How Much Should a Unit Be?
The amount someone places on any particular wager will vary greatly from person to person. However, there are a few basic guides to how much a unit should be. Generally speaking, a single unit should be 1 or 2% of your total bankroll. Your bankroll is how much money you’re willing to set aside for the purposes of sports betting and should NEVER be more than you can financially lose. For beginners, 1% would be the recommendation for a unit, but over time as you figure out your process and where your strengths are 2% is fine if you’re feeling confident. With that, if you’re setting aside $1,000 for sports betting, then your unit size would be $10 ($1,000 * .01). But if you’ve got quite a bit of disposable income and are setting aside $25,000 then you’re looking at a unit size of $250 ($25,000 * .01).
Obviously, you could choose any number you’d like, however, by keeping your unit as a low percentage of your bankroll you are protecting yourself from the dreaded and inevitable losing streak. It’ll happen to even the best of sports bettors and if you go through a streak where you lose 20 out of 30 bets, then betting more than that small percentage will quickly eat away your bankroll and allow panic to set in. Regardless of where your unit size starts, though, over time you’ll be able to increase it as your bankroll grows.