In order to be a successful gambler you must be able to do two things. You must be able to spot value and you must know how to manage your money.
To be able to spot value means to pick out over priced selections and bet on them. For example, if a bookmaker if offering odds of 4/1 on a horse but you think this horse has a 3/1 chance of winning then there would be value in betting on said horse.
Whether your finding the overpriced selections yourself or you are following a tipster, this is just one part of being a successful gambler.
Once you have found value, you are left with the question how much should you bet on it.
This is where many gamblers slip up, betting too much and losing there entire bankroll on a bad losing streak.
As the old saying goes, “Slow and steady wins the race”. This couldn’t be truer when it comes to managing a betting bank. It is far better to bet less and grow your bankroll slower than be left with no bankroll at all.
What is a Bankroll?
Your bankroll is how much money you have set aside for your betting. It is not the total amount you have in your bank account.
This is because even if you are following a proven tipster and following a good bankroll management strategy you could still lose your entire bankroll.
However, by following some basic bankroll management principles you can greatly reduce your risk of going broke and hopefully make some good profits.
Tipsters
Whenever you are following a tipster service it is very important that you apply sound bankroll management.
If you are following a proven tipster service you can expect to win more than you lose in the long run but your bankroll must be able to withstand any losing streaks that occur.
I strongly believe that most tipster services advise far too small a bankroll with some services advising bankrolls as small as 25 points.
I suggest the absolute largest amount you should be betting on any selection is 1/2% of your total bankroll. This means have a 200 point bankroll (MINIMUM).
Anything less than this exposes your bankroll to too much risk. The larger your bankroll the less you have to worry about variance and losing streaks.
Slice of the Pie Betting
There are many different types of bankroll management strategies, but, today I am only going to discuss one.
This is due to the fact that it is very effective bankroll management strategy and more importantly, it is very simple to follow.
This is also the bankroll management strategy that I have followed successfully and will continue to follow.
What is Slice of the Pie Betting?
Slice of the pie betting is where you bet set percentage of your bankroll (a slice of the pie) on each bet.
As the pie gets bigger, the amount you stake will increase and vice versa.
So how much should you be betting? How big are the pie slices?
I would recommend betting no more than 1/2% of your bankroll at anytime. I used to bet 1/2% of my bankroll but have recently scaled it down to a 1/4% of my total bankroll. As I mentioned previously, slow and steady.
Changing your Bet Size
I tend to only increase or decrease my bet size when my bankroll has increased or decreased by ~20%.
For example, if I had a bankroll of £10,000 my bet size would be £25 (following a 1/4% bet size). Once my bankroll had grown to £12,000 I would then adjust my bet size to £30.00.
The same is true if your bankroll decreases in size. If my bankroll had decreased to £8000.00 I would adjust my bet size to £20.00
Percentage based bankroll management will always be my preferred method of bankroll management. It has an advantage over point based betting systems due to your bet size growing as your bankroll grows.
This allows you to grow your bankroll faster whilst not taking on any extra proportionate risk.
Bad bankroll management is one of the main reasons why people fail at being a successful gamblers.Remember, it is a marathon, not a sprint. When it comes to bankroll management, there is no shame in being cautious.
If you follow the simple advice above you will be able to avoid the common pitfall that plagues many amateur gamblers, bad bankroll management, and be well on your way to becoming a successful bettor.
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