Tweet
A Tale of Two Sports Bettors
John and Bob each started the season with $1000 - their bankroll. They both decided to play the same games throughout the season but they couldn agree on how much to place on each game. John was more of a risk taker than Bob so John decided to bet about $200 per game (20% of his bankroll). Bob was more conservative and decided to risk about $50 per game (5% of his bankroll). John figured that if he bet more, he could win more. And he was right. In week one, their picks went 4-2. John was up $360 while Bob only won $90. John was very pleased with himself.
Week 2 produced the exact same result. John now had a $1720 bankroll while Bob was up to just $1180. John was very happy. He encouraged Bob to bet more but Bob wasn so sure about that strategy. What if their luck started to turn? John preferred to think positively. Besides, they were 8-4 and they knew what they were doing! The first two weeks had proved that.
But then came weeks 3 through and 4 in which they went 2-4, 1-3. A bad run for sure, but not uncommon during a 16-week season. In fact, losing streaks are inevitable and guaranteed during a season. Bob lost $235 while John gave back $940. John now had a lower bankroll than Bob! John was now down to $780. John felt the losing couldn possibly continue so he stuck with his bet size of $200 per game. The next two weeks they went 2-2 and 1-3.
Guess what? John was now virtually wiped out - down to $280. Bob, meanwhile lost $360 on the terrible four week run but still had $820 left over. One of them was virtually out of money, the other had over 80% of his original bankroll left.
What happened next? Well, John quit. And, the unfortunate four-week run was followed by a great 3-week run where Bob went 10-3 and another 8 weeks of hitting a very respectable 56% on average. Bob ended up the season at over $1300 - an increase of 30% on his initial bankroll.
The morale of this story is obvious but very few sports bettors practice it.
Don bet too much for your bankroll!
John and Bob each started the season with $1000 - their bankroll. They both decided to play the same games throughout the season but they couldn agree on how much to place on each game. John was more of a risk taker than Bob so John decided to bet about $200 per game (20% of his bankroll). Bob was more conservative and decided to risk about $50 per game (5% of his bankroll). John figured that if he bet more, he could win more. And he was right. In week one, their picks went 4-2. John was up $360 while Bob only won $90. John was very pleased with himself.
Week 2 produced the exact same result. John now had a $1720 bankroll while Bob was up to just $1180. John was very happy. He encouraged Bob to bet more but Bob wasn so sure about that strategy. What if their luck started to turn? John preferred to think positively. Besides, they were 8-4 and they knew what they were doing! The first two weeks had proved that.
But then came weeks 3 through and 4 in which they went 2-4, 1-3. A bad run for sure, but not uncommon during a 16-week season. In fact, losing streaks are inevitable and guaranteed during a season. Bob lost $235 while John gave back $940. John now had a lower bankroll than Bob! John was now down to $780. John felt the losing couldn possibly continue so he stuck with his bet size of $200 per game. The next two weeks they went 2-2 and 1-3.
Guess what? John was now virtually wiped out - down to $280. Bob, meanwhile lost $360 on the terrible four week run but still had $820 left over. One of them was virtually out of money, the other had over 80% of his original bankroll left.
What happened next? Well, John quit. And, the unfortunate four-week run was followed by a great 3-week run where Bob went 10-3 and another 8 weeks of hitting a very respectable 56% on average. Bob ended up the season at over $1300 - an increase of 30% on his initial bankroll.
The morale of this story is obvious but very few sports bettors practice it.
Don bet too much for your bankroll!
Comment