The practice of managing your gambling funds to minimize the risk of going broke.
Bankroll management is the discipline of sizing your bets appropriately relative to your total gambling funds. It's arguably the most important skill in gambling because even the best edge is worthless if you go broke before the long-term math works in your favor.
The basic principle: never risk more than a small percentage of your bankroll on any single bet. Common guidelines suggest 1-5% per bet for sports bettors and at least 200-300 big bets for poker players.
Bankroll management also means only gambling with money you can afford to lose, keeping gambling funds separate from living expenses, and being honest about your results. Chasing losses — increasing bets to recover — is the opposite of bankroll management and the fastest path to going broke.
A sports bettor with a $10,000 bankroll flat-betting 1% units ($100 per bet) at a 55% win rate on -110 spreads projects a risk of ruin under 0.01% over 1,000 bets. Raising unit size to 5% ($500) keeps the same edge but pushes risk of ruin above 3%.
Poker cash games require 20-30 buyins for the stake; a $2/$5 player ($500 buyin) needs $10,000-$15,000. Tournament players need 100+ buyins due to higher variance — a $215 MTT regular should have $21,500+ set aside. Blackjack card counters with a 1% edge need ~400 max bets. The universal principle: size bets small enough that a bad run leaves you with capital to play the next one. Going broke kills edge forever; losing 40% of the roll is temporary.
<p>A sports bettor with a <strong>$10,000 bankroll</strong> flat-betting 1% units ($100 per bet) at a 55% win rate on -110 spreads projects a <strong>risk of ruin under 0.01%</strong> over 1,000 bets. Raising unit size to 5% ($500) keeps the same edge but pushes risk of ruin above 3%.</p><p>Poker cash games require <strong>20-30 buyins</strong> for the stake; a $2/$5 player ($500 buyin) needs $10,000-$15,000. Tournament players need <strong>100+ buyins</strong> due to higher variance — a $215 MTT regular should have $21,500+ set aside. Blackjack card counters with a 1% edge need ~<strong>400 max bets</strong>. The universal principle: size bets small enough that a bad run leaves you with capital to play the next one. Going broke kills edge forever; losing 40% of the roll is temporary.</p>
A standardized bet size used to track performance, typically 1-2% of your bankroll.
A formula for calculating the optimal bet size to maximize long-term bankroll growth.
The probability of losing your entire bankroll, even with a positive edge.
Emotional state causing irrational decisions, usually triggered by a bad beat or losing streak.
The practice of managing your gambling funds to minimize the risk of going broke.
<p>A sports bettor with a <strong>$10,000 bankroll</strong> flat-betting 1% units ($100 per bet) at a 55% win rate on -110 spreads projects a <strong>risk of ruin under 0.01%</strong> over 1,000 bets. Raising unit size to 5% ($500) keeps the same edge but pushes risk of ruin above 3%.</p><p>Poker cash games require <strong>20-30 buyins</strong> for the stake; a $2/$5 player ($500 buyin) needs $10,000-$15,000. Tournament players need <strong>100+ buyins</strong> due to higher variance — a $215 MTT regular should have $21,500+ set aside. Blackjack card counters with a 1% edge need ~<strong>400 max bets</strong>. The universal principle: size bets small enough that a bad run leaves you with capital to play the next one. Going broke kills edge forever; losing 40% of the roll is temporary.</p>
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