Why Bankroll Management Matters
Bankroll management is the foundation of responsible and profitable betting. It ensures that you stay in control of your money, avoid emotional decisions, and give yourself a better chance to profit over the long term.
Even skilled bettors lose a substantial portion of their individual bets. Without proper bankroll management, a few bad streaks of negative variance (bad luck) can wipe out your balance and force poor decisions for subsequent bets. Managing your bankroll protects you from that risk.
Setting a Bankroll
Your bankroll is the total amount of money you have set aside exclusively for betting. This is not money you need for bills, food, or savings.
Start by deciding how much you can comfortably afford to lose in the worst case. That amount becomes your bankroll. Once set, you should track it just like an investment account.
Defining a Unit
A unit is a standard measurement of your bet size. Many bettors use one unit as 1% of their total bankroll. Risk-averse bettors may choose to use 0.5% of their total bankroll as one unit.
For example, if your bankroll is $1,000 and you define one unit as 1%, each unit equals $10.
A small bet with higher odds might be 0.5 units ($5).
A confident bet with lower odds might be 3 units ($30).
Tracking results in units instead of dollars helps you stay consistent and compare performance without emotion.
Staking Strategy
The key is consistency. Avoid betting more simply because you feel confident or have been winning. Your stake should be guided by your bankroll, not your mood.
Use your unit system to size bets based on our LVLup score and expected value (EV). High LVLup score or EV bets might justify slightly larger stakes, while lower LVLup score or EV bets should stay smaller or be avoided entirely.
The LVLup app provides unit suggestions using a fractional Kelly Criterion to help you manage your bankroll. We always recommend that you research a bet before deciding on a stake. You should never blindly follow these staking suggestions.
The Kelly Criterion
The Kelly Criterion is a mathematical formula used to determine the ideal percentage of your bankroll to wager on a given bet. It balances maximizing long-term growth while limiting risk.
The simplified version is:
Bet Size = Edge ÷ Odds
Where edge represents your perceived advantage over the market.
In practice, most bettors use a fractional Kelly system (for example, half Kelly) to reduce volatility and avoid overexposure. LVLup uses the fractional Kelly criterion to give you a suggested unit size to make it simpler to understand how much is worth wagering on a given bet.
Staying Disciplined
Track your bets: Use tools like LVLup’s Bet Tracker to record results and monitor how your bankroll changes over time.
Avoid chasing losses: Stick to a consistent unit size even during losing or winning streaks.
Review performance: Regularly analyze which bet types and markets yield the best results.
Proper bankroll management turns betting from speculation into strategy. It allows you to stay in the game longer, make data-driven decisions, and compound your results responsibly.