Money management is a tedious task that requires you to consider many factors. Even a small mistake can turn your long-term profits into major losses if you’re not careful. This doesn’t apply to business management or banking, but bankroll management plays a significant role in online sports betting.
Why is Bankroll Management so Important in Online Sports Betting
We mentioned above that bankroll management plays a significant role in sports betting, but we’re sure you must be wondering why. Well, what are the three most essential things you need to place a wager on sports? You have to pick the team you think will win, find a bookmaker who can help place the bet, and….money. If you have depleted all your financial resources, what’s the use of the other two resources?
With bankroll management, you can keep a good check and balance on your money and ensure that you have a foot in the game at all times. Without practicing bankroll management regularly, you can end up in a rocky place with money on some occasions and no money on others. And if you wish to pursue sports betting as a full-time gig, this can create major issues for you.
Have you ever wondered how the professional bettor, William T. Walters, was able to extend his winning streak for over 30 years? That’s because he made sure his bankroll was safe and under control at all times.
Added Benefits of Bankroll Management
To become a successful sports bettor, you need something more than just luck and the right knowledge about the sport you choose to wager on. The way you handle your money is what sets the difference between being a short-term winner and a long-term winner.
Here are three reasons why you NEED bankroll management:
Limits Chasing Losses
It’s very easy to get carried away when you face losses during betting, especially during the initial years of betting. With time you can learn to control your impulses, but initially, it can be quite difficult to cope with losses.
For example, you bet on the Lakers to win the game, but they lost by the mark. In the spirit of trying to recover the lost money, you make another bet so you can cover up the previous loss and maybe even make some profit. You lose this bet too, and suddenly, you seem to be more confident that you’ll win the next. This endless cycle has bankrupted some of the most expert bettors in the past.
Bankroll management ensures that you don’t run after your losses no matter what. Entering a losing streak is natural, as most professional bettors sometimes face it. But when you put a cap on the amount of money you’re willing to allocate to betting every day, you stop yourself from entering this endless cycle.
Prevents You from Chasing the Big Score
Let’s say you placed five small bets, and you won them all. Suddenly you feel hot and want to win a big bet by increasing the stakes substantially. With this increase in stakes, you can increase your winning probability, boosting your bankroll.
Most of the time, this overconfidence is generally a feeling of “high” you get when you win back-to-back bets. However, this doesn’t provide any assurance that you will win the next big bet too. Bankroll management helps by saving you from such scenarios of overconfidence because, in a flash, you can lose all of your bankrolls in one big bet.
If you’re worried that you’ll never be able to place big bets, think again. Since you placed each wager based on a percentage of your bankroll, as your bankroll increases, the amount you bet every day increases along too. This is an organic and safe way of growing your bankroll and daily betting limit.
Helps Survive Multiple Loses
Most bettors assume that the losing streak can put you knee deep in losses. Whereas the truth is that a losing streak can only put a damper on your profits if you persist with that endless cycle we discussed above. When you want long-term profits, bankroll management is your best friend.
Handling your betting finances regularly and properly allows you to regroup the lost assets and bounce back. In fact, this is the moment when bankroll management comes in handy the most. Solid bankroll management strategies can prevent you from losing too much money in a short span of time if the trend continues to grow.
10 Bankroll Management Tips
Bankroll management is an art that can take time to perfect. You’re bound to make some mistakes initially, but learning from these mistakes will help you grow. Here are some bankroll management tips for you.
1. Tracking Your Bets
The first and most important tip is always to track your bets, whether they’re big or small. Keeping a close eye on the amount you’ve wagered and what you’re betting on, along with the odds, helps analyze your wins and losses. And when you are actively monitoring your bets, it prevents you from repeating the same mistakes repeatedly in many aspects.
2. Never Rely on One Bookmaker
Most bettors end up choosing one bookmaker and then relying on them solely to make bets all along. The key to bankroll management is splitting your daily limit amongst multiple bookmakers. This not only allows you to be more flexible but also helps get the best value for your money for a specific bet or event. That’s because, with one bookmaker, you are stuck with a specific set of limited odds. The more bookmakers you have, the wider your odds pool will be.
3. Be Consistent with Your Bankroll Management Strategy
There are many bankroll management strategies available that’s why it’s recommended to find one that fits you the best and stick with it. That’s because each strategy is suitable for a different set of preferences and betting styles.
For example, if you’re betting based on “units,” then you might bet 1%, 2%, or 5% of your bankroll, depending on the odds and amount of knowledge you have on the sport. However, the cap here remains 5%, and you can NEVER go above it. While there’s no one physically stopping you from doing it, it’s best to stick with the strategy and be consistent if you want to protect your bankroll and avoid bankruptcy.
4. Finding Value
Most bettors might start by looking for bets that offer easy wins. While this is one strategy, always remember that easy bets have the lowest odds, which means you will win quite a small amount. Instead of doing this, try looking for bets that offer the best odds for the money you’re investing. This approach will give you the best value for your money while slowly building up your bankroll, hence long-term growth.
5. Consistent Approach
Above, we discussed how it’s important to stick with the strategy that works best for you and be consistent with it. The same applies to your approach as well. This means try sticking to the markets and sports you have the most information about and are familiar with. Otherwise, there are high chances that you can misunderstand something and risk losing money.
6. Never Bet When Angry
The first rule of making winning bets is to bet with a cool head and never let your emotions take over your mind. For example, when you lose a few bets in a row, you’re bound to lose your temper and place more bets to win the lost money. This approach can cause further losses.
Instead, it’s best to shut down all betting applications when you’re in the hot zone and don’t come back until you feel like you’re in control again. Betting with a hot head can push you to invest in bets with high stakes even if you don’t have much information about it. And this can make you lose some big bucks.
7. Knowing When to Stay Out of Bets
You might feel like you “must” make a bet when you have the opportunity, but sometimes the best bet is when you don’t make one. Rather than jumping into anything and everything, it’s best to take your time and carefully research each bet to protect your bankroll. As easy as it might sound, learning the art of staying away can be quite difficult and takes time to be mastered, but in the long term, it always pays off.
8. Set Your Limits
This one is a tip and a bankroll management strategy that can stop you from losing all your bankroll in a single sitting. Setting a weekly or monthly limit is a great idea to let yourself know your cut-off point. Since implementing this and then sticking by it can be quite difficult as you’re always tempted to bet a little more, many online bookmakers do this for you.
Websites have a feature of setting a monthly, weekly, or even daily limit for betting. Anytime you try to exceed the set limit, the bet will not go through or provide a notification stating you’ve reached your limit.
9. Having a Fixed Bankroll
Everyone should know and understand that you don’t always win in betting. There are winning streaks, and then there are losing streaks too. That’s why it’s best to have a fixed bankroll that can differ based on your bankroll finances, betting styles, and overall preferences. This is the amount you should be prepared to lose in a month or week.
When you have chosen a bankroll amount, make sure you don’t deposit any more money into it to prevent your bankroll finances from being depleted.
10. Be Flexible with Unit Sizes
As mentioned many times before, sports betting is very unpredictable, where one day you’re winning, and the other three, you’re losing. This means your bankroll size can change drastically within hours or days. This is precisely why you should be open to reducing or increasing your unit sizes.
Just because you have a maximum limit of unit sizes for every day doesn’t mean you HAVE to trade them all. If you know you’re not having the best day, it’s better to invest little than invest and lose it all.
Greatest Bankroll Danger – Theft
The betting community is quite well-knit. If your bankroll is growing and you’re on a winning streak, there are high chances that other bettors in the market are aware of it which increases the threat of theft. One part of managing your bankroll is also to keep it safe from thieves.
While online betting is much safer than physical sports betting, you’re still at a risk of having your account hacked. That’s why apart from keeping your account information and password protected, only trust reliable and credible bookmakers to make your online bets.
As major sporting events come closer, many new and bogus betting sites surface with tempting odds to attract bettors and scam them. It has happened many times in the past and continues to happen today. That’s why the best way to prevent this from happening is to rely on the word of industry experts.
Betting Sites Ranking is an online website that offers detailed reviews of international betting sites with the help of some of the finest industry experts. These experts follow a strict review criterion to evaluate each site and compare the odds and offers. These betting sites are ranked from one to ten based on how accessible and easy they are while offering the quickest payout services. The last thing you want is to wait days or weeks until you get your winning payout, right?
That’s why don’t trust anyone else when it comes to bookmakers. Only place your bets on the websites recommended by the industry’s finest talents at Betting Sites Ranking!
