Betting on sports is one of the most popular hobbies for people: it’s simply fun to place bets on various events. And it’s a very interesting pastime for people who are interested in sports. Unlike online casino games and lotteries, betting on sports requires sports knowledge: it’s no use just hoping for luck and placing bets based on gut feeling. One of the cornerstones of successful betting on sports is so-called bankroll management or managing the betting budget. It is completely irrelevant whether you place bets with a virtual bookmaker or in a betting shop around the corner: bankroll management is a must for every bettor. And in this blog post we’ll go into what bankroll management actually is and what components it has.
Bankroll is the (monthly) betting budget
Bankroll in sports betting refers to a (monthly) amount that you set as your betting budget. You can actually understand the betting budget like a monthly budget: it is the sum for the (monthly) expenses. If you exceed the betting budget, you can get into financial difficulties.
The logic behind the idea of the budget is very simple. And bankroll is part of the monthly budget, the expenses that you are willing to risk on sports betting. Here is an example: A person has a monthly budget (net income) of 3200 euros. 10% of this amount, 320 euros, you are willing to spend on betting. The amount should be chosen wisely: you should never risk finances that are intended for more important expenses (rent, electricity, food, finances for savings, etc.)
By setting the bankroll, you set yourself the limit that you should not exceed. Managing your gambling finances is especially important because it requires a very disciplined approach. Betting on sports is inherently connected with emotions: you look forward to winnings, you experience constant ups and downs. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a novice or a professional player: gambling evokes emotions and adrenaline rushes in people. To ensure that your own financial situation is not jeopardized, you should protect yourself with bankroll management.
Why do you have to calculate bet stakes?
In addition to the bankroll, a bettor should also be able to determine bet stakes. So how high should the stakes be? Without careful planning of expenses, you can quickly lose too much money or even experience a total loss of your betting budget. The idea behind determining bet stakes is to keep the available betting budget for longer and, at best, also make a profit.
If, for example, you have a betting budget of 320 euros, then it’s probably not worth placing 300 on a tip. The risk of losing money is high, and then you’re left with only 20 euros. It’s just a very primitive example of such considerations behind bankroll management. Basically, there is an idea that a bet should not be more than 5% of the betting budget, but it is not a hard and fast rule for everyone.
To calculate the amount of the bets, you can choose the flat bets strategy. Each bet is a fixed percentage of the bankroll, e.g. 5%. You never exceed this amount. There are also various other strategies that set the amount of the bets variably and calculate them using various formulas. The strategy with flat (equal) bets is low-risk, but also not as attractive in terms of chances of winning. Which strategy you choose depends only on the person.