There are many people out there who are very good at finding winners. Whether it is a 1/2 dead cert or a 15/8 outsider, having a knack for landing consistent wins is an excellent trait for a punter to have.
But, and this is crucial, if you cannot look after your money then you simply will not achieve long term success. You can back eight winners and two losers in every ten; and still not pocket any profit if you’re not smart with your bankroll management.
All it takes is a bit of discipline and a bit of organisation, and in three or four winning bets you can be well on the way to a healthy return.
Betting systems can come jam-packed with pitfalls – banking systems, however, are fool proof. And we have a few examples for you to peruse here:
The Bet and Bank system
The idea behind this premise is, as the name suggests, simply in banking profit as it comes along periodically. The downside to this model is that it assumes win streaks will regularly be achieved, which as we know is rarely possible, however it can yield a steady return even with odds-on wagers.
Starting with a £10 bankroll (and you can us any amount you want, of course), we can see that even with a handful of winners we can bank a decent return. Take a look:
| Stake | Odds | Return | Bank |
| £10 | 1/2 | £15 | |
| £15 | 8/11 | £25.91 | £10 |
| £15.91 | 1/3 | £21.21 | |
| £21.21 | 2/5 | £29.69 | £10 |
| £19.69 | 4/11 | £26.85 | |
| £26.85 | 1/4 | £33.56 | £10 |
| £23.56 | 1/3 | £31.41 | £10 |
So, after just seven winning bets, we have managed to bank a 400% profit and doubled our bank! And look at the prices attached to these seven wagers: these aren’t odd stabs in the dark or hopeful punts, these are healthy odds-on selections that at those kinds of prices should have an excellent chance of landing.
The odds suggested are just examples – you don’t have to seek out these exact prices for each bet, but just understand the flavour of what this ‘system’ can deliver with sensible, level staking.
So here’s the basic maths: we only need our first two bet to land to break even – it is at this point that we bank our original £10 stake. Moving on we only need two more odds-on shouts to turn a profit as we bank another £10 after bet four, and likewise after bets five and six. This system can continue ad infinitum, although obviously a losing bet will bring the whole thing tumbling down like a house of cards. You’d better get doing your research!
The Points-Based System
Another straightforward system that with discipline and resolve can deliver excellent results.
The idea here is that we assign our stake a points value. So, if we start with a bankroll of £100, we might want to be wagering £5 per bet, and so a fiver becomes our one point mark.
Then the choice is yours how you want to follow that up: option one is to utilise the points system in determining how much to wager. So, if you are really confident in a particular selection then you might go with a two point wager (e.g. £10), and if you are less enamoured with a selection but still want a flutter then you could try 0.5 points, and so on.
But what is perhaps more preferable is where the point value remains the same throughout, but the amount attached to it changes based on the success (or otherwise) of our bets.
This table displays the theory better than it can be explained in words:
| Bank | Point Value | Bet Number | Odds | Return |
| £100 | £5 | 1 (win) | 4/5 | £9 |
| £109 | £5 | 2 (lose) | 10/11 | -£5 |
| £104 | £5 | 3 (win) | 4/6 | £8.33 |
| £112.33 | £5 | 4 (win) | 8/11 | £8.64 |
| £120.97 | £5 | 5 (lose) | 5/6 | -£5 |
| £115.97 | £5 | 6 (win) | 3/4 | £8.75 |
| £124.72 | £7 | 7 (win) | 4/11 | £13.65 |
And so on.
What is great about this system is that it doesn’t assume that you are going to enjoy a winning streak, and by giving your level stake size some consistency you can cater for losses while still maintaining a workable bankroll.
There is no secret to the maths: you have to set your own parameters in terms of point sizes and at which juncture to increase (or even decrease if things aren’t going well) the amount attached to each point. For guidance, we would recommend increasing your point size when you have made a profit of around 25% on your original bankroll; this means you should have three/four bets at the new price point essentially free of charge!
The Percentage-Based System
This, in many ways, is similar to the points-based system outlined above, although its ultimate goal is to protect your bankroll by ensuring that each wager amount is calculated individually.
Here’s what we mean: say you set your percentage point at 5%. This means that a) each bet you place is at 5% of your bankroll, and b) you would have to lose 20 consecutive bets before your bank was reduced to zero.
Here’s a look at the numbers:
| Bank | % Stake | Actual Stake | Odds | Return |
| £100 | 5% | £5 | 4/5 | -£5 (lose) |
| £95 | 5% | £4.75 | 10/11 | £9.07 (win) |
| £102.07 | 5% | £5.10 | 4/6 | £8.50 (win) |
| £110.57 | 5% | £5.53 | 8/11 | -£5.53 (lose) |
| £105.04 | 5% | £5.25 | 5/6 | £9.62 (win) |
| £114.66 | 5% | £5.73 | 3/4 | -£5.73 (lose) |
| £108.93 | 5% | £5.45 | 4/11 | £7.43 (win) |
As you can see, this system is about prolonging a bankroll, and so if you are a more conservative bettor then this might be the one for you. As we can see, even a mediocre run of results can still turn a profit.
What we like about the percentage system is that it instils staking discipline; often the average punter’s greatest weakness. By sticking to your chosen percentage – and around the 5% mark is advised – you are highly unlikely to ever drop down to zero (unless your chosen bet type is low chance wagers, in which case you should be looking at 2.5% or less).
