How To Use Kelly Criterion In Online Sports Betting

In our investment example, we had a 50% win probability with unequal payoffs of 2-for-1 (20% win vs. -10% loss). The Kelly criterion, therefore, suggests betting with a maximum loss of 25% of the bankroll which the advantage , as we found out, is equal to a 2.5x leverage from the base loss of 10%. In the rigged coin-tossing game we had a 51% win probability with equal payoffs. Inserting these inputs in the Kelly criterion formula shows that the optimal betting proportion of our bankroll is 2%. Knowing this, consider now the foolish betting strategy by the name of martingale.

The Kelly Criterion Formula

Always lean towards conservative values that underestimate your perceived chance of winning. You can make computations for this bet relatively easily with this above equation or even use pre-built Kelly Criterion Calculators if you wish. Regardless of where you are coming from, using the Kelly Criterion system can boost your sports betting winning odds, so let’s examine how this system works. In the previous post, we talked about the history of the Kelly criterion and some of its main characteristics when betting in coin tosses or investing in the stock market. In this post, we are going to delve a little more into this last one, the stock market. The Kelly Criterion method of staking is a sound approach, but the issue is defining your edge, as it is simply a matter of judgement.

What Are The Issues With The Kelly Criterion?

For example, consider a game of many players where the first card has been dealt , and suppose that a player has been dealt an ace, while all other players have been informative post dealt high-value cards and aces. It is rather improbable to receive a second ace under the circumstances, while the remaining deck is now certainly biased towards low-value cards. The best chance may be then to declare the ace high, expecting a low-value second card, in order to establish a wide spread.

Over the long run, even with a series of failures, you will save some of the money. Value bet or value is a bet on an underestimated event, when the probability of a particular outcome is higher than the bookmaker thinks. The Kelly Criterion will save you from ruin, but you have to be a genius to profit from this strategy.

Read More From Betting Strategies

Thus, using too much margin is not a good investment strategy, no matter how good an investor you are. That’s even better odds than in this game, but one-third ended up with less money in their accounts than they started with and 28% went bust. Only about one in five players ended up with the maximum possible payout, despite the fact that most everyone would have profited by employing a consistent, calculated betting strategy. You have $100 to wager on the next 10 games and can choose how much of your fictional cash pile to wager on each game.

Though the exact rules vary, the main concept is that the player is dealt two cards and bets on whether the value of a third card dealt about to be dealt will be between the values of the two previously dealt cards. That may be a good model for some gambling games, but generally does not apply in investing and other forms of risk-taking. Suppose an investor is offered 10 different bets with 40% chance of winning and 2 to 1 payoffs . Considering the bets one at a time, Kelly says to bet 10% of wealth on each, which means the investor’s entire wealth is at risk. That risks ruin, especially if the payoffs of the bets are correlated.

Deposit Methods

As far bankroll size goes lets start with someone who is interested in betting $100 a game. How much of your total bankroll should you bet on each flip? It’s obviously not 100% because if you bet it all, you are done playing and broke the first time tails comes up. I also came across thison an old forum from “slapdash”. I don’t know if slapdash has a typo in what they posted, or it’s different just because they are basing calculations off 0.5 stake on win and place, so 1 unit total. I can’t get his formula to marry up with what I have derived.