Table of Contents
Deciding how much you should bet on a sporting event depends on a number of variables.
If you think about a Xgtiger Casino betting bankroll as just a budget, it makes sense that there is no right or wrong answer to this question.
How much should a person spend on groceries? That depends on the size of their family, how long the groceries last, as well as any special dietary restrictions they face.
The same goes for determining your gambling budget.
Rather than insist on any one philosophy about bet sizing, I’ll share three different ways to approach the question and let you make your own (informed) decision.
Just to keep things fun, I’m going to write them from the perspective of someone defending their betting method.
The Fan’s View
Being a fan means I stay focused on my team regardless of the ups and downs I go through in sports betting. and being a fan means blind dedication, blind trust, and blind loyalty.
True fandom is closer to participating in an organized religion than anything else. Some fans are pious, others turn away. I like to think of myself as one of the last of the great sports fans.
What this means for my sports betting is that I regularly put my money where my mouth is – and believe me, if I’m a friend or relative of yours, you know where my mouth is. I’m the guy who wears my team’s shirt, drives a car in my team’s colors, has a team-branded debit card, and thinks that all other teams are a bunch of miserable losers.
When I bet on sports, I do so from a fanatic’s perspective.
That means I don’t consider things like bankroll protection. When my squad is on the field, I will bet on them as much as I can at the time I bet. I do this regardless of injuries, prior history, context, weather, or any other factor.
Usually, I’m a bad sports bettor. Being a great fan means making sacrifices – I’m not just going to sacrifice my fandom to make a smart sports bet.
I think everyone should be a fan like me. Why?
Because sports would be more fun to watch, more fun to participate in, and more fun to bet on if everyone just bet their affinity instead of getting all head over heels about it. Sure, I lose a lot of money betting on my kids, but they’ve always been there for me, and they’ll always be there.
The Advantage Gambler’s View
Being an advantage gambler simply means thinking of betting as an investment.
Advantage gamblers come in all shapes and sizes – some are aggressive others are more conservative. No matter what kind of advantage bettor you are, it’s a badge of honor that indicates you take your hobby seriously.
Determining the unit size of an advantage gambler’s bets is a big deal. After reading and number-crunching, I decided to limit all sports bets to a maximum of 1% of my total bankroll.
I chose that number because it’s low enough to allow for the occasional 2% or even 3% bet when the opportunity arises.
I think all the information above indicates that I am a conservative bettor. I know many sports investors who I would call aggressive – people who routinely bet 3% or more on every play. But I knew that at that rate, losing streaks would kill my investment capital, and it was impossible to build my list without a big streak of luck.
Again, just need to know what results I’m looking for and how much my bankroll can handle.
Proper research is a big part of my unit betting philosophy, believe it or not, because when my hardcore statistics research indicates a good game, I know it’s time to double or even triple my usual size of bet.
Without a head for research, I’d probably just stick with the 1% bet to protect my investment.
I think everyone should follow my personal approach to measuring unit bet. Why?
I managed to bet for a decade without blowing my budget. Even in years when my winning percentage was in the high 40s, my financial plan protected my rent money.
The Risk Taker’s View
Being a risk-taker means I don’t mind risking a little extra money for the prospect of a big win. This means that I combine the understanding of bankroll management from the advantage gambler with some of the passionate fandom from our super-fan contributor.
Instead of going down to the very best, I determine my unit size at the beginning of the season based on the amount of money I think I’ll bet. For example, this past NFL season, I started with $2,000 that I was willing to lose.
But since I’ll only be laying about forty bets at the time, I figured $50 would be a good size unit bet. That’s about a 2.5% unit bet size, which gives the gambler an advantage number. But I’m comfortable with it, and after all – you have to take some risks to win, right?
But I will admit that in the end I broke my NFL budget. I got a little emotional, and placed a few $100 bets that didn’t pay off. But I didn’t continue betting that way – I adjusted so I wouldn’t run out of money before I ran out of games to bet on.
I think everyone should be more like me. Why?
Because those who bet with your heart lose a lot, and those who bet with their head don’t really enjoy it. As long as you keep things casual, and check your funds before you bet, you’ll enjoy your sports betting online entertainment more, regardless of wins and losses.
Conclusion
Are you an avid gaming fan and wondering how to bet on online casino games? At Xgtiger Casino, you will get the latest information on this year’s best casino games and a variety of gaming options, all in one place.
To start your online gambling journey, all you need to do is create an account on the site, deposit funds and you will be ready to bet on the best and most anticipated casino games.
Frequently Asked Questions
Bet Size for Point Spread Bets
If the odds for a sports bet are close to “even odds” (say from -115 to +115), a good rule of thumb is to bet around 1-2% of your bankroll on each selection. For the sake of this article, we’ll use 1%. That is, if your bankroll is $10,000, it is prudent to bet about $100 on each play.