How to Get Started with Sports Betting Using Minimal Funds

One of the golden rules of sports betting is that you should never bet with money that you cannot afford to lose. This applies whether you are a wealthy sports bettor or someone with a strictly limited betting balance, and ignoring this rule can lead to disaster.

It is of course tougher to bet on sports when you have a limited bankroll, but low-deposit betting can be practical. To help you get started with a small bankroll, here are some key things to remember.

Why are You Betting?

Asking yourself why you are betting is something that sports bettors should do more often. Most people who bet on sport have vague ideas of making money, some even feel that they can make a living from it. The reality, however, is that almost all sports bettors lose money. And if you are starting with a small betting bank, the odds against becoming a successful long-term sports bettor are huge.

So why are you betting? The logical answer is that sports betting is a leisure pursuit or a hobby, an opportunity to pit your wits and sports knowledge against the betting markets. You should treat it as such and set strict limits to your betting in terms of time and money.

Set the Right Bankroll

Since sports betting is a losing proposition, bankroll management is about limiting losses and protecting your betting funds long enough to perhaps land a significant win.

Your betting bank should be a sum of money you can afford to lose, that is entirely separate to the rest of your funds, and the amount that you stake on each bet should be proportionate to the size of your betting bank, and to the type of bet you are making.

For instance, if you are betting on a lot of bigger priced selections, you should reduce your stake size accordingly as there are likely to be long losing runs involved in such a strategy. Alternatively, your stake can be a bigger percentage of your betting bank if you are betting on short priced selections as these will win more frequently on average.

Bet Selectively

Some bettors make a lot of bets over the course of a year, and while this can be successful, it is a tougher strategy to maintain psychologically if you have a small betting bank, which may not be able to sustain a string of losses, even if you manage your stake.

Generally speaking, therefore, it is better to be extremely selective when you are betting with a small bankroll and to maintain a disciplined approach to ensure that you don’t get drawn into betting more than you had intended or more frequently than you had planned.

If the Money Runs Out

Let’s say you’ve followed all of this advice but you just end up with an unlucky losing run and lose your betting bank. Does this mean you are a bad sports bettor? Is this a failure?

No. As long as you were betting with money you could afford to lose, you can’t consider it a failure to lose your betting bank. If sports betting is a leisure pursuit, then you would expect to lose over the long term, and at some point that is likely to mean your betting bank runs out.

The important thing to remember is that you should never chase your losses. If the money runs out, then that’s just part of sports betting. If you intend to start sports betting again, then you should do so only when you are able to set aside a betting bank and stick to the rules outlined here.

Consider Accumulators

The accumulator bet is a popular bet among those with small bankrolls and stakes. While it often doesn’t offer much value, so strictly speaking isn’t a great bet, it does offer the possibility of winning a large prize from a small stake, rather like a lottery, but with an element of skill. Accumulator bets are common in football and horse racing betting, but they can be created across many sports and events and are worth considering if you are betting on sport with minimal funds.