Money management is something often overlooked and also something that is vital in being successful at sports betting. In fact there are many good handicappers that can pick games at a high rate of return but they fail to actually pocket anything because they don't have clear program to do so. I am going to attempt to sway those of you that are floundering with this most important part of sports wagering. This is something that I posted at pregame.com a while back and thought it was blog-worthy.
BANKROLLOne must have a clearly defined bankroll. A good bankroll is defined as the amount that you have allocated and set aside toward your wagering and not just what you might have in an online book at this very moment. It should be an amount that you can comfortably lose without putting yourself in a bind or changing your lifestyle in a dramatic way. For the sake of this example I am going to pick a bankroll of $5000. Yours might be higher and yours might be lower.
BANKROLL UNIT BETA bankroll unit bet is simply the amount of money you would wager per bet based on a percentage of your total bankroll. I recommend 1.5% per Unit based on my plays but on average my usual play would be 2 Units or 3%. I will also use that for this exercise. By limiting your average bet size to just 3%, you are in a position to weather any storms that will come your way. Your bankroll is going to flucuate much like the S&P on Wall Street. But the goal is to always see your money make an increase over a period time much like a quality stock will do. My Money Management Plan allows you to do that and also allows you to increase your wagers at safe intervals.
THE PLANThe Plan is a very simple one. Start will 3% wagers and increase your wagers as your bankroll increases, but do it at safe 20% intervals. This will allow you to get well over and beyond any real possibility of going back to the previous level but will also increase your chances of pocketing more money as your funds grow. I had hoped to build a chart and I will but for now I am just getting the info up as I feel it is very important. Take note that because I am using 3% Bankroll Plays as an example, it would take 6.67 Units won (3% X 6.67 = 20%) to reach the next level. That works out to be about 1.55 Units per week if you set a goal of moving up each level monthly. (1.55 X 4.3 weeks) It is important to note that once you reach a level, you should keep your wagers at that level until you reach the next one, either up or down. Now, for the fun part. Let's see what results would be based on these facts....
BANKROLL UNIT BET UNITS WON$5,000 150 6.67$6,000 180 13.34$7,200 220 20.01$8,600 260 26.68$10,300 310 33.35$12,300 370 40.02$14,700 440 46.69$17,600 530 53.36$21,100 630 60.03$25,200 760 66.70$30,200 900 73.37$36,300 1090 80.04
RESULTSAs you can see, by winning 6.67 Units per month, in one year, your bankroll would increase from just $5000 to over $36,000, yet your overall risk would remain the same, just 3% per wager. By increasing your wagers at pre-determined points and keeping your wagers at a basically even keel, you will be more successful than you have ever been before. Of course, at some point you will want to stop increasing your wagers as you reach your own comfort level. That is when the real fun begins as you start dragging your money of your accounts. At this point, all you need to do is to make sure you are getting good advice on what to bet or have a plan yourself to accomplish that same goal. I have certainly reached my comfort level and you will too if you follow this program. I hope that you choose to do so.
Great article - stressing patience is key as well. If you can't make 6.67 units per week, stay the course. Get those 6.67 units over 2 weeks, or a month. Whatever it takes, but don't rush the system, or you're setting yourself up for a fall.
Great Article, when i began gambling I would deposit 20-50 bucks at a time and i would have my balance down to zero before i knew it. But then I smartened up and deposited $1,000 started out betting ten dollars a game, then 13, then 20, etc. Now my bankroll is over $5,000 and I never bet more than my alotted percentage and it works like a charm...Again great article
Great blog. I absolutely agree
thanks a lot for this article, i was looking for some advise like this long ago..... muchas gracias.
I just went through and re-read this again. This is a GREAT way for people with smaller bankrolls to begin to build. In theory you should always be able to get to +6.67 units before you got to -33.3 units (Which would kill your bank roll). Great approach here.
Just so long as you can be patient and not chase...
Great Blog Greg most people don't realize money management is just as important as the ability to pick winners.
There are a lot of ways to tweak this program. The Main thing is remain consistant with your wagers, increase you bets at safe intervals, and don't panic during a bad streak. Those are going to happen, no doubt about that. Even the very best handicappers have them and as long as you have a conservative program in place, they will not send you to the poor house, and you will be poised to capitalize when things get better.
This is one great blog. I emailed to a few bettors I know.
I like the way you increase your wagers at safe intervals. I was increasing mine almost on a daily basis & found my BR dwindle during a losing streak.
It goes without saying...........IF a sports bettor does not use PROPER Money Management........they flat out have NO SHOT at winning long term.....Great BLOG Greg.
I hereby recognize this post for a "Gold Star" per the Pregame Constitution's goal of informing & entertaining our community.
Greg Shaker- GREAT BLOG in regards to the ABSOLUTE MUST USE of CORRECT Money Management, to have ANY SHOT at winning long-term.
This Gold Star earns you an entry into our next Most Valuable Poster drawing for a chance at $1000 in cash! There's no limit to the number of entries you can earn, so keep up the good work!
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Thanks GF. Very kind of you to do this..
Great post...REGGIE lost you after "...Key to Betting Success"...lol
Maybe REGGIE needs to "tweak" something!
Regards,
RRR
THIS is the CRUX of WHAT PREGAME CAN DO that BENEFITS ALL OF US - as theatrical as it may sound....TIPS ON BANKROLL MGMT IS A CONCEPT THAT WE ALL WIN, AND PREGAME CAN DO BETTER THAN ANY OTHER MEDIUM I'VE SEEN TO DATE.
GREAT STUFF!
Variation on this is THE 4 X 4 STRATEGY:
I. ROLL SPLIT IN 4 EQUAL PORTIONS:
II. ONLY BET WITH 1 OF THE 4 ROLLS
III. BET NEVER TO EXCEED 20% OF THE ROLL USED EVERY DAY:
IV. UNIT COUNT = THIS 20% LIMIT DIVIDED BY MAX NUMBER OF WAGERS HAD IN ONE DAY THAT PREVIOUS MONTH (in my case, 5...rare, 0 to 3 is more likely)
VI. AFTER EVERY WEEK, UNIT COUNT IS RAISED (in one case this year - Feb, it had to be lowered), BUT THE % OF PROFIT, MINUS 20% TAKEN OUT TO 'PAY MYSELF'
* I also like to drop the 'loose change' (cents on the end of winnings), into a slush fund for Futures, Parlays, 'LONG SHOT' wagers that line-up really well - yet are not a calculated, bankable basis of Wagering Strategy - overall. (Although I'm sitting at +17 and climbing with this section of the ledger - almost all of it with Parlays).
In my opinion, TO GAIN CONSISTENT RESIDUALS OUT OF WAGERING - it MUST BE TREATED AS AN INVESTMENT FIRST:
AS SUCH - I AM ABSOLUTELY CONVINCED THAT IT CAN REALLY ONLY BE DONE WITH:
1. VOLUME
2. 100% COMMITMENT
SOUNDS OBVIOUS - BUT, HOW OFTEN DO WE HEAR GUYS SAY, "I really just wager on Selected Games - picking my sports....I don't have time and energy to study this stuff like you guys do."
I guess we should be THANKFUL for these squares - as they enable the Books to clean up, stay profitable and allow the 5-10% of us GRINDERS to methodically outwork and outmaneuver the minions of guys that still think of this as 'Gambling', and mostly 'Luck'.
AWESOME SUBJECT, GREG. Immensely appreciated study in Managing the Roll.
great replies, you all gave
this needs to be bumped on a regular basis