Exploring Kelly Criterion Sports Betting

There are no strategies in the world that don’t have pros and cons. Everything has its own set of advantages and disadvantages and exploring them will do you a lot of good. But today, we are not only digging deep into the advantages and disadvantages of a strategy called Kelly Criterion but are also going to be learning what it is about.

So gather all your friends interested in online sports betting and move ahead to explore the Kelly Criterion Sports Betting strategy. 

What is this Kelly Criterion strategy?

Apart from sports betting, Kelly Criterion has seen its takers across all fields including portfolio management, financing, investing and more. The original theory of this famous strategy was proposed by John Kelly in the 1950s as he had originally planned on helping telecom companies reduce noise across long distances.

Years passed and after applying the strategy, again and again, it has now found takers in the sports betting market where people view sporting events in order to place bets. Apart from players, the strategy is also used by punters and other such developers because it helps them view the end objective. 

It is also used to make wagers and estimate bet sizes and people who tried it once continue to explore all that it offers.

How does this strategy work?

The Kelly Criterion strategy, which is also known by other names, is mainly used to help a bettor look at the task at hand and establish a betting size for any given bet. This is where they calculate the optimal size of the bet and by doing so, the process becomes a lot more clear.

In the age of live sports betting, it is important to be prepared before going ahead to place bets. However, to get started, you need to know how to calculate optimal betting.

• Calculating the optimal bet size

The first thing that you ought to look at while calculating the optimal betting size is the odds of winning. Every game brings in odds of its own and since it gives you a winner, there will always be odds of winning. For example, let’s say two components have entered a bet and one has a greater edge over the other. 

If the first player has a 65% chance of winning, they also have a 35% chance of losing. So the bettor must now convert this chance of winning into a probability, in a bid to gain more insights. Converting 65% into probability will mean that you have 0.65. And soon after the conversion, you need to multiply the same by 2.

0.65 x 2 = 1.3

Now that you have an answer, the next step is to subtract the total by one, which gives us 0.3. And with that, you can conclude that the Kelly Criterion strategy suggests that an optimal wager size leading to 30% is needed for the punter’s total betting funds.

Essential features of the Kelly Criterion Strategy

Understanding the features of this famous strategy is another move that you ought to look at. By understanding the same, you will be aware of what to do when applying this strategy for virtual betting or even eSports gambling.

• Helps you evaluate risks

There are things in life that are limited and they are called funds. Funds that are needed for betting or funds that are needed for creating a specific betting size. And with the Kelly Criterion strategy, you will be aware of how much you need to create a particular betting size.

With that knowledge, you can look to access the risks of the procedure and also understand how much you will have to spend. So if you believe it is above you, forget placing bets but if you believe you have the required resources, go ahead and place bets by considering this information as a betting tip. 

• Optimal allocation of resources

Once you are aware of the estimated betting size, you can look towards allocating resources in the right manner. Since we have learned that optimal allocation of resources is the right way to go forward, it is best to be aware of such information before going ahead to use them.

While it is not a guarantee towards attaining victory, it is still an important strategy that leaves you with the kind of information that you ought to know.

Who doesn’t follow this strategy?

While you might find a lot of takers for this strategy, conveniently searching for terms like online casino UK to get started with betting, you will also find people who don’t practice this strategy. As mentioned before, there are also critics of this strategy and now we are going to be looking at a few points that are used to criticize this strategy.

• The risk of losing

While it is true that this strategy gives us a particular size for betting and also helps us understand the same, it is not a guaranteed form of placing bets. There are drawbacks in the picture and the main one is that you might lose.

If the strategy ends up giving you a wager size of close to 50% or even more than that, you will have to put in more funds and at the same time, absorb the risk of losing it all. 

• Wrong calculations

While this is not a common problem, it is still something that one needs to consider. The Kelly Criterion strategy is one that gives you numeric information. However, if you manage to misjudge it, things could go horribly wrong. 

Incorrect calculations can go a long way in ruining things for the worse and that should always be considered a possibility. Moreover, there are other strategies that don’t require you to calculate but provide you with relevant information.

So the task of choosing comes as a point for critics and it is something that you need to look into.