MyTopSportsbooks ‘Unit’ in Sports Betting Guide

Unit betting will allow you to take control of your bankroll management. This guide will lay out the details on this bankroll management strategy, which values consistency and patience over time. Reading this guide will make you a smarter bettor. You’ll hear the term used by online bettors, especially those with experience beating the bookie on NFL, NBA, NHL, or MLB. But what is a unit in betting, and where can you get these betting units? Is it an amount of money?

When you first start gambling, the chances are you will have more questions than answers. Things like what units are in betting are easy to overlook. But that’s a mistake made by countless losing sportsbook bettors every year.

This beginner’s guide from the online sports betting experts at MyTopSportsbooks will ensure you have a complete understanding. Learn what a unit is and how to apply this to your sports betting strategy. How much is a unit in gambling, how do use units in sports betting, and what does 1u mean in betting?

What are Sports Betting Units?

Let’s start at the beginning. Way before placing your first bet. What is a unit in sports betting?

A unit isn’t risk-free and not free bets. It’s the cash amount placed on a wager, with the value remaining consistent on each bet. Each unit, or bet, should be one percent of your starting bankroll. Bankroll management is essential to a profitable gambler, and betting units make this easier.

While the amount wagered can vary from bettor to bettor, the value is the same as one unit or one percent of their bankroll. Using the term unit allows everyone to speak universally without divulging how much money the bettor has at risk. It can be used for any betting market, including moneyline on college football.

Therefore, while the dollar amounts may vary between the bettors, the level of risk is the same. A unit for many sports bettors using legal betting sites could be $10, while, for others, it could be $100. In some cases, for the big hitters out there, a unit may be $10,000.

In its most basic form, that should answer the question of what units mean in betting and how much a unit in betting.

What are Sports Betting Units?

Risking Multiple Units

Now we have an answer to the question of what are gambling units. Now let’s proceed to the more exciting stuff. like how to use a unit bet.

As a show of confidence in a bet, a bettor will commonly risk more than one unit per bet. Sports bettors generally have a predetermined max bet size as well. When the confidence is high, the unit size follows suit.

Many professional gamblers work off a one to five points system for their units in betting. One unit or point would be viewed as an interesting bet. Something you want to watch on TV for entertainment.

This could be backing the underdog in the Kentucky Derby. A five-point bet would be a maximum wager, going “all in”. This approach would be used on a bet you are confident will win.

As with any style of betting, there’s a risk involved. But knowing and understanding units, saving the highest for your best bets, could limit the danger of developing a gambling problem.

Units = confidence

What’s a unit in betting?

Betting multiple units is risky as a bettor can get caught up in trying to reach for results. If a two-unit bet loses and is then countered with a 5 unit bet size next, it’s not good. You can see how you would lose an entire bankroll in a hurry. Additionally, predicting that one result is more of a guaranteed winner than another is also quite tough.

That said, despite some concerns, sports handicappers will release plays at varying unit sizes. The increase in units is driven by confidence. Confidence will always play a role in determining the unit size for any given bet. But you can always use a betting units calculator.

Are you sure the Broncos will win this weekend? They may attract a decent unit at Caesars sportsbook or Fanduel. Heard a whisper about the weekend college basketball? That could be a max bet if it’s from a sound source.

Risk vs Reward

Risking multiple units with success is how a bettor can have a losing record but be up money. If the big unit-sized bets are winning, then it will make up for a bunch of small unit-sized bets losing. The flip side can also be true for those that win small unit bets but lose out on cashing their big unit-sized bets. This will result in a winning record but a diminished bankroll.

Parlays are about as common as a weekly trip to the grocery store, but bettors generally risk fewer units on these. That is because of two factors. The increasing difficulty of the bet winning due to multiple events within one singular bet and the increased payout will necessitate a common bet size of a half unit, for example.

Armed with the confidence to manage your bankroll through units, we wish you good luck! This was what does units mean in betting and how much is a unit in sports betting. But there’s plenty more. Remember to check out our other guides for more sports betting knowledge

Use the Payout and Odds Calculator

Use the Payout and Odds Calculator

Whether using the unit approach or some other system, it is always a good idea to have an odds calculator handy. It works on every bet from every sports team, including the New York Yankees.

This way, you can be smarter about the unit that you are using. Your unit strategy should be constantly informed by using the betting odds calculator. That makes it quicker and easier to tell a one-unit bet from a three-unit bet. It’ll also speed up the process of handicapping or using point spreads.

Do not forget about the parlay calculator. You can still apply the unit approach to parlays. Parlays can make each unit bet even more profitable. Of course, they all come with even more risk as every leg of the parlay must carry to earn the payout.

 

Frank Lorenzo
Frank Lorenzo
MTS Co-Founder
Geoff Johnson
Geoff Johnson
MTS Co-Founder