Units

A unit is a standardized measurement of bet size that represents a fixed percentage or dollar amount of a bettor’s bankroll. Rather than discussing results in raw dollar terms, bettors use units to express how much they wager and how much they win or lose. This convention makes it possible to compare performance across bettors with vastly different bankroll sizes. A bettor with a $500 bankroll and a bettor with a $50,000 bankroll can both report being “up 15 units” on the season, even though the actual profit figures are dramatically different.

The most common approach is to define one unit as 1% to 2% of the total bankroll. Once the unit size is established, all bets are expressed as multiples of that unit. A standard wager might be one unit, while a higher-confidence play might be two or three units. This framework imposes discipline on bet sizing by forcing the bettor to think in proportional terms rather than chasing arbitrary dollar amounts.

Example

A bettor has a $5,000 bankroll and defines one unit as 2%, which equals $100. Over a week, the bettor places four wagers: a one-unit win at -110 (profit of $90.91), a one-unit loss at -110 (loss of $100), a one-unit win at +140 (profit of $140), and a one-unit loss at +100 (loss of $100). The net result is +$30.91, or approximately +0.31 units. Tracking in units allows this bettor to compare weekly performance with someone who bets $20 per unit on a $1,000 bankroll, because both measure outcomes against the same proportional standard.

Key Points

• Enables fair comparisons: Units allow bettors to compare records and strategies without knowing each other’s bankroll sizes, making it the standard language of betting performance.
• Promotes responsible sizing: Defining a unit as a small percentage of the bankroll prevents bettors from risking too much on any single wager, reducing the chance of devastating losses.
• Results should be tracked in units: Recording every bet in units rather than dollars creates a cleaner performance history that is not distorted by deposits, withdrawals, or changes in unit size.
• Confidence-based scaling: The unit system accommodates varying levels of confidence by allowing bettors to wager one, two, or three units while staying within a structured framework.
• Beware inflated claims: When evaluating someone else’s record, check whether large unit plays are being used selectively to inflate results, as regularly wagering five or ten units carries substantially more risk.