Bankroll management plays an integral part in online sportsbook betting. If you apply it correctly you can become a profitable bettor over the long run. We all make mistakes because we let the public and the news influence our bets. No matter how you look at it. Bankroll management is just as important as picking a winner. Ultimately, you want to increase your profits and minimize your losses. In this article, we tell you how to manage your online sports betting bankroll properly.

How To Set Up A Bankroll
Your bankroll can be anything from $100 to $1,000, maybe more. Before you place your first bet decide on a figure you can afford to lose. If you earn a salary of $1,000 per month five percent is an acceptable figure to wager on sports.
Let’s just call it your disposable income. If you lose 5 percent of your income it won’t hurt you. However, we strongly advise you to never bet your car or mortgage payment. In other words, you don’t want to do something that can be detrimental to you.
Bet With Enough Money
Make sure you have enough cash before you bet. A soldier won’t go to war without a gun, now will he? The more money you start your bankroll with the better your odds of making a profit. Remember, even the sharps lose from time to time. We also recommend that you create your own betting system.
No matter how good you are at sports betting you will lose money. Whatever you do the house always wins. Map out your bankroll strategy with at least $1,000. Moreover, you must have a starting bankroll that allows you to learn from your mistakes.
We don’t want you to bet with money that is afraid. If you are afraid of losing your money you’ll make unnecessary mistakes. Now that you have a bankroll, you’re ready to place your bets.
Bankroll Management Flat Betting
The biggest mistake newbie online sportsbook bettors make is that they squander their bankroll quickly. Don’t do this! So, what is the cardinal mistake bettors make? They tend to bet bigger bets on the sports they like. Ever heard about a “lean” in betting circles? It’s when a bettor likes a sport but hasn’t got the confidence to bet on it yet. Online sportsbooks offer Bitcoin bonuses which increase your bankroll even further. Just because you now have extra cash don’t squander it. Treat it as part of your new and improved bankroll.
Another common mistake sportsbook bettors make with their bankrolls is that they double down on a hot streak. Alternatively, when a bettor has a cold streak he’ll start to chase his losses. Hoping that he can recoup it with one big win. We don’t need to tell you that this strategy is reckless. When you bet take the “variance” of the game into account. Consequently, you’ll have plenty of winning and losing bets.
Everyone wants to get rich quick. Unfortunately, it does work like that in the real world. When you bet at online sportsbooks. Build up your bankroll with knowledge and patience.
Keep You Bets Consistent
Before you place your first bet. Take your starting bankroll and divide it into bets of equal size. Once you figured out the amount, it will be your unit size. You’ll bet this amount on every sport. Word of advice, try and keep it at around 3 percent per bet. To calculate it multiply your bankroll by 0.3 percent. If you start with a bankroll of $100, the size of your unit will be $3.
Obviously the size of each bettors unit size will be different. As a rule of thumb we never stray from our 3 percent unit rule. If you feel you want to “push the envelope” a bit you can up to 5 percent. Anything more than 5 percent you’re looking for trouble.
Just so you know. Professional bettors usually bet 1 percent per play. They know that things can blow extremely hot and can change in the blink of an eye. They are cautious, yet they bet with bankrolls of $100,000 and upwards. Note, they still work on the 1 percent rule.
Keep It Real
When it comes to betting on online sports we always expect the worst, but we also hope for the best. If you start with a bankroll of $500. You can spread $100 over 5 games. Therefore, it will be 20 percent, and your unit size is $100. If you can win all five it will be sublime. You do remember that we live in the real world?
To put matters into perspective, expect the worst because you can lose all five bets. Even if you reduce the size of your unit to 10 percent which is $50. You reduce your losses but you’re still risking too much. For our liking at least. To put a pin in it, and arguably your safest option, keep your betting between 3 to 5 percent. If you keep it below the 5 percent threshold. Not only do you keep your betting hopes alive, you keep yourself in the game.
Now, what happens if you hit 3 winning bets and 2 losses? The 5-percent-bettor increases his bankroll from $500 to $525. The 3-percent-bettor from $500 to $515. The reason why we suggest you should stick to flat betting because it rules out any bias. Once you figure out your unit size don’t deviate from it. Bet the same amount; it can be 3 or 5 percent of your bankroll.
Flat betting enables you to reduce the risk and it helps to build up your bankroll over the long run. It’s the smartest way to safeguard your bankroll. Whether it’s for the short or the long term.
Bet To Risk Or Bet To Win?
When you bet at sportsbooks online you have two options at your disposal. Either you can bet to win, or you can bet to risk. Initially, they sound the same but they are not. If you bet to risk, you bet discounting the odds. Now, if you win to bet. The odds determine the money you’ll win. Basically, you risk more especially when you are betting on your favorite NFL team or player.
Let’s give you a real-world example between betting to risk and betting to win. If the Bears are -150 favorite on the moneyline, and you bet to risk $100. And, they win, you’ll pocket $66.67, and the sportsbook will return your original bet of $100.
But, if you bet to win $100 on the Bears. You must risk $150 because the odds are -150. Should the Bears win the game. You’ll win $100 plus the $150 you risked the sportsbook will return to you. If the Bears lose the game you’ll lose $150 you risked. When you bet to risk you’re in control, or so to speak. Instead of letting the odds dictate the amount, it’s up to you how much you want to risk. Of the two options, betting to risk is safer.
Betting On Underdogs
What happens when you bet to win on the underdogs? On the surface, it looks like a smart choice to bet on the underdogs when you bet to win. You risk less upfront but there is a catch. When you bet to win on the underdogs you must keep two things in mind:
It cuts into any profits you stand to make and you’ll lose the advantages of plus-money payouts. To give you an example, if the Bears, Yankees and the Red Sox are all +150 underdogs. You bet to win on the three of them, you risk $66.67 which costs more or less $200. If they win, you;ll win $300 as well as the $200 you risked.
Final Word
There is no way to sugarcoat online sports betting: it’s hard! Betting on online sports entails a great deal of luck, patience and research. Now that you know how to manage your bankroll, the time has finely arrived to place your bets.
One last thing. Try and avoid handicappers as far as possible because very few of them offer value for money. If your bankroll is $500, and the handicapper’s fee is $250, it cuts your bankroll in half. Besides, you don’t want to start with $250 in the hole.