A common mistake that punters make is to randomly vary the amounts of money they stake on each bet.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
You might be tempted to put a big bet on a \u201csure thing\u201d, place a smaller bet on a long odds outcome, or even just bet the balance of your bankroll as you try to chase a loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This approach has many potential downfalls. It can lead you to make betting decisions based on your emotions and make it difficult to measure the success of your betting activities over the long run. It may also encourage you to aim for large, risky short-term gains rather than focusing on long-term profits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The simplest way to avoid these potential pitfalls is to use flat betting. This simple money management strategy involves staking the same amount of money every time you place a bet. It\u2019s easy to calculate how well your bets are doing when you use flat betting. You simply divide your winnings by the number of bets you\u2019ve made to calculate your average return on each bet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Setting a stake value<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nIn conjunction with using flat betting, it\u2019s important to calculate the optimal amount of money to spend on each bet. Experienced sports betting strategists recommend spending 1 to 2% of your bankroll on each bet. If this percentage seems low, consider that using 1% of your bankroll guarantees you at least 100 bets, 2% guarantees you 50 bets and 3% guarantees just 33 bets. Raise the percentage to 10% and you\u2019re guaranteed only 10 bets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Keeping your stake value at a small percentage of your bankroll gives you more betting opportunities. This means that your bankroll will last longer, and that you\u2019re protected from going bust on long losing streaks. It\u2019s best to base your flat betting stake size on your monthly bankroll budget, rather than on your overall bankroll amount. This is because the size of your bankroll will fluctuate over the course of a month, making it difficult to maintain the correct stake size and use flat betting at the same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Banking profits<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nIf you earn an overall profit for a month of sports betting, it\u2019s a good idea to \u201dbank\u201d your winnings. You can do this by setting the winnings aside as cash or keeping them in a separate bank account. Don\u2019t leave these funds in your account with a bookmaker or you may be tempted to use them to chase losses. Start fresh for the next month, depositing your monthly betting budget into your betting account. Using this technique, you get to watch your profits grow steadily, and you\u2019ll have access to a betting-based savings account when you need it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Setting limits<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nBreaking your budget and chasing losses are two things you should avoid at all cost. Fortunately bookmakers allow you to set deposit limits on the accounts you set up with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your bookmaker will also allow you to set an automatic \u201dcooling off\u201d limit between deposits. Once you\u2019ve deposited funds, you\u2019ll be forced to wait a specified time before making another deposit. If you request a change to the cooling off period, the previous cooling off period will be enforced before the new setting is applied. This is a quick and easy money management strategy for ensuring that you stay within the limits of your budget.<\/p>\n