Sports betting strategies for beginners: what they can and can't do

Bankroll management means deciding in advance how much money you set aside for sports betting overall, and how much you stake on each bet. That total amount is your bankroll.

The basic idea: never put a large share of your bankroll on a single bet. A commonly cited guideline is one to two percent per bet. A worked example: with a bankroll of 100 euros, that comes to a stake of 1 to 2 euros per bet. Stake 5 euros and you already have 5 percent of your bankroll in play.

Losing streaks come up again and again in sports betting. Stake too much per bet and you can lose your whole bankroll in a handful of rounds. Play it safe and you can ride out a longer losing run without wiping yourself out.

Bankroll management also guards against a common mistake: chasing. Trying to win it all back at once with bigger stakes after a loss puts your whole bankroll on the line. Set your stake in advance and stick to it, win or lose.

A value bet is a bet where you rate the probability of an outcome higher than the odds do. The term only describes your own estimate. Whether it holds up, only the match will show.

You work out the implied probability of odds like this: 1 divided by the odds, times 100. For odds of 2.20, that gives around 45 percent.

For example, you put team A's chance of winning at 55 percent. Odds of 2.20 stand for around 45 percent. By your estimate, that would be a value bet. But your 55 percent is only an assumption, and the odds also contain the provider's margin.

Even well-founded estimates are often wrong. Sporting events are unpredictable, and the margin stays in place. Our guide Reading and understanding betting odds explains how odds are built.

No betting system or strategy delivers reliable winnings over time. There is a mathematical reason: the bookmaker's margin.

Every provider builds an edge into its odds. The implied probabilities for a match add up to more than 100 percent. That means you pay in more than you get back on average. Over time, this works in the provider's favour whatever method you use.

A well-known example is the Martingale method: after every loss you double your stake, so the next win clears all your losses at once. It sounds simple, but stakes spiral fast. Start with 1 euro and lose six times in a row, and your seventh stake already has to be 64 euros just to break even. In a longer losing run, which is bound to come sooner or later, the method blows through any budget. No system wipes out the margin.

Sports betting is a form of entertainment. Only stake money you can afford to lose. It is no substitute for income and is not a way to invest.

Our article Bet types at a glance: single, accumulator and system explains more of the basics.

Sports knowledge does not improve your chances of winning and does not protect you from losses. Injuries, line-ups and a team's form are already priced into the odds. The provider calculates every set of odds with its margin, however well you know the sport.

Sports results stay unpredictable. Even if you follow a league closely, you will lose bets, often several in a row. So never treat your interest in sport as a reason to raise your stakes or play for longer.

In an accumulator, the odds of every individual pick are multiplied together, and every pick has to come in. That gives high total odds and a big possible payout, but a big risk too.

Get five of six picks right and you still lose the whole bet. That is what makes accumulators tricky from a statistical point of view. The chance of calling several results correctly at once falls sharply with every extra match.

The margin applies to each pick in the accumulator, so its effect builds up across the bet. The odd accumulator win does happen, but statistically it doesn't make up for the more frequent losses.

Personal loss limits are one of the most important steps towards responsible sports betting. Before you bet, decide how much you are willing to lose in total, how much you want to stake per day, week or month, and when you stop, whether you are up or down.

In the app or online, you can set fixed deposit or loss limits. In your Tipico betting shop, you can also apply for a self-exclusion if you need a break.

If you notice that betting is taking up more space than you meant it to, that you bet for longer than planned, or that you carry on after losses to make them back, those are warning signs. Our article Gambling addiction: signs and help explains more of them.

The BZgA offers free, anonymous counselling on 0800 1372700 (free of charge, available daily). The minimum age for sports betting is 18. Only bet with money you don't need for other things.