Track your bets: how to keep records and see if you have an edge

How do you keep records of your bets?

One row per bet, and every bet. Also the ones the bookmaker only took at half the stake, and the ones that lost. Anyone who only saves the winners measures nothing.

The columns you need: date, match, market, the outcome you bet on, bookmaker, odds, stake, closing odds, result and profit or loss in kronor. Add a column for why you placed the bet. After a hundred bets that column is the most instructive one.

That is the whole Excel template for betting. Ten columns and one row per bet are enough, and a spreadsheet does the job. What takes time is not the template but the settling, filling in closing odds and results every evening. That is where a tool makes the difference.

How do you calculate ROI and yield on your bets?

ROI is the profit divided by the stakes. If you have placed 100 bets at 100 kronor each, you have staked 10,000 kronor. If the result is plus 250 kronor, your ROI is 2.5 per cent. Yield is the same figure under another name.

Count in units instead of kronor when you compare periods. One unit is one per cent of the bankroll. Then plus 25 units means the same thing in January as in September, even if the bankroll has changed.

Win rate says less than you think, because it is governed by the level of the odds. At odds of 2.10 you break even with a win rate of 47.6 per cent. At odds of 1.50 it takes 66.7 per cent. So compare your win rate with the one the odds require, not with anyone else's.

How do I know if I am a winning bettor?

The result is the last thing to tell you. Our system returned plus 610.29 units on 31,716 settled bets from 1 March to 29 October 2026. That is an ROI of 2.49 per cent. Even so, only 22 of 34 full weeks ended in profit. The longest losing run was five weeks, and the largest drawdown was 53.40 units. That is what a real edge looks like in the short term.

Only after 5,842 settled bets do 95 of 100 resamples of the period end in profit. A resample means we replay the matches, and chance picks which ones come along. With fewer bets the period as a whole was in profit, but more than 5 in 100 resamples ended in a loss. So the result needs thousands of bets before it can be trusted.

Closing line value is faster. The measure compares your odds with the market's last odds before kick-off, with the margin removed. With a spread of five percentage points per bet, the standard error is one percentage point after 25 bets and half a point after 100. If your average CLV is plus two per cent after 100 bets, that is four standard errors above zero. The guide on closing line value has the formula and the pitfalls.

Is there a bet tracker that settles bets automatically?

Yes. My Bets in Edge Analytics saves the bet with one tap once you have placed it, and the app settles it when the match is over. That covers value bets, arbitrage, boosts and bonus bets. In an arbitrage the profit is locked in theory, and both bets are settled. A boost is settled as won, lost or void. A bonus bet and the bet that covers it are both settled, and the app shows which one came in.

Bets outside the signals you add yourself and set the result, so they count in the total. If you forgot to save a bet, you add it afterwards.

My Bets shows the number of bets, won, lost, void and pending, your stakes, your result, your ROI and your win rate. For bets you saved from Value bets the app compares your odds with the closing odds and shows your average in the CLV box from ten bets.

My Bets is part of Edge Analytics, and you can try it for a week.

How do you keep track of bonuses and wagering?

In My Bets you enter the welcome bonuses you have taken. In the app's bonus list they get a tick, so you see straight away which bookmakers are left. The system follows your wagering and marks when a bonus is complete.

That matters in Sweden. A company may only give one bonus, the first time you bet with the licence holder, so each bonus can be taken once. 30 welcome bonuses for sport and 23 casino bonuses are in the app today.

What you read after a hundred bets

Split the figures. ROI and CLV per market say more than the total, because many have an edge on the main markets and none on the specials, or the other way round. Put the money where the figure is positive.

Split per bookmaker. A bookmaker that has lowered your maximum stake shows up as smaller stakes in the history, and that bookmaker should carry less of the volume. The guide on limited accounts takes it from there.

And read the why column. Bets with a written reason that held can be repeated. Bets with the reason it felt right cannot.

Do you have a problem with gambling?

If you bet more than you planned, or bet to win back losses, that is a sign to take seriously.

Always seek help. Stödlinjen, the Swedish gambling helpline, answers on 020-81 91 00, free of charge and anonymously. Through Spelpaus you can exclude yourself from all gambling that requires registration with companies licensed in Sweden. Gambling for money is only for those aged 18 or over.

Common questions about tracking your bets