Many of us here on Scorum are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the betting platform. It's going to be an exciting time for long-term sports bettors and newcomers alike. Sports betting has been something I've taken part in for many years. Until recently, I owned a matched betting business here in the United Kingdom that taught people how to extract profit from bookmaker bonuses.

Throughout my time as a director of this business, I had the pleasure of working with all kinds of different people. Some of them were highly experienced punters who needed very little guidance, while others were complete beginners who found themselves intimidated by betting terms, strategies, and were worried about the potential risks involved. With that in mind, I have decided to start a Betting Fundamentals series here on Scorum with the aim of providing users with key information that will help them on their betting journeys.

The primary goal here is to break things down into easily digestible posts and build things up over time so everyone is ready to jump in when the betting platform arrives. If you're already familiar with the content found in these posts, it would be great if you could get involved and help people who may have further questions in the comment section. Please do ask if you're unsure of anything. No question will be considered stupid here. Let's learn together and hopefully earn together!

Welcome to Part 01 of Betting Fundamentals. Today, we'll be taking a look at bankroll management and why it's such an important part of any betting strategy.

What Is a Betting Bankroll?

A betting bankroll is the amount of money you've set aside to bet with. This should be an amount of money that you've decided you're allowed to lose if things go wrong. The value of each person's betting bankroll will vary depending on things such as their current wealth, amount of expendable cash, and risk aversion.

Where Should I Keep My Betting Bankroll?

Ideally, a betting bankroll should be stored separately from your daily finances. This allows you to easily keep track of how much money you have to bet with. Things can quickly become messy if your betting bankroll is stored in an account that also deals with daily transactions such as your salary, direct debits, cash withdrawals, and grocery shopping charges. The last thing you want is to lose track of how much betting bankroll you have and accidentally start spending your rent money. Let's keep things tidy from the start. Of course, if you're betting with SCR right here on the platform then this is less of an issue.

What Is Bankroll Management?

Bankroll management is a staking strategy every bettor should use to make sure that they are gambling responsibly at all times. It prevents you from betting outside of your means and will keep you in the game for the long haul.

Although a sensible bettor will look for value bets, it's easy and common to go on losing streaks. If you aren't managing your betting bankroll correctly then you are likely to find your entire betting funds depleted. Nobody wants that. With good bankroll management, you can minimise the risk of this happening.

What Is a Good Bankroll Management Strategy?

The best way for me to explain this is to show you a clear example of a bad bankroll management strategy. Let's imagine that you have $100 as a starting betting bankroll. An example of bad bankroll management would be for you to place 2 x $50 bets. Why is this a bad idea? Well, it's quite possible that you could lose both of these bets. If that were to happen, you've lost your entire betting bankroll straight away.

Instead, a responsible bettor would make use of a good bankroll management strategy. As an example, my general rule is to bet a maximum of 1% of my bankroll on any given bet. In this instance, therefore, my maximum bet would be $1. It sounds like a low amount but it is a great way to remain in the game for the long-term. I would have to lose a total of 100+ bets in a row to lose my betting bankroll by using this strategy. That's possible, but much less likely to occur than the previous example of just 2 bets.

How Much Should I Bet?

The answer to this question will vary widely from person to person. As mentioned above, a basic strategy that I have used is to never bet more than 1% of my bankroll. Here are a couple of examples to explain this further.

Person A

  • This person has a betting bankroll of $1,000
  • 1% of $1,000 = $10
  • Maximum bet = $10

Person B

  • This person has a betting bankroll of $4,400
  • 1% of $4,400 = $44
  • Maximum bet = $44

The amount you bet using this strategy will change over time depending on whether your betting bankroll increases or decreases.

If Person A wins some bets and now has a betting bankroll of $1,200 then the maximum bet will change. 1% of $1,200 = $12. The maximum bet, therefore, would increase from $10 to $12.

If Person A loses some bets and now has a betting bankroll of $900 then the maximum bet will also change. 1% of $900 = $9. The maximum bet, therefore, would decrease from $10 to $9.

Why Will Bank Management Make Me a Responsible Bettor?

One of the most dangerous aspects of betting is allowing emotions to take over. It can be easy to react to losing or winning streaks by betting more than you can afford to lose. In the case of losing streaks, people will often chase their losses by betting big in the hope of winning their money back. In the case of winning streaks, people often become too confident and will bet big because they feel like they can't lose. Both of these scenarios often result in a complete loss of betting funds.

By making use of sensible betting bankroll management, you are more likely to rigidly stick to a responsible betting level at all times, no matter how big your bankroll is. In Part 02 of the Betting Fundamentals series, we'll be taking a look at the importance of staking plans.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do make use of the comment section below.