Football Betting for Beginners: What is a betting bank and a points based betting system?

Ever wondered why when you see someone recommended a bet, it says how many points they are having on that selection? Well here at BettingOdds.com our man @AnthonyEadson is on hand to tell us exactly what a points based betting system is and why it’s used in the industry. 

What is a points based betting system? 

So you may have seen on twitter or when reading betting previews that a tipster may say how many points (pts) they are placing on that selection. E.G:

England to win - 3pts @11/10

By saying how many points they are placing on that selection it shows the followers how much confidence they have in that selection winning. For example if somebody says they are placing three points on something, it shows they would have a lot more confidence in that selection than something they have only placed 0.5 points on.

Another reason for not using monetary value and using points is so that all followers of a tipster can be on a level playing field, regardless of their stake. Not all punters like to bet the same amounts and a large portion of being profitable in this game can come down to structure and discipline behind your betting.

Using points allows all punters to place the same percentage of their betting bank on the recommended selection, regardless of their stake.

The benefits of a betting bank

• Protection of your personal finances - By keeping your betting funds separate to your personal finances this ensures that you will never run the risk of ‘accidentally’ using money you had for bills or food. Problem gambling is a very real issue for some people and having a seperate betting bank can also help maintain emotional stability.

• Control over your betting finances - Many casual punters would struggle to tell you the exact figure they are up or down over the last three months. Implementing a betting bank allows you to see your profit and loss (without the vulgarity of monetary values) and can allow you to track a certain tipster or see how a certain strategy is fairing. 

• Reducing Risk - Consistency in your staking can also be a major factor leading to profitability in gambling. Punters throwing varied stakes on selections can often lead to losing track of how much you have spent. The control from a betting bank allows you to become more consistent and therefore reduces the risk of things getting out of hand.

It’s currently safer gambling week and if you would like to learn more about responsible gambling, you can do so here.

What is the value of 1 point for me?

So to decide what one point of your betting bank is worth, you first need to choose your opening figure. This could be how much you decide to deposit into your betting account, or how much you can afford to lose without impacting your bills that month or year even.

For this example let’s say your betting bank is £100

Tipsters and experts in the game often say that using 1% of your betting bank per bet is a good starting figure. So in this case 1% of our betting bank is £1. To find your one point value, divide your betting bank figure by 100.

This means that your 1 point value will be £1 (£100 divide by 100)

By using just 1% (1 point in this case) of your betting bank you are ensuring that you will not have to deposit again and that you are following the recommended points from the tipster.

Below you can see what bets would cost to the punter using £1, £5 and £10 per point examples.

Putting this into practice

So let’s say you’ve decided on your betting bank and for example’s sake it’s £100 so your one point value would be £1. You then see these three selections in a betting preview with the following point recommendations next to them:

England to win - 3pts @11/10

Jordan Henderson to be carded - 1pt @ 5/1

Harry Kane to score, Eric Dier & Kyle Walker to be carded - 0.25pts @ 40/1

So betting to a £1 a point your stakes would be:

£3 on England to win - 3pts @11/10

£1 on Jordan Henderson to be carded - 1pt @ 5/1

£0.25 on Harry Kane to score, Eric Dier & Kyle Walker to be carded - 0.25pts @ 40/1

If you were betting to £10 a point with a betting bank of £1000 your stakes would be

£30 on England to win - 3pts @11/10

£10 on Jordan Henderson to be carded - 1pt @ 5/1

£2.50 on Harry Kane to score, Eric Dier & Kyle Walker to be carded - 0.25pts @ 40/1

The betting points system allows all followers of a tipster to place the same percentage of their betting bank on the selections regardless of the stake. 

Stay Responsible

In today’s society, gambling is more present than ever before. Punters must ensure that they remain comfortable and in control of their betting habits and using a points based betting system and a betting bank is one way of helping maintain that.