What are units in betting? Betting units explained

In sports betting, units are an equalizing system used to measure the success of wagers without listing the actual, physical amount bet. Units are one of the best ways to gauge bettors’ success. It’s more telling than simply looking at total profit earned because everyone in the world obviously isn’t betting the same amounts. Units can be used as a universal measuring system, regardless of how much money people are actually betting.

A unit is a non-monetary measurement of the size of a bet. It is a way to measure success or failure in betting without showing the actual amount of money won or lost. Units are used for accuracy and transparency, especially when it comes to comparing one bettor to another. They are more effective as a measurement system than the actual money won/lost because people are betting with different bankrolls, which can be thought of as a betting budget. For example, someone who is betting $10 per bet on each NFL game and is up $200 on the season has been far more successful than someone who is betting $500 on each game and is up $1,000 on the season. The first bettor is way ahead in units profited (20), while the second bettor (up 2 units) has won more money only because they are putting more at stake, not because they have been more successful. Using units as a measurement will show that the first bettor has been a far better handicapper.

A unit can be thought of as a person’s standard bet amount. Units can also simply measure the level of confidence in a certain wager, as some bettors will risk multiple units if they feel they have a significant edge with that play. The benefit of units is that they are a universal measuring system, whereas money is specific to each bettor and is dependent on the size of his or her bankroll. A professional bettor might be putting thousands of dollars at stake on each wager, whereas casual bettors might be wagering something like $10 or $20 in most situations. Obviously in those two scenarios total money won or lost is not going to provide an accurate comparison of handicapping abilities. Units, however, provide a level playing field and can accurately compare the success of the high-stakes bettor with that of the casual bettors.

If you have a bankroll of $100 for the season or year, one unit may be $1 or $5. If you have a $1,000 bankroll, one unit could be $10, $20, $50 or $100.

How should you decide on what a unit represents? Well, the size of a unit in terms of both percentage of a bankroll and monetary value will differ from bettor to bettor. Some bettors will assign 1 percent of their bankroll to a unit, while others could do 2, 3 or even 5 percent. If you have a bankroll of $1,000, for example, 1 unit could be $10 or maybe $20 or even $30. If you have a bankroll of $2,000, 1 unit could be $20 or maybe even $40 or $100. Now, how many units should you wager in most cases? There are many sports betting strategies, but a common method is betting between 1 percent and 5 percent of your bankroll on each wager. They can also vary depending on confidence and perceived edge or advantage. That can mean a low-confidence bet would be 1 unit, while the size of your max bet may be 3 or 5 units.

As for calculating payout, the math is the same for every bettor even if the sizes differ. Betting 1 unit on a +100 play would give you a profit of 1 unit. A successful 1-unit bet at +300 would give you a profit of 3 units. A successful 2-unit bet at +300 would give you a profit of 6 units. On a standard -110 bet, you’d risk 1.1 units to profit 1 unit. It is the same for any bettor, regardless of how much money or percentage of bankroll is assigned to each unit.

A unit is nothing more than a measurement. Betting in units keeps it simple and is easy for calculation purposes. As mentioned above, using a 3-unit system you can wager 2 or 3 units on more confident plays. The standard play would be 1 unit. With the 5-unit system, 1 unit would still be the standard, 2 would still suggest relatively minimal increased confidence, and 5 would be absolute maximum confidence. Regardless of the scale being used, it is advisable never risk all (or many) of your units on a single wager. In fact, it is a good practice to not bet more than 3 percent of your total units available on a single wager and definitely not more than 5 percent.

Bettors, handicappers, experts, etc. will use units to define their success. They generally stay away from saying things like, “I won $30,000 this month.” After all, they could do that with one massive bet. Instead, they generally talk in units. If they aren’t measuring with units or ROI (Return On Investment), they probably shouldn’t be trusted!If someone says they are +35 units for the season, it means they are 35 times up on whatever 1 unit is to them. If 1 unit is $1 for Bettor A, it means they are up $35 of profit for the season. If 1 unit is $10 for Bettor B, it means they are up $350. Obviously Bettor B has won more money, but that is only because he or she is putting more at stake with each standard bet. The two bettors are equally successful, as they are up the same number of units.

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