Bankroll Management and Kelly
Finding good bets is half the job. Sizing them so you survive the losing streaks is the other half.
Start with a bankroll
Your bankroll is money set aside only for betting, that you can afford to lose. Keep it separate from bills and savings, and decide your bet sizes from it, not from your mood.
Flat betting
The simplest plan: bet the same small amount every time, often 1–2% of the bankroll. It is easy to follow and keeps swings under control.
The Kelly Criterion
Kelly sizes each bet by its edge: a bigger edge means a bigger bet, no edge means no bet. Example: +110 odds and a 51% win chance give an edge of about 7%, and full Kelly says bet about 6.5% of your bankroll.
Why most bettors use a fraction
Full Kelly assumes your win chance is exactly right, and it never is. Most bettors use ¼ Kelly (1.6% in the example above) for much smaller swings while keeping most of the growth.
Tools
The free Kelly bet-size calculator does the math. Bet responsibly: if betting stops being fun, take a break. Help is available at 1-800-GAMBLER.
More guides
Put it to work
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