Defining The Bankroll First
Every figure this calculator produces is a percentage of one number, so that number needs to be honest before anything downstream of it means much.
A bankroll is money set aside exclusively for betting. Money you could lose entirely without it touching the rest of your life. Not money you expect to lose. Money you could. It should be a fixed sum, decided in advance, held separately, and never topped up from other funds mid-streak. A bankroll you refill on demand isn't really a bankroll. It's just your general finances with an extra step.
If 1% of your bankroll feels too small to bother with, the honest conclusion is that the bankroll itself is too small for this to be interesting yet, not that the percentage should go up. Raising the percentage doesn't create an edge. It only shortens how long you get to keep looking for one.
One To Two Percent, And Why
One unit equals 1–2% of the bankroll, and a normal play gets exactly one unit; no more, regardless of how good it feels. Conservative staking sits at 1%; more aggressive bettors push to 3% and accept much wider swings as the cost of doing so.
| Bankroll | 1% unit | 1.5% unit | 2% unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| $500 | $5 | $7.50 | $10 |
| $1,000 | $10 | $15 | $20 |
| $2,500 | $25 | $37.50 | $50 |
| $5,000 | $50 | $75 | $100 |
| $10,000 | $100 | $150 | $200 |
These numbers look small on purpose. A ten-bet losing run, which a professional bettor will still hit, costs half the bankroll at 5% units and a tenth of it at 1%. Small units aren't caution for its own sake; they're what leaves an actual edge enough room to show up over time.
Sizing For The Streak You'll Actually Get
The right test for a unit size isn't a good week. It's the worst run you should reasonably expect, which is exactly what the "streak to plan for" field above is doing.
A genuinely solid bettor will still hit a run of eight, ten, even twelve straight losses somewhere across a full season. That isn't bad luck; it's ordinary variance at any real sample size. A staking plan that can't absorb it isn't wrong because it's unlucky. It's wrong because it was never built for the streak that was always coming.
"Bankroll, in units" above is the clearest early-warning number on this page. At 1% you're carrying roughly a hundred units, which comfortably absorbs a rough stretch while a real edge has time to assert itself. At 5% you're down to twenty, which is closer to a countdown than a bankroll.
When To Move Off One Unit
Two rules keep occasional larger plays from quietly turning into guessing.
- Size up on edge, not on feeling. A two-unit play should reflect a measurably larger edge; not a stronger gut feeling about the game. There's no such thing as a guaranteed lock, and treating any pick that way is how disciplined staking erodes one "lock" at a time.
- Resize on a schedule, not after a result. Recalculate the unit monthly, or whenever the bankroll has moved by roughly 25%, and not in between. Resizing after every loss is how a stake quietly creeps upward at exactly the moment the reasoning behind it is weakest.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much should one betting unit be?
One to two percent of your bankroll. On a $1,000 bankroll that's $10 to $20, and a normal play gets exactly one unit regardless of how strong it feels.
How many units should my bankroll be?
At least fifty; a hundred is more comfortable. At 1% units that's a hundred, which is enough to absorb a real losing streak. Twenty units isn't a bankroll, it's a countdown.
Should I bet more units on a play I feel great about?
Only if the edge is measurably larger, and even then rarely above two or three units. Sizing up on conviction rather than on calculated edge is how consistent staking quietly turns into guessing.
When should I recalculate my unit size?
On a fixed schedule, such as monthly, or whenever the bankroll moves by about 25% and never immediately after a single loss, which is exactly when the pressure to raise the stake is strongest and the reasoning behind doing so is weakest.