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How Much Should You Wager on a Sports Bet?
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Here is everything you need to know about the amount of money you should ideally be placing on your next sports bets based on how much bankroll you have.
When I was new to betting online on my favourite sporting events, I was never quite sure how much money I should wager per bet. When I topped up my account, I would usually deposit just £10 or £20, and when I placed bets, I would typically spend that entire bankroll on just one or two bets.
Sometimes, my bets would be successful, which would give me a decent profit to place more bets, and other times, not so successful, meaning my entire bankroll was gone on just a couple of bets.
However, I have since learned that placing multiple bets with the same amount is safer. I am now far more strategic in placing bets because I have a much better understanding of how odds and implied probability rates work.
In other words, I know how to make my bankroll stretch further, and the bets I place these days seem more successful. With that said, here are several things I have learned about what the right amount is to wager on a typical sports bet.
What’s The Ideal Amount To Wager On One Bet?
I would always recommend betting only around 1% or 2% of your bankroll on one bet. It may not seem like much, but it’s all about being patient and not blowing your entire bankroll on just a couple of bets like I used to, just in case those bets lose.
The best thing to do is to start by setting yourself a reasonable spending budget. Only use disposable cash that you can afford to lose after you have set aside all the money you need to pay for things like your energy/mobile phone bill, weekly groceries, rent/mortgage, and other expenditures.
When I know how much money I have to bet, I am more careful when it comes to deciding which bets might be worth placing. In other words, if you can learn to gamble responsibly, and don’t place too many:
- Impulse bets
- Underdog bets
- Other long odds bets
If you follow this general rule of thumb, as I have always done, you should start to become a more successful sports bettor.
I have also learned many ways to place more informed bets, and I have noticed that I place fewer losing bets these days. Before placing a bet, I will always research as much as I can into an event and gather as many useful statistics as possible to give my bets the best chance of returning a profit, even if it’s only a relatively small profit.
In other words, I have learned that sports betting is more of a marathon than a sprint. If you plan to place many bets over a prolonged period, you must be prepared to place sensible bets with better odds and higher implied probability rates. Avoid betting on the outsiders too often, no matter how tempting the odds are.
I also like to compare the odds from several of the trusted online sportsbooks I have active accounts with and then use the free betting odds calculator on AskGamblers to see my potential returns before betting.
How To Gamble Responsibly
I tend to bet on the English Premier League because that’s what I’m most familiar with and have had the most success with.
Besides arming myself with as many statistics as possible before betting, I always look at other things, such as the recent form of the two teams, historical results each time they have faced each other, the importance of the match, injuries, starting line-up, current position in the league, and so on.
Finding out this basic information and then applying it when deciding which bets to place has massively helped. However, I have also found that setting a reasonable spending budget before depositing helps, and using some of the safer gambling tools my website operator provides.
I have set up a monthly deposit limit on most of my accounts. I have also found that session time reminders and win/loss limits help.
Knowing that I have set these limits also makes me think twice before placing a bet. I am now more cautious about how many bets I can place and have become more strategic in the ones that I do place to give them the best chance of winning.
Also, if you land a decent windfall, consider withdrawing 75% to 80% or more of those winnings instead of leaving it all in your account.
Final Thoughts
Where possible, I try to use the cheapest online payment provider to deposit into my account and cash out my winnings, such as PayPal or Visa, to save some money. It’s not much, but it all helps, and I will always take advantage of any free sports bets I am offered, provided they come with low or medium wagering requirements attached.
At the end of the day, it’s up to you how much to spend on a bet, but if you want to place regular bets and don’t want to keep depositing and spending money you haven’t got, you should perhaps start to think more about what a sensible amount of money is to bet each time.
Finally, only bet on outcomes that are more likely to occur instead of just betting random amounts on outsiders or any old sporting event you don’t know much about.