Record-keeping guide · A. N. Edvardsen

How to track bets
in Google Sheets.

A useful betting spreadsheet records what you decided before the result, what you actually placed, and what happened afterwards. A list of wins is not enough.

1. Record the decision before the event

Start with the date, event, bookmaker, sport, bet type, stake and odds taken. Add a source category if you want to compare a model, your own analysis or another process later. Use categories consistently: “football” and “soccer” should not silently become different groups unless that is intentional.

If you estimate probabilities, record your fair odds before the result. A probability of 25% corresponds to decimal fair odds of 4.00. Filling this in after the event gives you a record of hindsight, not a forecast.

2. Separate stake, return and profit

For a straightforward back bet of 100 at decimal odds of 3.00, a win returns 300 including the stake. Net profit is 200. A loss is −100. A refund returns the stake and produces zero profit. Commission, free bets and partial settlements require their own rules.

For lay bets, the stake quoted is not the full liability. Laying 100 at 3.00 risks 200 before any special fees. Mixing lay stakes with back stakes without accounting for this makes the denominator in your ROI inconsistent.

3. Define ROI once, and keep it consistent

A common record-keeping measure is net profit divided by settled money at risk. If your settled risk is 10,000 and your net profit is 400, ROI is 4%. This is different from return on your starting bankroll. Depositing more money should not count as betting profit.

Keep pending bets separate from settled results. Keep refunds identifiable too: different trackers may include them in turnover or exclude them. Compare records only when the definitions match.

4. Review decisions as well as results

Break down profit by categories, but resist selecting only the group that looks best after the fact. Small samples and related bets can produce convincing patterns by chance. Compare the same process over time, including the losing periods.

Closing line value adds a price comparison. Calibration compares your forecast probabilities with observed frequencies. Neither replaces the financial record, and neither guarantees future profit.

5. Keep the spreadsheet maintainable

Use one row per bet. Keep a backup, distinguish input columns from formula columns, and check totals after structural edits. Filtering settled bets out of the entry view should not remove them from the history feeding your charts. Adding blank rows is not the same as extending formulas and named ranges.