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A GOOD QUESTION - AND AN EVEN BETTER ANSWER

Finally, I'm going to provide the answer I sent to someone recently who emailed me about money-management and asked me about the wisdom of decreasing your play after some losers.  The mere fact that someone actually thought you should bet less money - instead of more money - after some losses was very refrehsing - it's not something I hear every day from gamblers.  This is a guy on his way to betting happiness long-term.

You'll find more about several aspects of money-management, by the way, in our FAQ as well.

But this answer I gave covers some of the techniques I personally use in my own betting - and I hope they offer some insight into what I've learned over the years. Some of the material is repetition of what I've already covered. But let me tell you, this bears reading and re-reading until it comes out of your ears because I wish someone had shouted this kind of stuff in my face when I was young and stupid and prone to doing just these bad things I mention:

You can be the best handicapper in history - but you'll never show long-term profits unless you decide you're in this game to make a buck - and keep that buck.

If you're gambling because all you want to do is have the action, nobody telling you about a money-management system is going to change you - you'll ignore them anyway.

Any money-management system in which you actually decrease the size of your play after some losers is a good, sound one.

Think about that; you'd be doing just the opposite of what most losing gamblers do - which is increase your unit-play when you're down a few games.

I often make smaller plays after a few losses because I understand the laws of probability and have to assume I'm not immune to them.

When...not if...but when I have a losing streak, I want to lose as little as possible.

Here's what I usually do - though what works for me may not work for you if it makes you feel uncomfortable. Don't do something that makes you cringe when you do it - do it only if it feels right for you.

First of all, I no longer use any credit-accounts with any books. This is not because I couldn't afford to pay what I might lose.

This is because using cash accounts has several advantages:

a) it's not "play" money. Face it - you're gonna make a too-big bet more often when you don't have to actually lay your bucks on the line up front.

Every unrealized loss - or gain - is just that, unrealized. It's just not real until you push that cash-register key and it goes "ka-ching." Then it's real. And you either owe it - or you're owed it.

b) You can control your cash-flow more easily. Here's what I mean. Let's say you deal with your local book and you've rolled a $500 bankroll up to $2500. And it's Sunday. Now, you want like hell to keep a big chunk of that money.

But do you really have the discipline to bet just $500 of that bankroll on Sunday's plays and keep 2 dimes untouched? Or will all that money burning that metaphorical hole-in-your-pocket cause you to bet most of it on those Sunday football games? I'll bet that's true more often than not. How do I know? I've been there and done that.

Instead, if you have an offshore account and you have $2500 in it, push that cash-register key and cash out those 2 dimes before Sunday's action even starts.

By doing so you accomplish this: you have real money - $2000 bucks worth - on its way to you. Doesn't the idea of that make you feel good? Feel like you've actually accomplished something, instead of running like a gerbil in a cage with the wheel spinning all the time?

And doesn't looking at that big check when it comes just make you smile?

You'll still have that nickel to play with on Sunday. Consider it a personal challenge to once again build it up to a sizeable amount.

Yeah, I know all about guys who want the big score all the time and play 6-team teasers or parlays and when they actually hit it big can't stop looking for that elusive big payout each time they bet.

Be realistic. Set realistic goals. That's what I do. I may bet more than you guys, but I do just that with my offshore accounts: to me, it's a game within a game to put X dollars in the account and set a goal of Y dollars where I'll cash in maybe 3/4 of the balance when it hits that Y figure.

And I don't screw around with this - I just don't make exceptions. When I have hit that bankroll target-number, I don't even wait for the next day to put in my online withdrawal request. It goes in right away after the last game is final - and that money is now on its way to me.  It's mine now - not the book's.

And I've actually won something - not just paper-profits, which you can never spend.

How much should you bet per play? Again, only do what feels comfortable for you.

My style of betting involves spot-action. I'm not gonna pay the juice on 20 plays a day.

And I know that chances are better that I'll have a winning day than I'll have a losing day. All I've got to do consistently is win 52.4% of the time to break even at 11-10 vig - and I'm pretty confident I'll do that.

I don't sit here with a schedule and circle Duke because I "think" they'll cover - I might circle Duke because I have some sound reasons to do so. I also don't expect horrendous 0-12 runs to happen because my methods are sound and long-term proven.

Notice I said don't expect; these rotten runs may happen, but that's rare for me.

 After decades of finding out painfully what works and what does not work, I personally do this:  I play about 3% of my total bankroll (or the total amount I can afford to lose) on a regular-play; I bump that up to about 4% on a Play-of-the-Day (P.O.D.) for a given sport [notice, I don't go crazy: 4% is just 1/3 more than 3% in actual dollars]; and I usually play about 5% for the overall P.O.D. for all sports.  It works for me.

Which means if I go 1-4, what happens? My bankroll goes down in size, and while I'm still playing 3-5% a play the next day, the amount I'm playing is less than I played the prior day.

And you know what? If I'm losing more than I'm winning, I will not - I repeat will not - put more money in that betting account just so that I can have a bigger bet. I will punish myself, so to speak, by progressively betting a smaller and smaller amount per play - still that same 5-10% of total bankroll.

I will actually deprive myself of the joy of a potential big win.

Even if I get to some joke figure for me like $50 per play by doing this, I'm not going to break my rule and subject myself to large losses willingly. Even if it does mean completely tapping out that account.

Thankfully, I don't remember too many instances of that happening lately. What do I do then? I wait for confirmation - of what? That I'm winning again.

I handicap and put no cash on those plays - I just watch 'em. Now, realize this happens not after a single losing day, or two such days - this could only happen after many, many losing days in a row.

And after I completely deplete that account - and after I've had any kind of winning day - 2-1, even 1-0 - I fund my account again and start the process anew.

So, again, I endorse any money-management system that decreases the size of your bet if you lose a few.

What happens if you're lucky enough to see the reverse happen and you win a few? Well, I still play that same 3-5% per play, but now it's a bigger bet because my bankroll is swelling - until I hit my target figure - and then bam!

Out that money comes.  Like the wind blowing it towards me.

To summarize, I keep my losses small and I let my gains run.

All of this I learned painfully.

And, I really do feel your pain when you lose plays - I have for the 30 years people have paid me for my plays.

But I'm offering you a solution to keep more of your sanity and more of your money which has worked for me - and I hope works for you, too.

Good luck to one and all!

Bob Akmens