Bankroll and risk
Unit
A standard bet size expressed as a fixed percentage of bankroll, usually 1%.
Units let results be compared across bankrolls. '+14 units' means the same thing whether the bankroll is $500 or $50,000, whereas '+$1,400' means nothing without context.
One unit is conventionally 1% of bankroll, though anywhere from 0.5% to 2% is defensible depending on how confident you are and how much volatility you can sit through. What matters far more than the number is that it stays constant — a 'unit' that grows after wins and shrinks after losses is not a staking plan.
See also
- Bankroll — The money set aside specifically for betting, separate from everything else you own.
- Flat betting — Staking the same amount on every bet regardless of how good it looks.
- Kelly criterion — A staking formula that sizes each bet to the size of its edge, maximising long-run bankroll growth.