I found this article insightful...
MONEY MANAGEMENT
If you follow these guidelines you will earn more money then you’ve ever won in sports wagering.
Only 2 to 3% of people who wager on sports are long term winners. For the most part it’s not because the losers are bad handicappers, or using poor handicapping sources. IT’S BECAUSE THEY HAVE NO CONCEPT OF WHAT A BANKROLL IS, ANY RESPECT FOR IT, OR HOW TO USE IT.
If you are interested in maximizing your earnings and minimizing your losses using a disciplined, unemotional system, then read on…if not, do everyone a favor, especially yourself, and find yourself a hobby other than sports investing.
There are three factors to successful sports investing:
1. Handicapping the games proficiently.
2. “Shopping lines” to get the best value.
3. Employing a disciplined money management program.
You can do above-average with the first two but fail (financially) if you do not manage your money correctly. But you will never do poor, financially if you successfully manage your bankroll.
One of the most difficult things to do is follow instructions. If you are able to achieve the PATIENCE and DISCIPLINE to follow these rules you will become more financially successful than you have in the past. If you aren’t willing to follow instructions or lack patience, read no further. For those of you who have the discipline, prepare to be more successfully wagering than ever before.
STEP 1 – DEFINE YOUR BANKROLL. This is a sum which, if you were to lose the entire amount, would not alter your current chosen lifestyle. Use a separate bankroll for each sport (for example, College and Pro Football use separate bankrolls). Don’t be embarrassed if this amount is small. With proper discipline and money management it will grow large!
STEP 2 – (A) WAGER A CONSTANT PRE-DETERMINED PERCENTAGE OF YOUR BANKROLL
IN EACH GAME. For example: 3* - 3%, 5* - 5%.
(B) NEVER WAGER MORE THAN 5 GAMES PER BETTING PERIOD. This insures that never more than 25% of your bankroll is exposed at a given time.
STEP 3 – CONTINUE TO WAGER A PERCENTAGE OF YOUR ORIGINAL BANKROLL PER PLAY UNTIL YOUR CURRENT BANKROLL EITHER INCREASES 50% OR DECREASES 50%.
STEP 4 – If your bankroll decreases 50%, reduce your wager 50% until your bankroll returns to its original level. THIS IS IMPORTANT because it keeps you from “chasing” during a cold streak. “Chasing” is the most common mistake of the average player and the surest way to “tap out”. By reducing your wager 50% it guarantees you to stay in action until you have either regained your momentum or lost 30 units (zero bankroll) in which case you definitely need a new handicapper or avocation. The only sure thing to send you to the poor house sooner is playing parlays or teasers. They are a "Bookies Dream". You deserve to lose every cent you bet if you play them. “Square”, “Sucker”, and “Loser” are too kind to describe your mentality if you play parlays or teasers.
STEP 5 – ON THE POSITIVE SIDE. Let’s assume that good handicapping skills have ballooned your bankroll by 50%. Step to the next window and increase your wager by 50%. (For example, if you had been wagering $100/game, increase your wager to $150/game). Should your winning ways continue and your original bankroll doubles, you would then wager twice your original amount (now $200 in our example). Continue to increase your wager 50% with every 50% increase in your bankroll,
STEP 6 – TAKING PROFITS AFTER LOSING STREAKS! This thinking is taken directly from the Triple-Stack Method. Anytime you have more than doubled your original bankroll, then lose back 1/3 of your bankroll, take profits and return to your original bankroll. (Example: Your original $1000 bankroll has grown to $2400. But a losing streak reduces it to $1600. The $800 difference from your high point represents a loss of 1/3 of your bankroll. But the $1600 in your bankroll still represents $600 of profit. Take that $600 profit and return to your original bankroll of $1000). You’ve cut short a losing streak and taken profits.
STEP 7 – TAKING PROFITS AFTER WINNING STREAKS. During the course of the season we all are subject to winning streaks which are mostly the result of a number of close pointspread wins. It’s at these times that we feel like we’ll never have another losing day! WRONG! So, I’ve devised a method to lock in profits from these great times. It’s based on years of tracking winning streaks by length of streak and percentage of streak. The rules are as follows:
Rule #1 – TAKE PROFITS from a current winning streak any time you have won 80% or more of your
Most recent 20 plays (16-4 or better). You are “unconscious” if you’ve done this. Take the
Profit and return to your bankroll level before the 20th game hot streak began.
Rule #2 – In a similar way, TAKE PROFITS any time you have won 75% or more of your most recent
30 plays (23-7 or better). You are only “semi-conscious” if yo’ve done this. Again, take the
profits and return to your bankroll level before the 30 game streak began.
By having the discipline to follow these directions you’ll find yourself increasing your wealth in winning seasons and saving losses in tough times. WHAT YOU SAVE IS WHAT YOU EARN! For those of you who have read this far, please feel free to give me a call at 817-379-0413 should you have any questions regarding this material