Determining the ideal amount for a bet can be quite tricky. A very effective system appears to be the so-called unit system of staking. What exactly does it involve?
System of Unit Backups
Consider the size of your deposits (source: pixabay.com)
One of the best and relatively simple deposit systems in sports betting is the so-called unit staking system. Its essence is to place bets according to a predefined scale (usually 1 – 10), depending on the confidence in the tip, the odds level, or its value. Once you master the unit staking system, you will find that it can be much more efficient than flat staking. As always, it primarily depends on your skills.
What is a unit
A unit is like a virtual betting value, which will determine the amount of your bet in crowns (euros, dollars, etc.). Bettors most commonly use a scale from 1 to 10. Essentially, on all betting forums and verification portals, bettors place their bets in units, not in money. It is a universal value that erases differences between bettors with different financial capabilities and at the same time provides a more realistic idea of the bettor’s skills. In reality, it doesn’t matter how much money you assign to a unit (for someone 1 unit can be worth CZK 100, while for another it may be CZK 1,000). The size of deposits should, of course, correlate with your bankroll management. In the unit staking system, bet sizes are either 5/10 (five units out of ten) or 5 U (note: the letter “U” is from the English word “unit”). The unit system can, of course, be adapted to individual needs in some way. It is up to you whether you determine the size of the deposit according to how much you believe in your bet or, for example, according to how much value you see in the odds.
Unit staking system based on confidence in the tip
In the case of the unit staking system, it can be an individual setting for each bettor. There are bettors who do not exceed the limit of 5 units for one bet, just as there are bettors who bet almost exclusively with 9 or 10 units. If you want to use the full range from 1 to 10 units, your scale might look like this:
- 1/10 to 2/10 – low confidence bet; most often riskier bets with higher odds or, for example, combo bets
- 3/10 to 4/10 – lower to average confidence bet
- 5/10 to 6/10 – average confidence bet; tips with this confidence are the most common
- 7/10 to 8/10 – high confidence bet
- 9/10 to 10/10 – highest confidence bet; you believe strongly in your tip (don’t overdo it with these bets)
Unit staking system based on odds level
Here too, the scale can be individually adjusted. Just as there are bettors who only bet on odds ranging from 1.10 to 2.00 (do not take it literally, it’s just an illustrative example), there are also bettors who are not afraid to bet on opportunities with odds of 1.10 or even 20.00.
- In the first case, the unit system may look like this: odds 1.01 – 1.10 are bet with 10 U, odds 1.11 – 1.20 are bet with 9 U, odds 1.21 – 1.30 are bet with 8 U, odds 1.31 – 1.40 are bet with 7 U, etc.
- The second bettor may have their bets divided completely differently, e.g., bets with odds 1.01 – 1.50 may be placed with 10 U, bets with odds 1.51 – 2.00 may be placed with 9 U, bets with odds 2.00 – 3.00 may be placed with 8 U, etc.
Unit staking system based on odds value
In our view, this is the most effective method of the unit system, which can bring the highest profits. Success, however, depends on how well the bettor can find value in the odds. Generally, you should follow the rule that the higher the value, the higher the bet. Here, however, there may be a bit of a clash with healthy betting sense, because it’s obviously different when you find enormous value in odds of 20.00 and when you find smaller value in odds of 1.30. Even if you find great value in such high odds, there is much less likelihood that such odds will win (unless there is a clear error in the listed odds) than in the case of much lower odds. So betting odds of 20.00 with 10 units while betting odds of 1.30 with 1 unit lacks some logic, and if you’re not a real betting superstar, it will catch up with you sooner or later. What you need to know in this case:
- Calculation to determine the odds from probability: 100 / your probability
- Calculation to determine probability from odds: (1 / bookmaker odds) x 100
- Formula for calculating the percentage value of a bet: ((bookmaker’s odds / your odds) – 1) x 100
Subsequently, according to the expected value of the odds, you set the size of the deposits. This can look like this:
- 0.01 – 5.00% = 1/10 – 2/10 U
- 5.01 – 10.00% = 3/10 – 4/10 U
- 10.01 – 15.00% = 5/10 – 6/10 U
- 15.01 – 20.00% = 7/10 – 8/10 U
- 20.01% and more = 9/10 – 10/10 U
Frequently asked questions
1️⃣ What is the difference between the unit staking system and flat staking?
While in flat staking you place all bets for the same amount, in the unit staking system you change the bet size, depending on several factors described in the text above.2️⃣ Is the unit staking system the most effective?
There is an even more advanced system, such as the Kelly Criterion, but for the vast majority of bettors, the unit staking system is optimal.
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