Variable staking is a time‑tested approach that gives savvy bettors a clear edge. You won’t hear much about it from bookmakers, because it’s built to help you squeeze maximum value from every bet.
At One Stop Racing, one of the most common questions we get is: “How much should I stake?” There isn’t a universal answer, because the ideal stake depends on your bankroll, risk tolerance, and the odds available. That said, there is a simple, disciplined way to decide.
The core idea
- Fix the profit you want to win on each bet, then adjust your stake to the odds.
- As a rule of thumb, aim to win 5% of your betting bank per bet. For a £200 bank, that target win would be £10.
Use the bookmaker’s odds, not gut feel
Basing stakes on actual quoted prices keeps decisions objective. Given fractional odds a/b, the stake required to win a fixed profit T is:
Stake=T×ba\text{Stake} = T \times \frac{b}{a}Stake=T×ab
If you prefer decimal odds D (which include the stake), the equivalent is:
Stake=TD−1\text{Stake} = \frac{T}{D – 1}Stake=D−1T
Example: £200 bank, target win £10
- 8/11 (D=1.73): Stake £13.75 to win £10
- 4/5 (D=1.80): Stake £12.50 to win £10
- 5/6 (D=1.83): Stake £12.00 to win £10
- 10/11 (D=1.91): Stake £11.00 to win £10
- 1/1 (D=2.00): Stake £10.00 to win £10
- 11/10 (D=2.10): Stake £9.09 to win £10
- 6/5 (D=2.20): Stake £8.33 to win £10
- 5/4 (D=2.25): Stake £8.00 to win £10
- 2/1 (D=3.00): Stake £5.00 to win £10
- 4/1 (D=5.00): Stake £2.50 to win £10
- 10/1 (D=11.00): Stake £1.00 to win £10
Sensible guardrails
- Odds‑on specialists: If you like backing short prices (even below 8/11), don’t risk more than 7% of your bank on a single bet—roughly 1/14th.
- Big‑price plays: Even at 10/1 and above, set a sensible floor. We recommend a minimum stake of 0.5% of your bank (1/200th).
Why this works
Variable staking lets you:
- Keep risk proportionate to the odds.
- Lock in a consistent target profit.
- Extract maximum value from good prices over the long run.
Adopt this method and you’ll bring more discipline, consistency, and ultimately better returns to your betting.
Your spreadsheet
We’ve created “Variable_Staking_Calculator.xlsx” with:
- Inputs sheet:
- Bankroll (£)
- Target win (% of bank) → Target win (£) auto-calculated
- Max risk per bet (% of bank) and Min stake (% of bank) guardrails
- Stakes sheet:
- A prefilled table of common fractional odds
- Automatic decimal conversion
- Stake to win the target profit
- Stake as % of bank
- You can add your own odds by entering the fractional a and b; everything updates automatically
How to use:
- Open the Inputs sheet and set your Bankroll and Target win %.
- Review or adjust the max/min risk guardrails.
- Check the Stakes sheet for the recommended stake amounts.
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