Live Sports Betting: the Challenge of Managing Your Bankroll

Success Really Does Come Down to the Money

In the movie Jerry Maguire, the pro football free agent demands of Maguire, the player’s agent, “Show me the money!” That phrase from that film became famous. For the player it was all about that agent pulling off the big deal.

The same can be said about live sports betting. When all is said and done, it really is about you’re being able to show that money—to hold it and have it. If you can’t, if you’ve lost rather than won, then you’ve had a bad day at the office.

One of the major problems for any sports bettor and especially those wagering on live events, is bankroll management. Yet, this is the essence of being a successful sports bettor. Here are five tips on money management and live sports betting.

Know Your Limit and Stick to It

You know you’re a poor money manager when you’re always going over budget. It’s that simple. Money management takes discipline and many sports bettors are bad at it because they lack discipline.

It may help if you think of sports betting as an investment. Ask yourself, would you keep pouring cash into a bad investment? Chances are you would set a limit on how much you’re willing to invest in a stock or some other venture. In the same way, set a limit for the game you’re betting and spend no more if you lose it.

Be Conservative

If you wager conservatively, that would be one unit per wager, you’ll stretch your bets out and this will give you a much better chance of winning than if you put your entire roll on one or two bets. You’ll be enticed to make up for loses quickly by putting a lot on the line. Don’t do it.

One Wager at a Time

Make one wager at a time. You may want to try to hedge your bets by making various wagers on one play, period, quarter or one at bat. This can backfire because you usually can’t cover everything adequately enough to ensure the integrity of your bankroll.

Streaks End

If you’re on a streak, whether it’s a winning or losing, remember that all streaks end. Also remember that a winning streak is partly due to your hard work and analysis but it is also due to circumstances that you could not imagine and chance happenstances that no one has control over. In other words, don’t start to feel invincible. Everyone loses and you need to be ready for it.

All or Nothing

You may get greedy or desperate and decide to go for all or nothing by wagering everything on a bet that pays 18-1. You may luck out and hit that wager. But chances are you’ll lose it. Throwing everything you have at one bet runs contrary to the term “money management.” If you find yourself going all in when live betting, your best choice as far as money management goes is to step away and stop betting.

Show Me the Money!

Remember that the point of money management is to be able to have something to show for your efforts. Be sure to keep this in mind as you place your bets in the highly volatile world of live sports betting.