Most professional sports bettors follow a rule of thumb of risking no more than 1-2 percent of their bankroll on any wager. So, if you could lose $1,000 betting on sports and still pay your mortgage and put food on the table, you'd be happy betting $20 or more every game. However, some people like to risk more than that - they are free-staters - but you should understand that if you go over that limit you can end up with a negative balance and need to start saving money to cover those bets. The most common way people lose money when betting on sports is through greed. They want to win so badly that they will risk more than they should for a single game. For example, let's say you bet $10,000 on one football game and you lose. That would leave you with a deficit of $10,000 in cash needed to cover your bets. Some people also lose money because they fail to take advantage of available discounts. For example, if I were to place a $100,000 bet on one team to win the Super Bowl then I would need to find a bookmaker who would take such a large amount of money on a single bet. Most places wouldn't accept that kind of cash deposit so I might have to partner up with someone who has enough credit with other bookmakers to afford my odds.