Sporting Life's guide on how to bet on football, including vital insight on how much a punter should invest.
The first thing to say is to never stake what you cannot afford to lose.
Set yourself up with a bankroll, an amount you would be comfortable losing, and do not diverge from this.
The second thing is that staking plans are essential to becoming a successful gambler. Most punters believe that the single most important thing when it comes to betting is identifying winners, and while it is certainly an important aspect of the game, risk management is equally as important.
Obviously, if you don’t identify winners, managing your bank balance can only take you so far, but in the same respect, even if you do identify winning selections, poor risk management can leave underwhelming results.
Staking plans
The difference between good risk management and bad risk management can be the difference between turning a profit and turning a loss, though it is important to note that no matter how good your staking plan is, even the best risk management strategy cannot turn a losing system into a winning one.
Staking plans help you understand how much you should be betting, and also help you to keep disciplined.
While not all gamblers might agree on which is the best staking plan, all good punters will employ one or another.
All Sporting Life previews have a staking plan, using a points system, ranging from 0.5 to 10 points, to help underline confidence in a selection and to help you weight your stakes.
There are many different staking plans out there, but the most important thing is to remain disciplined and to avoid any major deviations once you have made your choice.
Some plans include level stakes betting, whereby you stake the same amount on each bet, irrelevant of the price, fixed profit staking, whereby you bet to win the same amount from each bet, and Kelly Criterion.
There are other plans such as Martingale, Fibonacci and Pyramid, but these are generally best avoided.
How to grow your bankroll
The bankroll is a key factor in becoming a successful gambler, as the aim is not to identify one big winner, but rather to grow your overall balance over time.
While it may seem dull, lots of smaller staked bets are far preferable to the odd large wager.
There really is no right or wrong answer when it comes to staking plans, it is just a case of finding what works for you and making sure you stake with your head, rather than your heart – though that is easier said than done.
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling.
Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.
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