"Bet to risk" and "bet to win" are crucial aspects in Bankroll Management that are usually overlooked. They might seem similar, but knowing the differences between these options is vital for your betting career.
Bet to Risk
This option indicates that you're betting on your preferred amount of money, whatever the odds are. If you lose the bet, then you'll also lose all the amount you've risked on the match.
However, if you win the bet, you'll receive the total payout that's determined by the odds price.
Bet to Win
Betting to win is entirely different from betting to risk. This option requires you to risk a predetermined amount based on the odds so you'll win the desired amount. Betting to win usually means risking more, especially during bets in favourites and moneyline.
Identifying the differences between betting to risk and betting to win can be confusing, especially for new bettors. Therefore, let's look at some real-world examples to find out the clear differences.
Examples of Bet to Risk and Bet to Win
Let's take some popular English Premier League teams as examples, Chelsea is a 1.60 favourite on the moneyline and you want to bet $100 on the Blues. If you're looking for a bet to risk, that means you're risking the $100. Also, according to the 1.60 favourite odds, if Chelsea wins the match, you'll roughly win $60 and your original $100 back. However, if Chelsea loses, then you'll also lose the initial $100.
On the contrary, if you've bet Chelsea to win with $100 on the line, this means you'll need to risk $150 upfront according to the 1.60 moneyline price. If the Blues win the match, you win the $100 and the $150 you've risked. However, if the team loses, then you'll lose the entire $150 that you've risked.
Betting to risk offers more control over all your bets. It's all up to you on how much you're willing to risk rather than letting the odds' price dictate your amount. Betting to risk is also considered a better play for spread or total bets.
In betting to win, making more and more bets can amplify the danger of the betting option. For example, if you're betting on Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal. All three teams are favourites with 1.50 on the moneyline. If you bet to win all teams with $100 each, you'll need to risk $150 on every bet, which sums it up to $450. This means that if you lose all three bets, then you'll lose all the $450 you've risked.
However, if you've risked $100 on all three teams and all end up losing, then you've lost $300 that you've staked, which still seems a lot, but it's significantly less than the betting to win option as you'll save $150 in losses.
Then how about if you bet on underdogs instead of favourites? Does the betting to risk and betting to win change? In short, yes, it does.
Let's change up the moneyline prices with Tottenham as an underdog with 2.50 odds. If you put $100 on the line for Liverpool and they win the game, you'll win $150 based on the additional underdog prize money and the $100 that you've risked back. If you bet $100 for Tottenham to win, you'd need to risk $66 based on the 2.50 underdog price. If Tottenham wins the game, you'll receive $100 and the additional $66 that you've risked back. On the contrary, if Tottenham loses the game, then you'll lose the $66 that you've risked.
Betting to win may seem like a better option for betting underdogs as it allows you to risk a significantly less amount upfront. However, you need to keep in mind that betting to win on underdogs can slice through your potential profits and cancel the benefits of the extra payouts.
For example, say Tottenham, Liverpool and Everton are all underdogs with 2.50 odds. You bet $100 on all three teams, which means you've risked $66 on every team, which sums up around $200 in total overall. If all three teams win, then you'll win $300 and the $200 you've risked back. On the other hand, betting to risk $100 for all three teams and the teams ending up winning will reward you with $450 based on the team's odds price and you'll receive the original $300 back.
If you've chosen to bet to risk instead of bet to win, your underdog payout significantly increases. In this case, you would have scored $450 to risk on the three-underdog compared to the $300 profit from betting to win. That's an additional $150 in betting to risk.
Conclusion of Bet to Risk vs Bet to Win
Both betting to risk and betting to win are options only available in the US, so it's not an available option if you live anywhere else in the world. In the end, betting to risk is a better choice for bettors instead of betting to win.
Indeed, there might be a few benefits and disadvantages depending on the field's favourites and underdogs. However, it's best to look for bets that limit your risks and maximize your profits. Betting to risk proves that it offers this opportunity compared to betting to win.
