Your bankroll
Set aside money that is only for betting and that you can afford to lose entirely. Don't top it up from your everyday money after a bad run. Every stake is decided as a share of this amount.
Units
A unit is your standard stake, usually 1% of the bankroll (2% at most). Measuring results in units rather than money makes it easy to compare periods and stay calm about the amounts.
What losing runs to expect
Even with a real edge, results swing a lot. Take 1,000 bets at odds around 2.00 with a +2% edge at 1 unit each. The expected profit is about +20 units, but the typical deviation is around ±32 units. In other words, finishing those 1,000 bets in the red is entirely possible. Runs of 8–10 losses in a row are normal.
This is why stakes of 1% matter: a run of 15 losing bets costs 15% of the bankroll, not half of it.
Flat or Kelly?
Flat stakes of 1% are the safe default. With reliable fair prices you can size bets with a quarter of Kelly and a cap of 2–5%. Compare both in flat betting vs Kelly and use the Kelly calculator.
Habits that protect your bankroll
- Only bet with value. If your price isn't above the fair price, there's no bet.
- Never chase losses or raise stakes to win money back.
- Track every bet and review monthly, using closing line value, not daily profit.
- Resize your units monthly, not after every win or loss.
- Take breaks after a bad day; decisions get worse when you're frustrated.
Gamble responsibly
Betting involves risk. Only stake what you can afford to lose, and only if you're 18 or over. If it stops being fun or you feel you need to win money back, stop and look at our responsible gambling page.
Example: setting up a bankroll
- Bankroll: 1,000, money you won't need for anything else.
- Unit: 1% = 10. Every value bet is one unit (or a quarter of Kelly, capped at 2 units).
- Review: once a month, resize the unit to 1% of the new bankroll.
- Stop-loss for the day: after five losing bets, stop and review the next day.
Several bookmakers, one bankroll
Value bettors need accounts at several bookmakers. Treat the money spread across them as one bankroll, keep a simple total, and move funds where the value appears rather than adding new money.
When to reassess your method
- Your average closing line value is negative after 200–300 bets.
- You find yourself betting without checking the fair price.
- You're raising stakes to recover losses. That's the moment to stop.
Bankroll management with dropping odds alerts
With default settings you can receive 15 to 25 alerts a day, and not all of them will have value at your bookmakers. Decide in advance:
- Only value bets count: an alert is a reason to check, not a reason to bet.
- A daily exposure limit: for example 10 units in total, so a busy Saturday can't burn the bankroll.
- The same unit for every alert, or quarter Kelly with a cap, never stakes that follow your mood.
Keep records you can trust
For every bet record the date, match, market, line, your price, the fair price when you bet, the stake and the result. BetTheDrop's tracker does this with one tap and adds the expected value of each bet, so at the end of the month you can see your profit and, more importantly, whether your prices were good.