Lesson 12 of 12 · 5 min
Bankroll rules on one page
The last lesson of the course is a single page you can copy into your diary header. The picture shows 1-2-3; in practice there are twelve bankroll rules. If any item is red, there is no bet. The odds course taught you to read a price. This course taught you not to kill that price with your stake size. From here you can move on to reading odds lines without dragging a leaking box behind you.
Bankroll rules on one page, in plain words
The bankroll rules on one page bring the previous lessons together: the amount is named, a unit (one stake, usually 1% of the bank) is 1%, flat staking is intact, the share is checked, the daily and weekly stops are in place, tilt is recognised, chasing is banned, the diary calculates ROI in batches, variance does not cancel flat staking, the deposit limit is on, Kelly stays a practice exercise, and 18+ and licensing are never dropped. It is boring. Boring survives October.
How it works
Copy the list. Go through it out loud once a week. If you break a rule, do not say "I will start again on Monday": add a tag, stop for the day and go back to 1 unit. The course does not end with a certificate. It ends with a spreadsheet containing 12 singles of 1 unit each and not a single ×2. Odds lines and markets can wait. Your bank will not wait if you carry your old chaos into them.
- Copy the 12 items into your diary header.
- Mark each one yes or no this evening.
- Fix the red items before you click, not afterwards.
- Come back to the list after your first run of five losses.
Example with numbers
One person has completed all 12 lessons: bank 10,000, 1 unit = 100, deposit limit 500 per week, stops of 3 units and 10 units, and a diary with columns. The first week ends at −6 units and they feel the urge to chase. The list says no. They stake 1 unit or nothing. A second person skimmed the lessons: no anchor, no limit, and on Sunday a ×2. The difference is not in the odds on any particular club. The difference is a page the second person does not have.
| # | Rule | Red if |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bank as a number | "Whatever is on the card" |
| 2 | 1 unit = 1% | A round number plucked from thin air |
| 3 | Flat staking | Stake depends on mood |
| 4 | Stops of 3 units / 10 units | The wall is moved in the evening |
| 5 | No chasing | ×2 after a loss |
| 6 | Deposit limit | A card with no ceiling |
Common mistakes
- Keeping the rules in your head.
- Considering the course finished after the quiz, without a spreadsheet.
- Moving to in-play markets before completing 50 flat-staked singles.
- Removing account limits "just for the big round of fixtures".
What to write in your diary
This page is your header. Then 12 singles of 1 unit after the course. Fewer than that, and you have read the course rather than completed it.
Course links: getting started, odds. Glossary: bankroll, staking plan. Next in the school: reading odds lines.
18+ only. This is a lesson, not a tip or a call to bet. Bonulist is an editorial guide to licensed bookmakers; we do not take bets.