Why every record on Reddit is measured in units rather than dollars, and the reason that makes those records impossible to check.
A unit is one standard bet. Written 1u. When somebody says they are up eleven units this month, they mean they are ahead by eleven times whatever their normal stake is.
The common convention is that one unit equals about one percent of your bankroll. If you have set aside $2,000 to bet with, a unit is $20. Most people who take it seriously stake between one and three units on anything, and the ones who go much higher tend to be the ones posting about it later.
Why Reddit uses them
Two reasons, and the first is more interesting than it sounds.
It makes records comparable. Somebody betting $10 a game and somebody betting $500 a game can post the same result and mean the same thing. Plus eleven units is plus eleven units. Dollar figures would tell you who has more money, not who bets better.
It keeps money private. Nobody in a public thread wants to announce their bankroll to strangers, and for good reason. Units let you discuss performance without the number attached.
The problem nobody mentions
Because a unit is self-defined, a record in units cannot be checked by anybody.
If somebody claims plus forty units on the year, you have no way of knowing whether their unit was consistent, whether it grew after a good week, or whether the losing bets were measured with the same ruler as the winners. Quietly raising your unit size after a win and lowering it after a loss produces a units record that looks nothing like your bank balance.
This is not usually deliberate. It is just what happens when the measure is self-reported. But it is worth holding in mind before you take anybody’s unit record seriously, particularly anybody who wants money for their picks. We go into why that structure is so hard to police in why you cannot sell picks on Reddit.
Number of bets, the price taken on each one, and the period covered. Without the price, a record cannot be verified after the fact, because the line moved. A units figure on its own is a claim rather than a result.
How people actually size them
The flat one percent approach is the default because it is simple and it works. The variations you will see in threads:
- Flat betting. Same stake every time, regardless of confidence. Boring, and it removes the biggest source of self-inflicted damage.
- Confidence tiers. One to three units depending on how strongly you feel. Common, and it relies on your confidence being calibrated, which is a bigger assumption than it looks.
- Kelly and half Kelly. Sizing by the size of your edge. Mathematically correct, and it requires knowing your edge, which almost nobody does. Half Kelly is the practical compromise.
The thing all three have in common is that the unit is fixed in advance. The moment you start sizing bets by how the day is going, you no longer have a unit, you have a mood.
Questions people ask
How much is one unit in betting?
Whatever you decide, though the usual convention is one percent of your bankroll. On a $2,000 bankroll a unit would be $20. The figure only means something if it stays fixed.
Why do people post in units instead of dollars?
So records can be compared between people betting very different amounts, and so nobody has to reveal their bankroll in public. Plus eleven units means the same thing whether you bet $10 or $500 a game.
Can you trust a units record?
Not on its own. Because a unit is self-defined and self-reported, a units figure cannot be verified by anyone else. A record worth taking seriously shows the number of bets, the price taken on each and the period covered.
How many units should you bet?
One to three units per bet is the range most experienced bettors describe, with flat one-unit staking being the simplest and most defensible. The important part is deciding the size in advance rather than adjusting it based on how the day is going.
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