Bankroll management explained

Your bankroll is the money set aside exclusively for betting. It is money you can afford to lose without getting into difficulty – not rent, not savings. Bankroll management ensures that a bad spell does not wipe out this budget straight away.

Units instead of gut feeling

Most systems work with units. A unit is a fixed share of the bankroll, often 1 to 2 per cent. Every bet is placed in units, usually one, perhaps two when you are particularly convinced. What matters is that stakes are fixed in advance and not adjusted after the last result.

The most common mistakes

• Chasing losses: Raising your stake after a defeat to win the money back. This is the quickest way to lose your bankroll.
• Staking by feel: "This tip is a sure thing, so I'll stake more." There are no sure things.
• Topping up the budget: When the bankroll is gone, more money goes in. Then it was not a budget but a first instalment.
• No records: Without a list of all bets, nobody knows where they really stand.

Fixed stake or percentage?

With a fixed stake (always €10), the maths stays simple. With a percentage stake (always 2 per cent of the current bankroll), stakes fall automatically in bad spells and rise when things go well. Both are reasonable. Sizing stakes according to your estimated edge is described by the Kelly criterion.

Bankroll management is not a winning system

It does not turn bad bets into good ones. It only ensures you stay in long enough for a real edge to show at all – or that a missing edge does not cost too much. If you notice that you keep breaking your limits, you will find help under player protection and limits.