A Long Professional Football Season Requires Sound Money Management

For any sports bettor, money management is essential if they’re going to succeed. Including the playoffs, the NFL offers over 20 weeks of sports betting opportunities. Within each of those weeks, a bettor may make hundreds of different wagers, from props to parlays to point spreads.

If you’re starting out on NFL sports betting, you should treat your enterprise as you would any business, and that means that you must develop a budget and a plan and stick to both. Here are a few money management tips and techniques that sports bettors should use.

Know Your Unit Bet and Bankroll

Let’s say your unit wager is $11, which is usually the minimum bet. That’s your starting amount for any bet. A safe rule of thumb says don’t risk anymore than 5% of your bankroll. To make an $11 following that rule, you’ll need a minimum bankroll of $250.

But that size bankroll gives you very little leeway for loses. What you want is a bankroll of anywhere from $560 to $1,000. That would give you a minimum of 50 wagers. That’s a decent amount of wiggle room for miscues and bad runs.

How Much Should You Bet?

The first week limit yourself to five bets all at the minimum. No parlays, no props, nothing fancy. Start to expand your wagering as you win. The next week wager on five to seven games but keep all wagers at the minimum.

The third week, if you’ve broken even or won some money over the first two weeks, you may up your wagers. Once again, never betting more than 5% of your bankroll and never more than three units.

Parlays, etc.

Parlays, props and other such bets should not be entered into until you’ve made a clear profit. If you started with a $600 bankroll and it’s gone up 20% to $720, then wager 10% of your profits ($12) on a hard to hit parlay or prop. Don’t start risking a major chunk of your bankroll on bets that probably won’t payoff. You’ll see your winnings and grub stake diminish quickly.

Expand Your Sports Betting Slowly

As the season goes on, you should raise the number of games you bet. You probably won’t want to bet more than half of the games each week. Chances are you won’t find more than eight point spreads or moneylines to your liking. Also, you need time to research each game and seven to eight seems to be the limit when it comes to optimum time invested and performance. Be disciplined in your wagering.