Money Management: Thoughts and Tips on How to Manage Your Betting Capital
by George of Lootmeister.com
Sports betting, for the serious gambler, is similar to investing in the stock market or real estate. The only difference is that sports betting is probably a lot more fun. The key to being a successful investor—betting sports or the Fortune 500—is to protect your number one asset, and the one thing that allows you to continue to invest—your money.
One of the biggest mistakes that sports bettors make is not managing their bankroll properly. Many beginning bettors do not view wagering on sports as an investment, and even if they do, most will still not put in the extra time to mange their bankroll. Some gamblers will wager above their means, while others will spend their winnings recklessly. There are many money management mistakes that sports bettors tend make with their capital that other investors will not.
The first step toward managing your money properly is to realize that sports betting is an investment, and money is your biggest tool to help you succeed. If your bankroll is constantly in flux you will not always have money to bet, and in turn will probably miss out on a more than few excellent gambling situations.
Sports Betting Money Management Tips
Start a Bankroll This tip is simple, however not all gamblers do it. One of the first steps to being a successfully player is to keep your money separate. Your number one money management tip is to start a bankroll. Many times a gambler can overlook his losses and simply keep pulling money from the ATM. If you keep your money separate you instantly become more accountable, because if you lose all of your sports betting bankroll one week into the season, then you cannot keep betting.
Decide on a Betting Unit One of the worst mistakes a bettor can make is to bet randomly. Choosing your bet sizing based off of a whim is a sure fire way to become a losing bettor. The best way to decide on your bet sizing is to set a base betting unit of anywhere between one to three percent of your total gambling bankroll. If you have $1000 dedicated to sports betting, then a single unit should be anywhere from $10 to $30. Of course you can adjust according to how aggressive you plan to be, but, at minimum you should have a standard betting unit.
Set a Max Wager Once you have a betting unit, the next step is to set a max wager on any single game. For starters, you are not always only going to wager one-unit on a game. There will be games where your analysis is strong and you feel like a certain wager has an excellent chance of winning and in those situations you should obviously bet more. Your max wager on any game should be no more than 10 percent of your bankroll, and even then, that is very high. You are bettor off setting a max wager of five to eight percent of your bankroll. So, if you have $1000 and your units are two percent of your bankroll, then your max wager on any game should be $50 to $80.
Do Not Chase Losses One of the most important money tips is to never chase losses, or start making bad bets in order to get even. Sports betting is a long grind, and you will take your fair share of losses over time. If you happen to be on a particularly bad losing streak or just frustrated, it is better to take a break for the day and regain your composure, than to continue betting and trying to get your money back. Betting is a slow burn. In order to be successfully you need to take advantage of small edges over an extended period of time.
Dealing with Bad Beats Bad betting beats are a part of the process. A bad beat is when you place a wager that is a huge favorite to win, and the bet somehow ends up losing. An example could be that your team is covering the spread by a large margin with only a couple of minutes left in the game, and then the coach decides to sit his starters, and the team wins the game but does not cover the spread. Weird situations happen in sports all the time. The key is to stay focused and realize that bad beats happen.
