Betting Units Explained: How to Track Profit Like a Pro

The 30-second answer

A unit is a fixed slice of your bankroll — usually 1% — that you use as the standard bet size. Measuring results in units instead of dollars makes your record comparable to anyone else's and keeps your stakes proportional to what you can afford.

Setting your unit

• Bankroll 1,000 → 1 unit = 10.
• Bankroll 250 → 1 unit = 2.50.
• Bankroll 20,000 → 1 unit = 200.

Aggressive bettors sometimes use 2%; most professionals stay between 0.5% and 1.5%. The point is that a normal losing run — 10 to 15 units — should never threaten the account.

Why "+12.4 units" beats "+$620"

• Comparable. A handicapper posting +15 units over 400 bets is telling you something meaningful. "+$3,000" tells you nothing without the stake size.
• Honest. Units expose whether profit came from a few oversized bets or from consistent edge.
• Scalable. Grow your bankroll, grow your unit; the plan doesn't change.

Reading a units record

• Units risked — total stake across all bets.
• Units won / net units — profit after losses.
• ROI = net units ÷ units risked. +12 units on 300 units risked is a 4% ROI, which is excellent over a large sample.
• Win rate alone is misleading: 45% at average odds of 2.60 is very profitable; 60% at 1.50 is a loss.

Units vs. risk vs. "to win"

Some bettors size to risk 1 unit; others size to win 1 unit on favourites. Pick one convention and log it consistently, or your ROI is meaningless. Saint Picks tracks stakes as amount risked.

Units in the Saint Picks bankroll tracker

Switch the bankroll evolution chart to units in settings and one unit is defined as 1% of your starting balance. Every logged bet, parlay and half result is converted automatically, so you can compare periods (months, seasons, years) without currency noise. Free members can log 25 bets a month; Premium removes the cap and unlocks multiple bankrolls.

The discipline part

Units only work if you respect them. Doubling the stake after a loss, "max unit" plays on gut feel, and off-the-books bets all break the system. The bankroll management guide covers how to build the routine.