 
• One downside of this is that you have to be more sophisticated when it comes to evaluating your strategy. Because the risk is not always the same, you have to keep that in mind as you evaluate. 

If these strict rules don’t give you the breathing room you seek, then we recommend a Bankroll Management strategy. Having a strategy, rather than a routine, means finding your own way with a little more freedom.

The downfall is that it makes the evaluation stage a little more difficult. 

In this bankroll strategy, you focus on making safe, conservative bets. This conservative strategy is the favorite of lots of the most famous bettors, such as Stu Ungar.

Safe bets are great for newcomers, but there is no reason to abandon this strategy necessarily with more experience. Many have made whole betting careers on this strategy. If you’re a newcomer, we recommend signing up at smooth and trusted sites like Bovada.

We recommend making bets that have a little bit of risk. If the bets are too safe, the profit margins will be too small to make a profit.

You can combine safe bets with a conservative percentage or unit approach as well  

Longshots are when you bet on the underdog, or outside in any given contest. You can bet on the slow horse, or the slower soccer team. 

Longshot bets should not be a base in your Bankroll Management. However, once you start to understand the base of your sports betting Bankroll Management more, you can start to add these types of bets.

We recommend making safer bets the bedrock of your strategy. Once you get that under control, you can add in regular longshot bets. The more regular you make these types of bets, the easier you will be able to evaluate its effect.

When you start to add these in, don’t change other things at the same time. This way you can see how it affects your bottom line and adjust your Bankroll Management accordingly.

How exactly do you monitor and evaluate your Bankroll Management strategy? 

The first step is surprisingly easy: Just sign in, and look at your numbers.

• Ask yourself when was the last time you deposited and how much you currently have in your account.
• If you still have a lot of funds in your online sports betting account, it may be a sign that you can throw in some longshots. Or maybe start to increase your risk. 
• Some bettors like to make sure they have funds for big sporting events, like March Madness. Others like to make weekly bets throughout the regular season. 

Whatever your strategy or your method of evaluation, the most important is starting bankroll for sports betting. 

The earlier you get started, the sooner you will gain laser control over your bankroll and your sports betting.

Your strategy and routine will evolve. And only you can decide what’s best for you. What we know is that Bankroll Management is key to being the best online sports bettor possible. 

Our Takeaways