Big nights don’t break most bettors – bad sizing does. Treat your bankroll like a portfolio and you’ll survive cold weeks, take smart shots when price is fair, and step away before tilt empties the account. This guide gives you a simple plan: set capital, fix a tiny risk per bet, map drawdowns you can stomach, and review results the way a fund reviews trades.
Treat your bankroll like a portfolio
Start by naming your capital. That’s the amount you can afford to quarantine for one season without borrowing, chasing, or dipping into rent. Divide that figure into units. One unit is the small slice you stake on a normal edge; a fraction of a unit covers lean spots or volatile markets.
Live markets move fast and tempt over-sizing. When you want a neutral place to sanity-check the tempo and compare your plan to what’s happening on screen, open cricket betting live for a minute, note prices and time left, and then come back to your rules. The aim is to keep decisions tied to risk, not to spikes of emotion.
Now set a risk rule that feels boring – and keep it. Most people land near 1%–2% per bet of bankroll for pre-match edges, 0.5%–1% for in-play where variance jumps. If your bankroll is $2,000, a 1% unit is $20. That sounds tiny until you stack outcomes over a month. Small risk lets a good edge do its work without one bad hour wrecking your month.
Drawdowns you can live with
Write down a max daily loss and a max weekly loss. Think of them as circuit breakers. Example: 3% per day, 10% per week. If you breach either, stop. No “one more try.” Portfolios survive because they cap damage when noise is loud. You will, too.
Sizing: how to turn edge into dollars without drama
Edge is an opinion until you put a number on it. If you estimate a 54% win chance at fair odds of 1.85 (−118), any price above 1.85 carries EV. Your unit size doesn’t swing wildly because of one opinion; it obeys your rule. If your edge is modest or the market is jumpy, halve the unit. If your read is stronger and line movement agrees, you can ladder entries across a range, still within your cap.
Live cricket needs extra restraint. Overs can flip with a misfield or a no-ball. When you buy in-play, size is smaller than pre-match unless your model is built for ball-by-ball swings. Never escalate size to “win it back.” That’s how portfolios die.
A pocket example
Bankroll $2,000. Unit 1% = $20. You see an ODI chase where your model says 52.5% at 1.95. Stake 1 unit pre-over. If price drifts to 2.05 with no change in state (you think the market overreacted to a dot ball), you can add ½ unit once. Total risk still sits inside the plan. If a wicket falls and your edge vanishes, you don’t “average down” – you stop.
Bankroll hygiene: rules that keep you in the game
Your account is a working capital pool. Protect it from leaks that don’t show up on tickets.
Heat kills judgment. Step away when you’re tired, angry, or celebrating. Cool heads price risk; hot heads chase.
Separate wallets. Keep bankroll in its own account or e-wallet. No “borrow from savings, return later.”
Know your fees. Payment methods and currency conversion can shave points off EV. Pick the cheapest route and stick to it.
Limit markets. Specialize in a format (T20/ODI/Test) and a few props. Spreading thin makes you average at everything and good at nothing.
Pause on tech gremlins. If the stream lags or the app loops, don’t fight it. In-play with a broken feed is a tax on your bankroll.
One checklist you can run before every session
- Capital & units: bankroll written down; 1%–2% per bet fixed; half-unit rule for volatile spots.
- Daily/weekly stops: numbers set; alerts on your phone; walk away when hit.
- Market list: no more than three markets today; notes ready for each.
- Prices & timing: compare your number to screen price; avoid queues seconds before over breaks.
- Record keeping: log stake, price, reason in one line; screenshot if needed.
Journal like an investor
A short log beats a perfect memory. After each session, write three lines: what you thought, what the market did, what you’ll change. Track four ratios weekly:
- Hit rate (wins/total).
- Average odds taken vs closing line (are you beating the close?).
- Return per unit (profit ÷ units risked).
- Drawdown depth (worst peak-to-trough).
If you’re winning bets but losing to the closing line, your edges are stale. If you’re beating the close and still down, variance is biting – keep size steady and review sample size.
Psychology: protect attention, then money follows
Tilt isn’t just rage; it’s also boredom and FOMO. Give yourself quiet hours during big tournaments – no bets outside your window. Mute group chats when prices swing; other people’s tickets push you into bets you didn’t price. When you hit a losing run (you will), shrink unit size by 25% for a week and audit decisions. Small size lowers stress, and good reads return faster than you think.
When to scale and when to stand still
Scale when three things line up for two weeks: you’re beating the closing price, your return per unit is positive, and drawdowns stay inside plan. Raise the unit by 0.25% of bankroll, then hold. If any of those slip, roll back. Growth is a staircase, not a rocket.
Stand still during heavy noise: rain-affected matches, shuffling line-ups, venue changes you haven’t modeled. The best trade is often no trade.
A seasonal plan that feels boring – in a good way
Set a season bankroll. Fix the unit. Post your circuit breakers on the wall. Specialize. Log everything in one sheet. Review once a week with a cup of tea, not after midnight with a pulsing heart. That’s how investors treat capital, and that’s how your bankroll should run.
When the season ends, cash out your profit, reset the bankroll, and keep the same rules. You’ll notice the best change of all: calm sessions, fewer “hero” moments, and a graph that bends up without scary cliffs.
