How Should You Set Your Staking Plan as a Punter?

Recorded June 2025 for How to Punt Like a Pro in 2025 (Staking, Price, Mindset + Full Strategy Breakdown). Any figures mentioned are from that time.

Most punters spend all their time on selections and almost none on staking. That is backwards. A staking plan is what keeps you in the game long enough for your selections to matter. It does not need to be complicated. Decide on a bankroll, bet to win a set percentage of it, cap what you can have on any one horse and any one race, and adjust those limits as the bank moves. It is about the process, not the dollars. Get the process right and the dollars sort themselves out.

Start with a bankroll you can leave alone

I cannot tell you how big your bank should be, and it honestly does not matter. What matters is that it is money you can leave alone. Do not put yourself in a spot where the mortgage is not getting paid or you cannot go down to Coles and get a loaf of bread because everything is sitting in the betting bank. Pressure makes you bet badly. Take the pressure off and you will think clearer.

Say you settle on a thousand dollars. That is your bank. Every limit you set from here comes off that number.

Bet to win five percent, cap each bet and each race

From a thousand dollar bank, I would be betting to win five percent, so fifty dollars. That is a bet-to-win amount, not a bet-to-collect amount. Then you need a maximum stake, and the way I do it is fifty percent of the win amount. Fifty percent of fifty is twenty five. So twenty five dollars is the most you can have on any horse.

A few examples. If the horse is two dollars, you have twenty five on it. You do not have the full fifty to win fifty, because the maximum bet is twenty five. If the horse is eleven dollars, you have five dollars on it. If it is five dollars, you have twelve fifty on it.

That twenty five dollar cap also applies to the race, not just the horse. If you have two or three bets in the one race and they are all twenty five, you have seventy five in play and one bad result strips you out. Cap the horse at twenty five and cap the race at twenty five.

Revise the limits when the bank moves

Say you have a rough first day and you are down to seven hundred. Reset. You are still betting to win five percent of the bank, so now you are betting to win thirty five with a maximum bet of seventeen fifty. Unfortunately you have to stay in the game, and that is the number one thing.

If you have a good day and get to thirteen hundred, it is up to you whether you lift the limits. Just remember that a very good day usually means your percentage on turnover is running hotter than it will long term. You will have losing days. You just do not know when. Track every bet, keep a record of your turnover and your returns, work out your own percentage on turnover, and do your own analysis.

When I break my own rule

Sometimes rules are meant to be broken. I have something I call a double max bet. If I see a really big overlay, I double my limits. Two things matter there. You do not do it all the time, and you have to genuinely know you have an advantage. Whether that bet wins or loses, you go straight back to your normal limits.

I learned this the hard way. I used to be a bigger lunatic than I am now, and I had a sign stuck to the front of my computer that said I must not bet too big. I still went over the limit sometimes, but it reminded me.

Pick your bank, set your win amount and your caps, write them down, and stay consistent. Consistency and no pressure are the whole point.

Every race on the card, rated, with Kingsley's selections and the speed maps behind them. Your first day is free, no card needed.

More from Kingsley

• Why Betting Against Top Weights Pays in Group Races
• "What Should I Do When My Punting Gets Out of Control?"
• Why Is a Horse $2 When the Ratings Don't Support It?

From the full video: How to Punt Like a Pro in 2025 (Staking, Price, Mindset + Full Strategy Breakdown)

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