Varied Stakes Betting
The first method we looked at was the level staking method; so naturally, we’ll now look at the varied stakes method. The clue is in the title, as with varied stakes – you vary your stakes! Some people will argue that it isn’t as reliable a method of staking, but equally, it has its perks and allows for a degree of flexibility that can help increase profits – if use correctly!
Although there is a chance of losing bets with larger stakes and winning those with smaller stakes (potentially compromising your return and the potential winnings you could have had with level stakes), your knowledge and insight could help you increase profiuts on those bets that you perceive to have a greater chance of winning. If you’re smart with your varied stakes, you can put it to good use to target bigger wins on certain bets. Whether you have a system for this, or whether you simply go bigger on a bet you feel more confident with, it’s definitely possible to take advantage of using varied stakes.
There’s no right or wrong way to vary your stake. It all comes down to you as an individual, and how much money you feel comfortable placing on a bet, but let’s look at a couple of examples that will help you better understand the concept of the varied stake.
One way of deciding how to vary your stake can be based around the odds you are betting on. Please see this example:
You may place two bets on Saturday, and we’ll call them Bet A and Bet B.
Bet A is priced at decimal odds of 2.05, and you place a £10 stake. Bet B, however, is priced at decimal odds of 3.50. Given the odds, you lack the same level of confidence in Bet B, so you decide you’ll just place £5 on it.
If Bet A wins, you’ll be returned £20.50 and make a £10.50 profit. If Bet B wins, you’ll be returned £17.50 and make a £12.50 profit. Given the odds in this particular situation, as long as one of your bets wins, you’re guaranteed a profit of some kind.
This is one situation where varied staking can work to your advantage, as you haven’t placed two equally large sized stakes, and it’s allowed you to target bigger odds and give yourself a better chance of an overall profit of some kind.
In that situation, the system works well. However, and without question it takes a lot more skill and knowledge, the odds will not always fall that way, so there are other ways of using your varied stake. Although it can be tougher, another positive is to target your favourite bets with a bigger betting stake, to try and get the most out of your winnings.
As I’ve said however it can also go the other way. If you’re betting on odds of little ‘value’, or bets you are hoping are real bankers, you need to really make sure you have some solid selections because if you’re taking multiple bets at odds below evens (for your bigger stake) then you’re going to need to be hitting all of them, or least have a very high strike rate.
For example you may decide you’re going to take 3 bets one day. One is above evens whilst two are below. You place your normal stake on the bet above evens but you feel the need to try and make use of two bets you feel are bankers, so you place a larger percentage of your bankroll on them.
When you take two bets below evens for big money, the risk is high and the value is compromised. Winning one out of the two will still amount to an overall loss on the day.
If you’re going to try and vary your stakes this way, you at least need to have a system in place to aid you. After all, all sports bettors have losing days, so one day with a loss can be countered by several of profit – it’s all about the long term, and making a profit on a daily basis just isn’t realistic – making a profit every month, or every quarter is a much more manageable goal. We’ve mentioned bankroll before, and it is vitally important when using varied stakes that you stick to a low percentage of your overall betting bank. You could be amazingly confident in a particular bet, but you should never bet larger than your predetermined max stake. At bet advisor, we say that 5% is the maximum, and we think this is a good place to start. It is important to limit liability and to limit the chance of wiping out large chunks of your bankroll in just one or two bets.
One way to utilise a varied staking plan is to develop confidence rating for your bets. Taking factors like current form, home/away form, team news, schedules and maybe even travel for certain leagues, you’ll be better able to asses any game you bet on and a confidence rating can help you be more selective about which bets have which stake on them. If you go in blind purely with the idea of going big on the bets you feel like, you will without doubt lose in the long run – as always in the blog, structure and discipline are both key attributes to a successful sports betting strategy.
In summary regarding varied staking plans, it’s good to know the positives but you need to keep the negatives in mind too. As always in the blog, structure and discipline are both key attributes to a successful sports betting strategy.