A spreadsheet with twelve columns will tell you more about your betting than any tipster, and it is the only defence you have when an operator disputes a bet. What to log and what to calculate.
Memory keeps the wins and edits the losses. Every bettor who starts a record is surprised by it, usually in the same direction. The record also answers the practical questions: which markets pay, which operators pay you slowly, which accounts have been limited, and what to show a regulator when a bet is voided without explanation.
| Column | Why |
|---|---|
| Date and time | Separates pre-match from live; shows when you bet badly |
| Sport, competition, market | Yield by market is the most useful cut |
| Selection | Obvious, and needed for disputes |
| Odds taken | In decimal |
| Closing odds | At a sharp book, at kick-off; the edge test |
| Stake, in units and in money | Shows whether confidence staking works |
| Operator | Yield by operator, and who limits you |
| Bet type | Single, accumulator, builder; multiples usually show the worst yield |
| Bonus or free bet | Promotional results kept apart from real ones |
| Result and profit or loss | Net of stake |
| Bet ID and screenshot | Evidence for disputes |
| Reason, in a few words | Read it back after the result; it is humbling and useful |
Turnover: total staked. Profit: total returned minus total staked. Yield: profit divided by turnover, the number that describes a bettor. Five percent is excellent, two is professional, zero after a thousand bets is entertainment. Closing-line value: the average of (odds taken / closing odds) - 1; positive means you beat the market. Hit rate: wins divided by bets, useful only alongside average odds. Maximum drawdown: the largest fall from a peak, which tells you whether the stake size is right.
A spreadsheet is enough and lasts forever. Tracking apps add automatic settlement and charts and lose your data when they close. Whatever you use, export it monthly. Operators’ own bet histories are useful for reconciliation but are not yours: they disappear with the account.
Once a month, thirty minutes. Yield by sport, by market, by operator, by bet type. Closing-line value overall. Stakes against the plan. Then one decision: what to stop doing. The record improves results not by finding winners but by removing the bets that lose.
A few hundred for yield; closing-line value shows an edge much sooner.
Log them, but keep promotional results separate from real-money yield.
Yes if you want to know whether you have an edge; a sharp book’s price at kick-off, noted once.