Keeping Track Of Wins And Losses In Sports Betting
Whether you’re placing casual bets for entertainment or aiming for consistent profits, keeping track of your wagers is essential. Many bettors focus on picking winners but overlook the importance of structured betting habits, which can make the difference between sustainable success and unnecessary losses.
Without a proper system in place, it’s easy to lose track of your wins and losses, leading to poor decision-making and reckless betting. By maintaining accurate records of every bet, you can monitor your progress, identify patterns, and adjust your strategy accordingly. Tools like spreadsheets or sports betting trackers can simplify the process, helping you stay disciplined and in control of your bankroll.
This guide will walk you through the best methods for tracking your bets, why it’s crucial for your success, and how to use your records to refine your betting strategy. Whether you’re new to sports betting or looking to sharpen your approach, mastering bankroll management is a step you can’t afford to skip.
How To Keep Track Of Sports Bets
Once you’ve decided on a bankroll management plan, it’s time to put that plan into action. We suggest doing this before you begin betting sports, but often, that’s not how it works out. Most bettors begin their careers placing a number of -EV wagers and have little to no concept of value. Many don’t even take the time to do proper sports line shopping. Sadly, and luckily, for the sportsbooks, the vast majority of people who bet never make it to a point where they genuinely want to improve their win rate or expand their sports betting knowledge. Most people have no idea how to find value in betting markets, so bankroll management and record keeping is far from a priority.
As far as how you decide to keep your records, that’s up to you. It can be as simple as writing them down in a Microsoft Word document or even the old-fashioned way, with pen and paper. Although that’s not ideal, it still worlds better than not keeping track of your betting history at all.
It’s important to remember that even if you’ve already been wagering for a while, sportsbooks keep track of all your bets and transactions, at least for a certain period. Most bettors shouldn’t have any trouble going back and seeing their wagering history for the last six months to a year. If a site doesn’t have full records available online, speaking with support may get you the full account history.
Sports Betting Excel Spreadsheet
Microsoft Excel is a wonderful tool for just about everything and sports betting is no exception. With a little Excel knowledge, recording your bets and keeping track of your wins and losses is as easy as entering your wagers each day. 2+2 Sports Betting Forum user “TomG” made a sports betting tracker spreadsheet available for keeping track of sports wagers. It’s several years old, but it’s the best spreadsheet we’ve for tracking results.
Best of all, it’s completely free and available for download here. You also find a good number of free options that are excellent in this Reddit thread from r/Sportsbook. There are many websites that will track your bets for free or for a small fee. We prefer Excel because it can be as easy as you want, but can also be complex or more detailed depending on your preference. Regardless of the tool, what’s relevant is to keep records of your betting activity.
Why Keep Records When Betting On Sports
Without accurate record keeping, you’re not going to know how much you’re up or down, which makes it a lot harder to determine your bankroll size and therefore, bet size. Furthermore, failure to keep records on the bets you make won’t allow you to measure your edge accurately in betting markets. Look, we understand more than most that there is a big element of fun to sports betting. There are few things better than sitting down to watch a football game you’ve got a stake in with some beers and a few friends.
But, at some point, if you’re serious about making money betting sports – you’re going to have to keep records. It’s the only way to analyze your results truly and correctly place wagers that correspond with your bankroll requirements. It also is a big help and perhaps a legal requirement when you file your U.S. income taxes on your winnings from sports betting.
Detailed Sports Betting Records
At the very minimum, bettors should concern themselves with keeping track of all deposits and withdrawals at sportsbooks and recording the amount won or lost with each bet. However, we recommend going a bit further if possible. Bettors can do a much better job of quantifying their edge in certain markets if they record the type of sport they bet on, the event, wager type, selection, and the odds of each bet placed. Once again, the can also go the extra mile by adding additional information about each bet.
Stuff like the confidence level you had in the wager and the primary reason you decided to make the bet (handicapping, betting advice, steam betting move, etc.). If you’re looking to go in-depth, you can note specific statistics or research tools that helped you make your decision.
Sports Betting Record Keeping – Analyzing Your Results
Keeping accurate records allows you to analyze your results, which is a vital part of your growth as a sports bettor. It’s tough to gauge what a meaningful sample size is – a lot will depend on the sports you bet. For instance, a full NFL season probably isn’t enough for evaluation, as it’s only 17 weeks plus the playoffs, which isn’t a large sample size. That’s only 20 or so “game days”, which is extremely small in comparison to other markets.
It’s a bit different when it comes to other major sports, such as basketball for example, which has an 82-game regular season. It’s especially true for baseball, which features the longest regular season in professional sports with 162 games for each franchise.
Evaluate For Better Results
With that said, there’s no hard-and-fast rule for how often you should evaluate your betting results or the number of bets it takes for it to become viable. What’s important is that you record your results and analyze your records. As mentioned above, there’s a lot of merit to writing as much information as possible regarding each bet, in addition to the amount, sport, and result of your wager. When it comes to evaluating your results, the more information, the better.
Stay in Control & Improve Your Betting Edge
Keeping a detailed record of your bets not only helps you manage your bankroll effectively but also provides valuable insights into your betting patterns. Over time, this data will help you refine your strategy, eliminate unprofitable habits, and maximize your potential winnings.
A well-organized betting log can also assist with tax reporting, help you identify your strongest markets, and highlight areas where adjustments are needed. Whether you use a simple notebook, an Excel spreadsheet, or a dedicated sports betting tracker, the key is consistency. The more detailed your records, the more informed your future bets will be.
Ready to take your sports betting skills to the next level? Explore our in-depth sports betting resource hub for expert strategies, betting tools, and insights designed to help you bet smarter and maximize your returns.
