During the process of betting and handicapping sports it is not unusual to lose ten or more games in a row therefore conserving your bankroll should be the objective. Considering this let's review some sports handicapping guidelines.

1. How many sportsbook accounts do I need?
If you bet primarily on the major North American sports you will need a minimum of three sportsbooks . If you also wager on golf, motor racing, soccer or tennis then five to six online sportsbook accounts is appropriate. Remember line and price shopping are a fundamental sports betting investment tool.

2. How much should I wager per game?
We recommend betting or risking 2% or less of your bankroll per game. For example if your bankroll is $10,000 your unit size will be $200. This allows you to lose twenty five net units, which does happen and still preserve at least one half of your bankroll.

3. Should I increase my wager size on plays that I am more confident?
In most cases you should bet the same amount (1 unit) on every game however you may increase your wager size if your strong plays have shown to have a greater edge over multiple seasons. The problem is most gamblers do not have a statistically significant number of wagers to determine if their strong plays will continue to show an increased edge or win percent.

4. How much should I wager on my strong plays?
Wagers that you have a strong feeling about may have no more chance of being correct then your normal bets. It is possible to have a winning record and still lose money if you vary your bet amount by too much. Therefore we do not advocate increasing your wager size by more than 50% or betting more than 1.5 units.

5. What should my ROI goal be?
Realistically if you manage a 5% return you are doing a great job. You have to hit 52.5% just to breakeven versus a -110 line. Winning 55% of your bets on side and total wagers will give you a 5% return.

Here is the math if you win 55% of your wagers over 100 wagers at -110 juice:

(55 wins)-(45 losses)-(4.5 juice on losses)=5.5 units.

5.5 units divided by 100 games = .055 or 5.5% ROI.

Anybody claiming to do better is probably being insincere or hasn't been betting long enough to have a statistically significant record. The good news is that every time we wager on a game we know the result by the end of the day and we have the ability to churn a large amount of money in a short period of time.