The most important part of being a successful sports bettor may be the ability to find value on a consistent basis over the course of a season. Behind that though, is the ability to properly manage your bankroll (the amount of money you have set aside for sports betting). Bankroll management is all about ensuring that you’ll be a profitable sports bettor if you’re making good picks. If you do not have a system in place and tend to put an arbitrary amount on each and every bet, you could end up losing money despite a solid winning percentage. This happens when the bets you’re putting more money into end up losing more often than the bets you end up putting less money into.



Using Units
Before jumping into the various bankroll management systems, let’s talk about how we define a Unit. FantasyPros has an article that breaks down units in more detail, but let’s cover the basics here. A Unit is the baseline amount of money you’ll be wagering on a bet-to-bet basis. Beyond this, units are the best way to track your profitability, as it goes beyond just the amount of money you’ve won/lost and gives you an easy way to compare yourself to other sports bettors. Generally speaking, a Unit should be one, maybe two percent of your total bankroll. Any more than this and a losing streak can do some real damage to your total bankroll.



Tracking your Bets
There’s a lot you can do with tracking your bets, but at the very least you should use a spreadsheet to track the date, who you’re betting for and against, the spread/total/line, the number of units in play and the number of units won or lost. Of course, if you want to go full tilt with it (and have the time to do it) you can track everything from weather, time of the game, when you placed the bet compared to game start time, etc. The reason for tracking all of this is to build a database of picks that you can use to pinpoint where you’re winning and where you’re losing. Maybe you don’t do well betting against a specific team, maybe you’re doing better at specific O/U totals, maybe you’re hitting on favorites at a more profitable rate than underdogs. All of this data gives you an insight into your strengths and weaknesses. It gives you the chance to dig into why you’re missing more on those specific picks compared to others and in turn become a better sports bettor. Even if you don’t do all this, at the very least you can accurately track your profits/losses.




Bankroll Management Strategies
With some of the groundwork laid, let’s look into the various management strategies that you can use. Each of these has its own pros and cons. I’ve arranged them starting with the most basic strategies, then building up to the more complex. Ultimately, you should go with the option that works best for you and fits your own betting style. If you’re using a bankroll management system, and stick with it, then you should find yourself being a more profitable sports bettor, as long as you’re winning above the break-even rates.