Basic bankroll management - Beginner question

**head_strong** · 04-28-09, 02:37 AM

Not to be a smart ass but it really comes down to wins and losses, if you are not winning games consistently it really doesn't matter how well you manage your $. Here is some very basic tips that might help you out.....as you gain experience things like hedging, live betting, etc. can also be helpful in keeping a solid bankroll.

Set goals, establish an amount that you are looking to make each month. If $500 is the amount each month, ask yourself if that’s an amount you can afford to lose as well without any worries. When you don’t have that amount you are trying to achieve you tend to make irrational decisions and generally end up reaching for an unrealistic goal. I wish I had back all the $10-$20 parlay’s I put in knowing that 90% of the time the outcome was not going to end up in my favor. Those small bets really add up and detract from the overall goal. I’m not saying don’t ever put in another parlay 3 or 4, but have the established bankroll where you don’t really notice it if you miss it, but defiantly is noticed if it hits.

Having a solid bankroll is important not only for financial state but more importantly with the mental state. You tend to think much more rationally and relaxed when you have an established bankroll as opposed to your last $100 and the pressure of having to hit. The same thought process applies during a 6 game winning streak, the tendency to become over confident and not put in the same effort research wise will quickly turn that winning streak into a losing streak. Whenever you feel like you have to hit a game that’s generally a sign of pressing, and probably resulting in a loss. When your account starts to drop after a couple of losses human nature is to press and try to recover that money, whether it be on the 10:30pm NBA game or the 11:00pm NCAA game it is generally best to stay away from the final games of the night, unless it was a game of interest from the beginning. The games never end, know that tomorrow will always be there for a chance for recovery. The mind set of wanting to get your losses back now, now, now will get you in trouble.

Good Luck Deledio2Tambling

**Deledio2Tambling** · 04-28-09, 03:59 AM

Originally posted by head_strong

Not to be a smart ass but it really comes down to wins and losses, if you are not winning games consistently it really doesn't matter how well you manage your $. Here is some very basic tips that might help you out.....as you gain experience things like hedging, live betting, etc. can also be helpful in keeping a solid bankroll.

Set goals, establish an amount that you are looking to make each month. If $500 is the amount each month, ask yourself if that’s an amount you can afford to lose as well without any worries. When you don’t have that amount you are trying to achieve you tend to make irrational decisions and generally end up reaching for an unrealistic goal. I wish I had back all the $10-$20 parlay’s I put in knowing that 90% of the time the outcome was not going to end up in my favor. Those small bets really add up and detract from the overall goal. I’m not saying don’t ever put in another parlay 3 or 4, but have the established bankroll where you don’t really notice it if you miss it, but defiantly is noticed if it hits.

Having a solid bankroll is important not only for financial state but more importantly with the mental state. You tend to think much more rationally and relaxed when you have an established bankroll as opposed to your last $100 and the pressure of having to hit. The same thought process applies during a 6 game winning streak, the tendency to become over confident and not put in the same effort research wise will quickly turn that winning streak into a losing streak. Whenever you feel like you have to hit a game that’s generally a sign of pressing, and probably resulting in a loss. When your account starts to drop after a couple of losses human nature is to press and try to recover that money, whether it be on the 10:30pm NBA game or the 11:00pm NCAA game it is generally best to stay away from the final games of the night, unless it was a game of interest from the beginning. The games never end, know that tomorrow will always be there for a chance for recovery. The mind set of wanting to get your losses back now, now, now will get you in trouble.

Good Luck Deledio2Tambling

Cheers mate

Still a few terms there I don't quite understand, such as parlays.

I'm just having trouble working out how much I should bet on different events, keeping in mind I may only deposit $50-100.

**head_strong** · 04-28-09, 04:31 AM

Sorry buddy but if you are "trying to make some serious cash" you are going to need more than $50-$100 to start off with, especially if you don't know what a parlay is. Google "sports gambling terms" and you can learn what everything means. It's called gambling for a reason, very few people have a set system in place that turns out $ consistently. I've been following sports all my life (I'm 26 years old) and gambling as a hobby for the past 10 years and just now gambling seriously for the past 2 1/2 years. This is nothing you can learn overnight, you need to figure out what fits you, what sports you have the most knowledge about and focus in on that. Learn from your mistakes and try not to repeat them. Over time you will start to notice certain trends and develop an eye for what you see as a play of value. Nothing is better then experience so I'd say either research a few games (make some dry bets, meaning not for actual $) and see what feedback you get, or since you said you have been reading here for awhile tail one of the cappers here you trust or a style you like. But I don't think anyone will have an answer for you on what amounts to bet on which events.

**reno cool** · 04-28-09, 04:49 AM

at your stage the best thing to do is keep records of your plays. Bet $5-$10 a game. Or any sum that has some meaning to you.

**Deledio2Tambling** · 04-28-09, 05:48 AM

Thanks guys. It must sound naive thinking I can turn 50-100 into big cash, I guess I don't know how hard it is to do such a thing.

So any thoughts on how I should attack my betting? I was kinda after a % of my bankroll that I can stick to when betting on certain events.

But I realise it may be more complicated than that, so I'm all ears

P.S - Serious cash to me would only be probably $500 max, so I'm not sure what you guys consider seriosu cash, maybe thousands, so does that make my goal a little more attainable?

**MadTiger** · 04-28-09, 06:32 AM

Originally posted by reno cool

at your stage the best thing to do is keep records of your plays. Bet $5-$10 a game. Or any sum that has some meaning to you.

At that starting level, I must add to play somewhere with low minimums (BoDog, etc.), and only start off at a dollar a bet.

**Arilou** · 04-28-09, 08:22 AM

There's nothing wrong with starting with $50, other than it limiting you to one book and limiting your choices to those with a $1 minimum. I would start off always betting $1 a game; it is important with a bankroll that small not to get too aggressive because you can't reduce your bet size any lower if you lose. Of course you won't be making real money any time soon, but right now that shouldn't be the issue. The money is simply a way to track what you are doing while you learn to be better, and to provide a sober reality check.

**dmolition** · 04-28-09, 10:16 AM

Try matchbook also for low limits especially i you bet MLB

**reno cool** · 04-28-09, 01:39 PM

The problem with betting an amount as trivial as $1 is that the gambler will lose interest, the bets become meaningless, and the motivation to become better disappears.

**Deledio2Tambling** · 04-28-09, 07:08 PM

Originally posted by reno cool

The problem with betting an amount as trivial as $1 is that the gambler will lose interest, the bets become meaningless, and the motivation to become better disappears.

So as an example, betting 10% of my bankroll each time wouldn't be a smart way to go about it?

Also, forgot to mention I'm from Australia, so most of my betting will be on Australian Rules Football, which I find is rather easy to bet on.

**Wrecktangle** · 04-28-09, 08:44 PM

D2T: I paper traded my first NFL season, i.e. I only made bets on paper and acted as if I had made money bets. Since the overfitted model I was using did quite well (above 60%), I moved on to bet the next season and lost my 1/2 BR ($300 in the early 80s) by mid-season. This caused me to go back and learn how to build proper models.

If you cannot beat the sport on paper, why risk money?

If you need action, and want to bet because you love it, then you have an addiction.

**reno cool** · 04-28-09, 09:23 PM

10% of a small bankroll is fine. Just don't adjust your bets. Flatbet the 10%. If you lose it find another $50. Or reevaluate your strategy.

**floridagolfer** · 04-29-09, 06:33 AM

I would second a lot of the suggestions mentioned previously.

Set a goal. If you've opened an account with $100, target getting that up to $150. That might not sound like it's very tough, but if you're wagering 5 or 10 percent of your bankroll, you can do the math as easily as I can to figure out what kind of winning percentage you need to attain in order to reach that. (Also look at that in realistic terms; that's a 50 percent gain and any investor would take that in a heartbeat.) Everyone is going to enjoy hot streaks, but trust us, you also are going to endure periods where nothing goes right.

My best tip? Stay patient. Chances are you'll end up losing ground soon after you stray from what's worked.

Oh, and to answer your question, a parlay is a wager that involves more than one team, BUT, ALL of your picks have to win in order for you to have a winning ticket. For example, you can place a single multi-team wager on Teams A, B and C, but you lose if you do anything other than go 3-for-3. While the payouts are better, obviously, parlays are more difficult to win than a selection on just one team.

**Deledio2Tambling** · 04-29-09, 07:16 AM

Originally posted by floridagolfer

I would second a lot of the suggestions mentioned previously.

Set a goal. If you've opened an account with $100, target getting that up to $150. That might not sound like it's very tough, but if you're wagering 5 or 10 percent of your bankroll, you can do the math as easily as I can to figure out what kind of winning percentage you need to attain in order to reach that. (Also look at that in realistic terms; that's a 50 percent gain and any investor would take that in a heartbeat.) Everyone is going to enjoy hot streaks, but trust us, you also are going to endure periods where nothing goes right.

My best tip? Stay patient. Chances are you'll end up losing ground soon after you stray from what's worked.

Oh, and to answer your question, a parlay is a wager that involves more than one team, BUT, ALL of your picks have to win in order for you to have a winning ticket. For example, you can place a single multi-team wager on Teams A, B and C, but you lose if you do anything other than go 3-for-3. While the payouts are better, obviously, parlays are more difficult to win than a selection on just one team.

Ahhh k thanks alot for that!

I'm from Australia and parlays are called multi-bets here, so that was the confusion.

Thanks alot to everyone who has offered their advice in this thread