Staking Plan Calculator 2026

The staking math

How each staking method sizes a bet, in plain formulas.

Staking plans, explained

A staking plan is the rule that decides how much to bet on each wager, and it matters as much as picking winners: the same bets can grow a bankroll steadily or blow it up depending on how you stake. This staking plan calculator on ToolsGambling is the most complete on the web. It sizes the next stake for eight methods, from level and percentage to Kelly, to-win and the classic progressions, runs a Monte Carlo simulator that compares plans over thousands of bets, and exports any calculation to a clean PDF. Everything here is free, with no account and no paywall on the math.

What is a staking plan?

A staking plan is a consistent method for deciding your stake, rather than betting whatever feels right. The two families are fixed staking, where the stake does not depend on past results, and progressive staking, where it rises or falls after wins and losses. Fixed plans like level, percentage and Kelly are what disciplined bettors use, because they tie the stake to the bankroll and the edge. Progressive plans like Martingale and Fibonacci chase losses back, which feels good but raises risk sharply. The right plan protects your bankroll from variance while letting a real edge compound.

Early on I thought the staking plan was a detail and the picks were everything. Two blown bankrolls later I had it backwards. My edge barely changed, but switching from doubling-up recovery staking to a flat percentage of my roll turned wild swings into a slow, boring climb. The boring climb is the point. Now I model every plan in the simulator before I trust it with real money, because a plan that looks clever on paper often busts far more often than a flat stake.

Why this staking plan calculator is different

Most staking calculators compute one stake with one method and stop. This one does far more, so nothing on the web matches it. Here is what ToolsGambling adds.

Level vs percentage vs Kelly

The three fixed plans that professionals actually use. Level staking bets the same amount every time, which is simple and keeps you in the game, but it does not grow the stake as your bankroll grows. Percentage staking bets a fixed share of your current bankroll, so stakes compound in good runs and shrink in bad ones, which controls risk automatically. Kelly staking is the mathematically optimal size from your edge, growing the bankroll fastest in theory, but full Kelly swings hard, so most bettors use a quarter or a half. For most people a flat percentage, around 1 to 3 percent, or fractional Kelly is the sweet spot.

What is the best staking plan?

There is no single best plan, but there is a best plan for a given goal. To simply survive and enjoy betting, level staking at a small unit is hard to beat. To grow a bankroll with a genuine edge, fractional Kelly or a flat percentage of your roll gives the best trade of growth against drawdown. What is never the best plan is a loss-chasing progression like Martingale: it wins small most of the time and then loses everything in one bad run. The simulator here makes that visible, which is the whole point of comparing plans instead of arguing about them.

Progressive systems: Martingale, Fibonacci, D'Alembert, Labouchère

Progressive plans change the stake based on recent results, usually to chase losses back. Martingale doubles after every loss, so one win recovers everything, but a long losing run grows the stake exponentially and busts the bankroll or hits the table limit. Fibonacci steps up its sequence more gently and steps back two on a win. D'Alembert adds a unit after a loss and removes one after a win, the mildest of the four. Labouchère works down a list of numbers, staking the sum of the ends. All of them can string together small wins, and all of them share the same fatal flaw: they raise the stake exactly when your bankroll is shrinking, so a bad enough run is catastrophic. None of them changes the underlying edge.

How much of your bankroll should you stake?

For fixed staking, most disciplined bettors risk 1 to 3 percent of their bankroll per bet, sometimes up to 5 percent with a strong, proven edge. That keeps the risk of ruin low and lets a real edge compound without a single bad run doing lasting damage. Measuring your bankroll in units rather than currency makes this easy: at 2 percent a bet you hold 50 units, at 1 percent, 100. Bigger stakes grow faster but draw down harder, and anything above 10 percent a bet is gambling with your bankroll, not managing it. When unsure, stake smaller than feels exciting.

The honest truth: no staking plan beats a negative edge

This is the line every staking guide should lead with. A staking plan decides how you bet, not whether you win: it cannot turn a losing strategy into a winning one. If your bets have negative expected value, every plan loses in the long run, and the aggressive ones just lose faster. Progressive systems are sold as ways to guarantee profit, but they only rearrange when you lose, not whether you do. Staking plans are powerful for managing variance and protecting a real edge, and useless as a substitute for one. Get the edge first; then a good staking plan makes the most of it.

Common staking mistakes

The first is chasing losses by raising stakes, the core of every progression, which turns a normal downswing into ruin. The second is staking too large a share of the bankroll, so variance alone busts you. The third is measuring stakes in currency instead of units, so you do not scale down when the bankroll shrinks. The fourth is believing a staking plan creates an edge. The fifth is changing plans mid-run after a few losses, which usually just locks in the damage.

Staking plan terms

Free betting tools on ToolsGambling.com

On ToolsGambling.com the staking plan calculator is free, like every tool here. Pair it with these to size stakes, plan a bankroll and check your risk.

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