Understand your statistics
How do you calculate betting ROI and distinguish it from win rate?
Kalivoa editorial team ·
ROI measures profit or loss relative to the amount staked. For settled cash bets without refunds or cash outs, calculate ROI = net profit ÷ total stakes × 100. Win rate answers a different question: what proportion of those bets won? A winning percentage alone does not describe the financial result.
Choose your scope before calculating
Choose a period and apply the same filters to every figure: bankroll, bookmaker, sport or bet type. Start with settled singles, cash stakes and one currency. Exclude pending bets from this example because their result is not yet known.
Refunds, free bets and cash outs need an explicit convention. Before comparing your calculation with a tool’s figure, check which bets count towards stakes and wins. Percentages built on different scopes are not directly comparable.
Separate gross returns from net profit
Gross returns are the amount paid back for a slip. If they include the stake, subtract that stake to find net profit. For a lost bet without a refund, returns are zero and net profit equals the negative stake.
Add net profits within your scope, then divide by the stakes placed on those bets. A bankroll deposit is not betting profit, and a withdrawal is not a sporting loss. Including them would change what ROI means.
A real example: two lost bets and €17.50 staked
Screenshots supplied by Jeremy on September 25, 2026 show two singles dated September 18: a tennis bet with a €10 stake and a cycling bet with a €7.50 stake. Both are marked lost with zero returns. Kalivoa’s history shows −€10 and −€7.50 respectively.
The calculation is reproducible: −17.50 ÷ 17.50 × 100 = −100% ROI. For the same sample, 0 ÷ 2 × 100 = 0% win rate.
This example covers only these two slips, not the complete bankroll or a month’s performance. Other slips are excluded from this scope.
| Observed figure | Tennis | Cycling | Example total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stake | €10.00 | €7.50 | €17.50 |
| Displayed returns | €0.00 | €0.00 | €0.00 |
| Net profit | −€10.00 | −€7.50 | −€17.50 |
| Winning bets | 0 | 0 | 0 out of 2 |
Why do ROI and win rate tell different stories?
Win rate counts outcomes. ROI also accounts for amounts staked and returned. Winning a small bet and losing a much larger one can produce a 50% win rate alongside a financial loss. Odds and stakes can also make two histories with the same win rate financially different.
When comparing periods, review ROI, total stakes, settled bet count and win rate together. Check whether stake sizes changed. One percentage hides those differences.
Past ROI does not predict the next result
Two bets illustrate a calculation, not a conclusion about a betting method. A longer history still records past outcomes. ROI alone does not measure intermediate declines, financial exposure or the evidence attached to slips.
Keep verifiable records of stakes and results, and do not increase stakes to recover a loss. Tracking helps you understand what was risked and lost; it guarantees no profit.