Originally <a href='http://www.sportsbookreview.com/forum/showthread.php?p=22303755'>posted</a> on 07/25/2014:

Because anytime you put money at risk you should ask yourself two basic questions. When do I get my money back and what’s my return on investment?

You should be gambling for profit and therefore should know what you are getting for your money.

It does good to track all three, I suppose, but when comparing them, what you get per dollar wagered is most meaningful and most useful. Often, bets cost different prices, or different odds, making your win loss record less meaningful or almost useless, as in baseball.

A great deal of successful gambling involves understanding the odds of games involved. It’s a numbers game and understanding the numbers is essential.

For example, risking the same each time, one can lose a 10 to 1 bet 8 times and then finally hit the payout for profit. But his record is dismal.

Profit, translated to return on investment, translated to specifically what you make per dollar wagered, is the winner’s way to track.

This is, of course, if one is interested in gambling for profit.