What is a bankroll

A bankroll is the amount you are prepared to lose on betting without touching your rent, food or debt repayments. The picture shows a box holding 10,000, with the conversion straight away: 1% = 100. If there is no number, you do not have a bank; you have a post-payday mood. Bonulist does not accept bets: this lesson is about your own money at a licensed bookmaker.

A bankroll in plain words

"What is a bankroll" sounds like a dictionary entry until someone confuses their bank with the balance in the app. The balance is what the bookmaker shows you tonight. The bank is a rule you wrote down before you registered: "this much, and not a penny of the rent". A deposit on Monday does not create a new bank; it tops up the same box. A withdrawal is not the month's profit until you have subtracted every loss and closed the line in your diary.

How it works

Say the number out loud. Write down the start date. Separate your betting account from the card that pays your bills. The bankroll course starts here because a unit (one stake, usually 1% of the bank), flat staking and a stop-loss are empty words without an amount. If 10,000 is too much for you, use 3,000. A small, honest bank is better than a big, theatrical one. Betting is 18+: it is entertainment with a risk of losing, not a salary.

1. Write down an amount you could afford to lose in full over a quarter.
2. Check that your rent, food and debt repayments do not depend on that amount.
3. Open a separate wallet, or at least a separate line in your spreadsheet.
4. Record the start date and do not rename the bank every Monday.

Example with numbers

A player deposits 10,000 and says: the bank is 10,000, the unit is 100. Two weeks later the balance is 7,400. The bank is still the same box; there is simply less inside it. A second player tops up from their card after every loss "so it is back to 10,000". That player has no bank, just a subscription to burning their salary. A third player withdrew 2,000 after a winning Saturday and forgot to subtract it from the box: the diary says 10,000, the bookmaker account says 8,000, and the unit is already wrong.

Common mistakes

• Calling everything on your card a bankroll.
• Counting money you have not yet deposited as part of the bank "just in case".
• Resetting the box in your head after three wins and starting to stake more.
• Confusing the bookmaker's balance with your bank: the bookmaker keeps its own records, and you need yours.

What to write in your diary

A starting line: date, amount, currency and bookmaker brand. Until that line exists, you can read the course, but there is nothing to practise.

Glossary: bankroll, unit, responsible gambling. Next: unit size.