Sports Betting Money Management: Getting Started

Written February 9, 2009 by Ryan Moss

sports-betting-money-management-020909 The first step for any sports bettor is to look at wagering as an investment, not a gamble. To the pros, wagering on sports is no different then the stock market. It is the process of investing money based on research and hard work. Thus, you must make a decision of how much money you are willing to invest. This should be the amount of money that you are willing to lose and money that you can afford to lose. Sports betting can be very volatile so you absolutely cannot be betting money that is used to pay your daily, weekly, and monthly bills. Never, ever make a wager with money that you absolutely need financially.

The next step is finding the right amount of the betting bankroll that you have set aside to wager on one particular game. Experts have been debating this question for years but in my experience, most pros bet between 1 and 5 percent of their betting bankrolls and I firmly believe in this strategy as well. You should never bet more than 5% of bankroll on one particular game. Now that we have set our parameters for bankroll management, we have to find the correct percentage for you as a sports bettor to wager on the outcome of one game. This is where it gets tricky.

I personally am a quality over quantity gambler, meaning I only like to bet a very small amount of games. I generally bet one game a day. Sometimes I will bet two and other days, I will pass. For me, it makes sense to wager 5% of my bankroll on each play I am betting on since I am only betting the absolute strongest plays on the board each day. If you are going to be what’s known as a volume bettor, betting anywhere from 5 to 10 games a day, you should bet less. Pros that are betting volume generally bet 1 or 2 percent of their bankrolls on each selection they make. Now if you fall in the middle, betting between 2 and 5 games a day, I recommend betting 3% of your bankroll.

All of the above guidelines are based on the premise of being a flat bettor, meaning you bet the same amount on each game. I am a firm believer in flat betting but many professional handicappers rate their plays from weakest to strongest. If you decide to do this, you should still stick to betting between 1 and 5% of your bankroll on any given game, however with this style you must deviate how much to bet on a game based on its rating or strength. Therefore, your strongest games should be 5% and your weakest selections should be 1%. Most handicappers use the star system: 1*, 2*, 3*, etc. For each star that a handicapper places on a game is a percentage you should wager. If you use a handicapper who has a larger range then 5*, then your parameters have to be set up a little differently. But always stick between 1 and 5%. This style of betting will give you the best chance at long term financial success and make it possible weather the storms of inevitable losing streaks.

We have a lot more sports betting information for you on this site, so check out the links below and become a better sports gambler.

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2 Comments

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2 Responses to “Sports Betting Money Management: Getting Started”

Rex on February 9th, 2009 9:08 am

Too much time is wasted debating Kelly v. straight betting. As long as one does not flip flop back and forth, it comes down to the quality of the bets.

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Aaron on August 10th, 2009 9:50 am

Flat betting is safer, but what do you think about progressive betting systems? I have tried some with craps and blackjack. Do they work with sports betting money or are there other, better options?

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