The Science of Money Management

March 30, 2008

Being successful in sports betting requires two essential ingredients. The first is having the largest margin between wins and losses. Although this may seem obvious, there is more complexity involved than you may think. The common betting public believes that winning percentage is the key statistic needed to be successful in sports betting. This is not entirely true! Winning percentage is very important but not necessarily the most accurate barometer in determining how profitable your season of sports betting will be.

With all bets being equal, you will increase your bankroll faster if you make more bets (even if your overall winning percentage is lower) rather than making fewer bets with a higher win rate. Let’s say you go 4-1 (80%) on all your plays for a given weekend. If you are a $100/game player, you would have profited $290. During that same weekend, if you had made more plays and gone 7-3 (70%) you would have profited $370. At 4-1 you would be +3 for the weekend as opposed to +4 if you had gone 7-3. This is why your overall plus/minus is more important than your winning percentage.

The second necessity for successful sports betting is the size of your wagers. Keeping your wagers consistent is a must. When I say “consistent” I’m not implying that you wager the same amount for every game all year long. All wagers should be based on the size of your bankroll. If you start the year with $500, you should wager no more than 5% (or $25) of your bankroll on any 1 game. Now, let’s say after 3 weeks you have increased your bankroll to $1000. By using the same rule of only betting 5% of your bankroll or less, you will now be wagering $50 per game.

Using consistency and discipline in your sports betting will allow you to weather the volatility in wins and losses during the course of a season and keep your bankroll moving in a positive direction.

Written by Cover The Number · Filed Under Sports Betting

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