NFL Betting Bankroll Management
This is the most important part of our guide to NFL betting. You cannot overlook it and this goes not only for fans of NFL betting but for gamblers of all kinds. If you are a beginner this is the first thing you must read about and learn. We will go over everything you need to know about bankroll management and help you determine what your bankroll should be and what its relation to the size of your bets is.
Bankroll management quite simply means knowing how to use your funds wisely. If you do not know, nor try to understand, you will suffer horrible losses and would be considered a reckless player. Of course, some people can afford to lose obscene amounts of money, but this article is for those who cannot. This is for those who are trying to be successful NFL bettors.
Why You Need Bankroll Management
Naturally, if you are in a tight spot financially that speaks for itself, but what about everyone else – should they ignore this? No. This is crucial to every single punter’s success. Regardless of how rich you are, you need to figure out exactly how much you can afford to lose and how much you are willing to lose. This might sound awfully dire to some but this is the truth when it comes to gambling. You have to account for the worst-case scenario in order to be a successful gambler of any sort.
If you always think that you will win, then you will never really feel the true danger you are putting your money in. Gambling is not a business and victory or loss is never certain. However, it is much more likely for you to have a session with no wins than one with no losses. Therefore, that is the one we must take into consideration in this equation.
The equation here consists of a few constants and some variables – your bankroll, the size of a single bet, your goal, and probability. You can control all but one, and yet, that is the most important one. This means that it is crucial for you to get a hold of the rest of them. You need to set your bankroll, your betting limits, and your goal.
Your bankroll’s size will vary depending on your overall budget and financial stability. Of course, it can also depend on how much exactly you enjoy betting as well – this does not mean that you can simply risk all of your money because you are that into NFL betting. No, instead, it means that if you do not enjoy sports betting that much you can set up a smaller bankroll. There must always be limits regardless of how avid a fan you are.
How to Set Up Limits
This goes without saying but you need to exercise some serious self-control in order to be anywhere near a successful punter. If you have trouble with this, you will need to seriously reconsider going any further with NFL betting or any type of gambling. Exercise absolute caution when it comes to control over your gambling.
Establishing Your Bankroll
The way to set up a bankroll is simple – imagine losing the money you wish to use for betting purposes. If your life can be seriously affected by this loss, you will need to consider a smaller bankroll. On and on, until the loss has no serious consequences. Naturally, you should also keep in mind that by using money for NFL betting you are investing in a potentially big profit, so make sure you find that golden middle.
Once you have found that golden middle you will have to do all in your power to stick to it. It is no easy task but NFL betting is certainly challenging as well. To be successful at it, you need to be able to exercise self-control and know how to bet with absolute precision. If you have had trouble with money-management in the past, you will need to work on those problems before you even think about betting on the NFL.
Bet Size
Of course, profits depend on your bets, both the type and their size. The size of one single bet should not exceed 5% of your bankroll unless you are an absolute high-roller with a stable financial situation. Otherwise, a bet which is about 1-3% of your total bankroll is appropriate. You may find this too restricting but the more you progress, the more you win, the bigger your bankroll gets, the bigger your single bets get. It is quite simple, really – all you need is patience.
If patience is not one of your virtues though, online sportsbooks offer plenty of solutions that can help with that. We will go over them in a bit but if you are betting in a brick-and-mortar betting shop, you will need to truly learn to be patient and stay in control. It is much harder to ignore the masses of fans, excitedly placing bet after bet, but you will need to learn to.
Setting Your Goals
Now, the hardest part is to come – being realistic about the profit you could make. The reason this is so is because many people think that one good betting session is the only thing standing between them and an obscene amount of money. This is not in any way true unless you are also betting obscene amounts of money.
This is how you can set your goals, based on the size of your bets and your bankroll. You cannot place bets of $5 and expect a profit of $10,000. Nor can you start betting with a bankroll of $100 and expect such payouts.
A lot of people will say that it is really just down to luck and that may be so but luck is a funny little thing which does not care how badly you want to win. Probability and the right odds are the only things that can actually help you become a long-term winner. Those are the things you should base your expectations on.
Helpful Solutions
It can be quite difficult to stick to these limits but there are ways to make it easier. First of all, it is best if you keep your betting funds in a separate banking account from your other funds. This can be easily done online as well. You simply need to pick an e-wallet, register, and deposit your funds there. Either way, this helps you maintain a better grip on your financial situation. If you can see your entire account balance when you are in the middle of an NFL betting session, you might be tempted to bet over your limits.
Sportsbooks can help you with this as well. You can set your own limits at most sportsbooks and set the size of your bets too. This can happen quite easily and is called an account reset. It actually involves nothing more than a few clicks and can be done at any time. The changes will come into effect immediately but you will have to repeat the process after a set period of time has elapsed. Its length is entirely up to you.
Of course, after some time has elapsed and you feel like a much more experienced bettor with enough profits to increase their bankroll you should indeed do so. At that time, you will need to reset your account again and change the limits. Once again, this is an easy process. The only hard part is sticking to your new bet limit. Many players feel that when they are winning they should be betting more substantial amounts but in reality, unless you have also made substantial profits, you should not do this.
Potential Risks to Your Bankroll
As we already said, it is hard not to go all in when you are experiencing some great wins. However, the same is true for losing streaks. Whenever a player experiences a losing session, they usually feel like recouping their losses right away. This would mean exceeding their bankroll limits and their betting limits. As you can guess by now, that is definitely a horrible idea. You have no better chance of winning after you have lost. There is never a guarantee that you will win.
Given that we are on the topic of sports betting; we must also mention the fact that many bettors who are passionate about the sport also tend to drink during the games. This is not to say that every single fan does this but it is a tendency. If you are one such fan, you should consider placing your bets before you begin to consume alcohol. Placing bets when you are drunk will most likely lead to some serious losses. After all, your judgment is clouded and your ego is boosted. This means that you will probably place a large bet on something with horrible odds.
If you find yourself incapable of doing either of those, then you might want to think about whether sports betting is any good for you. It might be having only a negative effect on your life. If that is the case, you need to make sure you get in touch with one of the several helpful organizations for problem gambling.
Conclusion
Please make sure that you are capable of managing your funds before you even consider sports betting. If you cannot keep your cool and bet wisely, there is simply no point in doing it. This type of betting will only lead to losses and will bankrupt you in the long haul. In order to make NFL betting a profitable pastime, you need to make small and smart bets which will result in more wins than losses. This way, over time, you will be able to make a profit.