Placing bets on football, basketball, and other sports events will help bettors make a profit not only if they regularly but also if they understand how to manage their bankrolls. Players must be able to calculate betting amounts, control how much they’ve won and lost. This way they will be able to avoid large expenses and addiction.
For calculating expenses, bettors use lots of strategies. However, only a few of them are really helpful for bankroll management. These 5 are the most reliable ones.
The Most Useful Ways of Bankroll Management
Here are the main bankroll management strategies helpful for both inexperienced bettors and professionals:
- Flat.
- D’Alembert’s strategy.
- Kelly criterion.
- Miller’s system.
- Danish betting system.
- Fibonacci system.
These strategies are useful for different sports, and there’s no need to become a professional to implement them, even if they offer you to calculate your expenses with a formula.
Flat
It’s a strategy for beginners. Its primary difference is that it has fixed bet sums. Users have to determine it first and follow, regardless of some other factors.
There are several types of flat:
- Academic. The amount of the bet varies in the range 1-3% of the bankroll. Everyone can begin betting with 3% and keep the size if they have a lot of winning bets.
- Static. The sum of the bet makes 1% of the bankroll during the entire chosen distance.
- Aggressive. The bet must always stay 2-3% of the bankroll.
- Chaotic. This type is riskier than the previous ones because the bet is 5-15% of the bankroll on events with odds from 1.55.
Using this strategy, it’s hard to get huge winnings. However, while having losses you will save a bigger amount of your bankroll so that it won’t get too painful.
D’Alembert’s Strategy
D’Alembert’s strategy is based on the equilibrium law. According to probability theory, with each failure the odds increase that the next bet will win. The strategy consists of increasing the bet amount when you lose and decreasing it when you win.
Here’s an algorithm of this strategy:
- Decide the initial betting amount.
- Decrease the amount of the next bet by one unit if you haven’t won.
- Increase the size of the next bet by the size of the initial bet in case of winning.
- Increase the bet amount again by one more unit if the bet failed again.
Increase the bet amount until you make a profit. When you reach a result, complete the cycle. Using this strategy, choose events with odds from 2.00 and above.
Kelly Criterion
It’s a better choice for those who already have some betting experience, as the success of this strategy is determined primarily by the player’s ability to independently determine the probability of a particular event.
The strategy is a kind of competition between the player and the bookmaker, as the winner is the one who determines the probability of an event more correctly.
A simple formula can be used to convert the odds to a percentage probability. You have to divide 100% by the odd.
Kelly criterion is suitable for all sports, as well as for each game mode. You can use this strategy for both live and pre-match.
Fractional Kelly criterion is the same strategy, but the bet size is determined not as a face value, calculated on the basis of odds, probability estimate, and bank, but as a percentage of that sum. For example, the calculations show that you need to bet $50, but with the fractional Kelly criterion, it is worth betting $20.
Miller’s System
In this strategy, you need to select the rates which have a probability of failure close to 50%. So, the odds should be from 1.90 to 2.00. In this case, the size of the bet shouldn’t exceed 1-2% of the total bankroll. In this strategy, you need to start with 1% and raise the amount to 2% only when the bankroll grows by 25%.
This strategy is great for beginners. Cautious games will help them get into the essence of betting and understand some nuances.
Danish Betting System
The principle of the strategy is in the clear adherence to its rules. The amount should increase in arithmetic progression, but after each lost bet, it’s necessary to place the next bet with higher odds. Moreover, after each win, the process starts again.
Let’s look at an example where the player’s bankroll is $1,000, and the process starts with a $10 bet at odds of 1.50.
- A $10 bet at odds of 1.50 is a loss.
- A $20 bet at odds of 2.00 is a loss.
- A $30 bet at odds of 2.50 is a win.
Fibonacci System
Fibonacci numbers are elements of a numerical sequence:
0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21…
In this sequence, the first two numbers are either 1 and 1, or 0 and 1, and each subsequent number is the sum of the previous two numbers.
The principle of Fibonacci strategy for betting is simple: bet on a draw, and if you lose, bet on another. Repeat this until you win. There are only two additional important rules to follow:
Bet only if the odds are higher than 2.618.
This principle is based on a theory created in 1989. Then, bookies had the hardest time predicting a draw, and therefore this fact can be used. The bottom line is that you keep increasing your bets, so any winnings will compensate for previous losses. At some point, a win will happen and you will end up in the black.
Summary
After all, bank management isn’t a substitute for a betting strategy. If betting takes you into deficit, it will help you lose smaller sums. However, it’s not a magic pill that will make betting profitable. Whichever strategy bettors choose, they should remember that the key is discipline. It’s important to adhere to the chosen strategy and not to give in to emotions.