Betting horse racing online is an activity that requires a bankroll. You should only be wagering with money that you can afford to lose, funds that have been set aside for that sole purpose. Those who only have limited access to such funds should consider bootstrapping a horse racing betting bankroll with nothing.
With nothing? Some of you will think this is impossible. Not so fast. Because of online horse betting sites that offer free money to new account holders, you can build a bankroll with little or no money. Here’s a look at how.
Finding an Online Racebook With Bonuses
The first step is to find an online racebook that offers bonuses to new bettors. There are usually two kinds of bonuses. One is the matching deposit bonus. The other is the no-deposit bonus. Let’s look at each in more detail.
A no-deposit bonus is a small sum of money that the online racebook offers so that you can try out the service. It is usually enough to place a few bets and no more. $20 would be common. If you want to build a horse racing betting bankroll from scratch this is a difficult way to begin.
The matching deposit bonus is one that can give you a much larger sum of money. In this scenario the online racebook will match the amount of your first deposit 100% up to a certain amount. That amount can vary, with some online racebooks offering as much as $1,000 in free cash.
The second bonus is the one you want to look for in order to bootstrap your horse racing betting bankroll. We can imagine that some of you are saying we are contradicting ourselves because you have to deposit money to claim this bonus. This is true, but you don’t have to spend that money you deposit.
Horse Racing Betting With a Matching Bonus
When you make your qualifying deposit to the online racebook, the matching bonus money is added immediately to your wagering account. It is maintained in a separate ledger, for lack of a better word, so that you can bet from it first without using your deposited money. As you make bets with your bonus money, the money you win is gradually transferred over to the other side where your original deposit waits.
The thing to know here is that you cannot withdraw any of the bonus money that you have received until you have satisfied a wagering requirement. This means that you have to bet the bonus money a certain number of times. At some online racebooks this requirement can be high. You may have to bet the money five times, ten times, or even 50 times before you are allowed to withdraw it.
Most players will want to search out the online racebooks that have the lowest wagering requirements. You should find this information in the terms and conditions when you are presented with the bonus money offer.
Bootstrapping Bankroll Strategies for Horse Racing Betting
Now that you have received your bonus money to use for horse racing betting, it is time to decide how you will wager the money. You had better have a plan before you start making bets. Otherwise, the money will be gone in a snap and you will be right back to square one.
Remember, you have to engage in betting that is more likely to complete the wagering requirement while giving you a good chance to win. This means that you will probably want to stay away from the exotic horse racing bets.
Forget about playing high risk bets like the Pick 6. If you win one of these bets you will have a large sum of money to work with. But winning them is a lot like winning the lottery. You need to learn how to grind out your winnings with the straight win, place, and show bets.
Yes, this can take a while to do. No one said that building your horse racing betting bankroll was going to happen fast. There will be some days when you win no bets. On your best days you may only win two or three. What you have to keep in sight is the goal of satisfying that wagering requirement.
Manage Your Growing Bankroll for Horse Betting
As the bankroll starts to grow from your winnings, you will need to think about the management of it. How can you continue to grow that bankroll from month to month? You start with defining how you will bet on a daily basis.
You should define how much of your horse racing betting bankroll that you are willing to put in play each betting day. For some players, 20% would be the maximum amount. Others might be willing to risk more or less. You will have to decide based on your own comfort zone.
We would actually recommend a daily cap of 10%. So, if your total bankroll was $200 the maximum you would wager on a single day would be $20. That doesn’t sound like much, but it gives you a chance to stay in the game and overcome the inevitable streaks.
Setting a win limit for each day is also important if you want to grow your horse racing betting bankroll from nothing. Without a win limit you are apt to keep betting over and over, and ultimately you will lose the money that you have won.
Moving Forward After You Earn Your Horse Racing Betting Bonus Money
Now that the wagering requirement has been completed, you will need to assess how much free money is left. You can then withdraw the principal, leaving behind the bonus money that you have earned. At this point you have completed the process of bootstrapping a horse racing betting bankroll with nothing.
You should then begin to think of the money in your online racebook account as units. Units would be the typical size of your horse racing bets. $2 is the base wager for most horse racing sites, but you can set your own unit at whatever you like. Once you know what your unit is, focus on growing it at the rate of about 200 units per year.
If you begin the year with a horse betting bankroll of 100 units, you will not make any withdrawals until you have passed the 300 unit mark. After you have made your bankroll units for the year, withdraw as you see fit. This is how many professional horse racing bettors build their bankroll. Check our Bovada racebook review, or AmWager review & 5Dimes review for folks anywhere! You can also read other reviews such as Twinspires review, Betamerica review.
