What Is A Professional Gambler
So, you’re looking for a career change? If you’re wondering what it takes or if you have what it takes to become a professional gambler, you’re in the right spot. Before I get started, though, I want to be clear on what you should NOT expect from this post. Do not expect me to give you a sugarcoated, rainbows-and-unicorns look at what it takes to become a professional gambler. Instead, I’m going to give you a gritty and in your face breakdown that does include some harsh realities.
Why am I opting for the more intense approach? I’m doing this because I assume a lot of you that are here are seriously considering what to do with your time or your future. I think it would be a gross disservice not to give you the raw information. If you only get the good side of something, you can’t ever be prepared for the realities that come along with it.
A is a professional gambler engaged in the trade or business of playing poker. Gambling is A’s sole occupation; A is not employed and has no other income. Throughout the year, A traveled to various casinos and other venues where gambling is legal to participate in poker. Professional gamblers are allowed to, but their returns may be subject to extra scrutiny. How to get an edge as a professional gambler. To gauge whether your clients qualify as professional gamblers, you’ll have to measure their facts and circumstances against the factors in the 1987 Supreme Court Groetzinger case. A professional gambler is a person who uses gambling as the primary source of income. Professional gamblers earn their paycheck through gambling regularly for a certain period every day, allocating specific work hours to generate maximum income. A gambler is considered to be a professional if they gamble full time to earn a living and not merely for fun and excitement. Professional gamblers report their income and related expenses on Schedule C as self-employment income. Net Schedule C income is subject to federal income tax and to the self-employment tax, plus any state income tax. In short: Keep as much money as possible from free bets. Matched betting is the.
Why should you listen to me? Well, without going into too much detail, I was a professional poker player for 12+ years. It wasn’t just something that I did on the side of my real job; it was my job. Poker was my sole source of income. Because of that and the time I spent in casinos, I was able to meet a lot of people that made their money from the gambling industry (not just poker). Today, I want to share some of that insight with you, hopefully give you the information you need to decide if this is the road for you, and then tell you how to get there.
Skill Games versus Games of Chance
If you take nothing else from this article, please take the information I am about to give you. You CANNOT be a professional gambler at a game of chance (with one exception). This means, if the casino has a statistical advantage in a game, there is no way that you can ever beat that game in the long run. No matter what “system” you think you have, you are not Houdini, and you cannot defy math.
Many people have tried, and all of them have failed miserably. I’ve personally met people that claimed to play games like craps or roulette for a living thanks to their systems. Here’s a spoiler. They were all poor and broke. I asked them why they weren’t rolling in the dough (yes, I am forward), and they informed me that they were just on a bad run. Ummm, hello!!! That is what gambling is. You can potentially win in the short run, but in the long run, the house is always going to come out on top.
The only way you can beat the casino in a game of chance, in the long run, is by cheating, or by doing something that will get you kicked out and banned from the casino.
What is the one exception I mentioned? Blackjack. Blackjack will have tournaments that you can enter that allow you to do those things that would get you kicked out of the casino on a normal day. They let you count cards, and that allows you to gain a statistical edge over the house and your opponents. The only reason they allow this is that you aren’t playing against the casino. You have paid an entry fee to compete in the tournament, and all you can win is the entry fees from other players. This scene was pretty big and growing for a while but in recent years has leveled off in popularity and prize pool sizes.
What Classifies A Professional Gambler
Skill games, on the other hand, are games where the better players will win in the long run. How can you spot a skill game? If you are not competing against the house but against other players and patrons, you are most likely playing a game of skill. If you are competing against the house, with the exception of sports betting, you are playing a game of chance. If you truly understand sports betting, you’ll see that you’re actually competing against other patrons as well even though your bet is with the house. That’s a discussion we can save for another day, though.
So, what does this mean? This means that step one in the process of becoming a professional gambler is to choose a game of skill. Make sure you are playing a game where it is possible for you to make a long-term and sustained living. To help you out, I’m going to list off a few of the popular games you could choose from that people do make a living at.
The Gambling Games You Should Choose From
As a quick note, while most of the world will refer to these games as gambling, they really aren’t gambling at all. Gambling is when you make a wager on a game of chance. Since you are in control of the outcome of these games, they are no longer games of chance. Therefore, they aren’t gambling. Yes, some of these games will have a luck factor involved, but in the long run, skill is going to prevail over the variance caused by that luck factor.
Blackjack
I figured I would lead off with the exception to “get it out of the way.” If you’re looking to make a living at Blackjack, the only way that you’re going to pull that off is by getting involved in the tournament scene. The problem, though, is that the scene is shrinking and the people that are currently in it are very good at what they do.
Warning:If you’re considering becoming a professional blackjack player by counting cards, good luck. I am definitely advising you against it.
The casinos know every trick in the book, and you’re just going to end up getting caught and banned from every property on the planet. My best advice is to pick a different game on this list if you are looking to play for a living.
Poker
One of the best options on this list of games to play professionally is poker. Am I a little biased because it’s what I did? Probably. However, if you take an objective look at all of the facts, it is the clear winner. It’s a game where there is a lot of money to win, several different formats you can try, and a constant influx of new and bad players to win money from.
Out of everything on this list, I would say that it’s the easiest to get to a professional level. No, I am not saying that it is easy, but I am saying it is feasible for you to do. There are a lot of varying levels of success that you can hit as well so it’s not a make it or break it kind of game. If you’re serious about getting into a “gambling” profession, this may be a great place for you to look if you want something that has some longevity to it.
Chess, Backgammon, Tonk, and Spades
Believe it or not, a lot of the games that you may have played as a kid or teenager are games that you can play professionally for a living. Now, at first you might not have thought to include these in the same category as games like poker and Blackjack, but in reality, they fit. Again, these are games of skill with lots of options for playing for a living.
Years ago, your only option for these games was to find a major tournament at a brick-and-mortar location and play against the best in the world. Today, though, you can find these games offered online at casinos. You have the option of playing against thousands of players of all skill levels from around the world for real money. The best part is that the stakes start low so you can work your way up the game ladder, and you don’t have to pony up a ton of money to get started.
Sports Betting
I mentioned earlier that when you’re betting against the house, you can’t sustain a long-term profit. The only exception to that is sports betting because even though you are betting against the house, you are really betting against other patrons. The house does their best to get even bets on both sides of a game so that no matter who wins or loses they make a profit. This means that the line shifts will happen because of what the rest of the betting public does.
Note:You’re ideally looking for value opportunities of bad lines thanks to the ignorance of the betting public.
I could go deeper into that, but we’d end up in a full-on discussion of how sports betting works, and I’d like to try my best to stay on topic today. Sports betting is a form of “gambling” that is certainly beatable. It’s probably one of the more challenging forms of gambling to do for a living and requires a strong heart that can take a lot of pressure and anxiety.
What Is A Professional Sports Gambler
I do know some friends that do it for a living and have done quite nicely at it, but it comes at the expense of their sanity. That being said, it is beatable in the long term which means that it is a form of “gambling” that you could do for a living.
Esports
Wait, you can play video games professionally? Welcome to 2018! If you’re a rock star at a video game, chances are that you can play that game professionally. Tournaments are exploding all over the world with millions of dollars in prize money available for those individuals and teams that win. On top of that, there are millions of dollars in sponsorships available for these teams from the game creators and other companies interested in having an influence in the industry.
Your Next Steps to Become a Professional Gambler
Alright, so you’ve picked out which form of “gambling” you want to go professional at. Now what? To help you on your quest, I’ve outlined some actionable steps for you to take to get started. Remember this, though. None of this is going to be easy and most people that try end up failing. It takes a lot of hard work, dedication, and the ability to deal with some failures to make it as a professional gambler. Even after all of that, some people just don’t have the skill set to make it happen.
I don’t say any of that to deter you from trying, though. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you can’t do anything. If you work hard enough and smart enough, you can achieve anything you want to. I will climb off my motivational speaker soapbox now and get to those steps.
1. Research Like a Crazy Person
The first thing that you need to do is learn absolutely everything you can about playing your game for a living. Look up other professionals, how they make money, and any other information you can on the topic. Try and identify if there is a smooth road to the top or if it’s something that requires a leap of faith (avoid these situations).
What you’re really trying to do here is a get an idea of what it’s going to take for your game specifically to make it to the top. You’re also trying to identify whether or not there is enough opportunity for you to make a living playing that game feasibly.
2. Formulate a Plan of Attack
The next step is to take all of your research and come up with a plan for you to go from schmo to pro. Make sure that your plan is detailed and gives you actionable steps that you can take to achieve your goal. This should mainly be based around how you’re going to learn the game, how you’re going to master it, how you’re going to test your skills without risking an arm and a leg, and ultimately how you’re going to turn it from a hobby into a career.
Your plan also needs to have some contingencies built in for the times that things don’t go according to plan. If you think that everything is going to go according to plan, you have another thing coming. Be realistic and make a plan that you can stick to.
3. Understand the Risks
You HAVE to understand that what you are attempting to do here is not easy. If it were easy, everyone and their brother would be a professional gambler. The risks are real, and when you lose money, you don’t just get it back with a do-over. There is no reset button on a lot of this.
The good news is that the nature of the industry now allows you to start these games for very low stakes and minimal risk. Take advantage of this. Online casinos don’t have to pay additional dealers or setup costs to facilitate more games which means they can offer things at super low stakes.
Note:Make Sure That You Have an Exit Strategy or a Stop Loss in Place.
Don’t let yourself get out of hand chasing your dream. Yes, you shouldn’t let anything stand in your way, but losing all your money trying to achieve this dream is not noble. It’s stupid and the sign of someone who would never survive gambling professionally.
4. Start Learning
The only way that you’re going to make it to the pro level with any of these games is by immersing yourself completely in the learning process. You have to soak up every bit of information out there and ultimately know more than your opponents.
Here’s the most important part, though. Make sure that the information you are learning is good information. I feel like my track record affords me the right to speak as a voice of reason on poker and I can confidently tell you that most poker knowledge out there that people pass off as pro knowledge is garbage. Make sure that you’re learning from a reputable source and that the information is current and quality. This might mean you have to pay for some of it. Do your research (Step 1).
5. Start Small and Continually Adapt
Take. Your. Time. This is not something that is going to happen overnight. This is not something that is going to happen in a few weeks. It very well could take years for you to be able to reach the skill level necessary even to take a shot at playing professionally for a living. Even if you’re good enough, you still might not make it. You might not have access to the right opportunities, or you may have issues getting your mental game or bankroll management in line.
Warning:Again, none of this is to deter you from giving it a shot. It’s just a warning to take your time.
The learning process is going to be long and challenging and probably frustrating at times.
The Wrap Up
If you’ve made it this far in the post, you’ve got hope! Look, I seriously am not trying to deter any of you from giving this a shot. I loved my years playing as a professional and wouldn’t trade them for anything. That being said, I wish I would have known how challenging things would be before I jumped in. Would it have deterred me? Probably not, but a heads up would have been pleasant.
If you’re serious about doing this, I wish you the best of luck and hope you follow some of the advice that I gave you. Good luck!
What are the odds that you could be a professional gambler? That depends on several factors, including whether you have the stomach to make a career out of betting. Yet if you’ve won money wagering on the World Cup, have a knack for blackjack, or conquered more than your share of poker tournaments, chances are the thought has crossed your mind at least once. Who wouldn’t want to quit their boring day job to play games and win cash? Of course, the reality is usually far less glamourous than that. Nonetheless, it’s worth exploring whether you have what it takes.
What Is Professional Gambler?
Simply put, a professional gambler is someone who gets their income from gambling, be that online or live. They may specialise in sports betting, using their knowledge of the field and form, or at games such as blackjack, where card-counting can give them a better edge.
Betting on Your Dreams
Before you consider whether you have what it takes to become a professional gambler, it’s worth exploring your personal motivation. Have you had success gambling in the past? Do you feel like you’re much better at gambling than everyone else you know? Even if both of these things are true, you shouldn’t assume that you’ll be able to duplicate your track record when you start wagering full time.
You’ll need discipline, money, knowledge, and skills before you can even begin thinking about gambling professionally.
It’s important to understand that, at least fundamentally, gambling is entertainment. Players should aim to have fun above all else. Still, there’s no denying that some Brits have done quite well for themselves gambling professionally. It’s hard to ignore British poker players like Sam Trickett and Liv Boeree, who have racked up millions of pounds playing cards. Of course, for every Brit who makes it to the final table of the WSOP, there are thousands upon thousands of players who have their dreams crushed along the way. Yet even before dreams factor into the equation, prospective pros quickly learn that gambling can quickly feel like any other job. It’s not only hard work, but gambling can become monotonous even if you end up winning. Let’s not forget that there are no guarantees even if you have the skills to match.
Choosing Your Game
There’s a huge difference between being a professional fruit machine player and a poker pro. When you play games of pure chance like slots or even roulette, you are at the mercy of the house edge, chance, and variance. Do you really want to risk your livelihood on what amounts to random outcomes and money management techniques? Wouldn’t you rather play blackjack that has some elements of skill or poker where you have the opportunity to showcase your talent and outsmart other players? Even betting on football, rugby, cricket, horseracing, or other sports requires some level of research and analysis.
No matter what game you choose to play or how you opt to wager, it’s absolutely essential that you take the time to read every strategy guide you can get your hands on and practice live and online. If you aren’t willing to put in the effort to truly master the intricacies of the game at hand, the odds of succeeding will be poor at best. While it’s a good idea to specialize in a particular game, many pros have a couple of strong suits for obvious reasons. What will you do when the excitement gives way to boredom? Gambling can get repetitive and old even as your bankroll grows.
Consider Your Risk Tolerance and Grow Your Bankroll
Gambling isn’t for the faint of heart or wallet. Even if you have the skills and confidence to match, what will you do in the midst of a losing streak? How will you put food on the table if you merely break even? Statistically speaking, at least, gambling is a losing proposition. Be that as it may, if you want to play professionally you’ll need to be able to stomach at least some risk and have the financial wherewithal to do so.
The old adage that it takes money to make money is true for gamblers. Look at it this way. It’s not hard to bet on red or black playing roulette, but you’ll only be paid even money if you win. That’s bad news if you only have a few pounds to play with, since you’ll barely be able to buy lunch if you get hot. In contrast, if you already have a million pounds to your name, winning hundred-pound even money bets can add up quickly when things go your way. Plus, you’ll have the resources to handle any cold streaks.
Above all, you’ll want to take the time to grow your bankroll. Whether you achieve that through the daily gambling grind or by saving money in other areas of your life, having adequate resources to gamble is key. If you have more cash available, you can choose your bets wisely. Whether that means playing only in the best poker tournaments or having money available when you have the inside track on a horserace, your means matter as much as your methods.
Check Your Emotions at the Door
Gambling can be an emotional rollercoaster even for casual players. Yet basing your life on what happens at the tables or on the football pitch, can be clinically nerve-racking and then some. In reality, professional gamblers who are successful are level headed and don’t let their emotions get in the way of their betting. If you don’t have the capacity to remain calm, cool, and collected, you won’t last long. You don’t want to follow your heart and abandon your strategies in the heat of the moment. Without the mental fortitude and emotional strength, losses will adversely affect your psychological and physical health. Even successful players have to weather more than their share of lows for every high that seems to make it worthwhile.
Speaking of tempering the ups and downs, gambling can be a lonely endeavour. If you’re in your twenties the travel can be fun. Then again, will you want to spend time on the road away from your friends and family when you’re older? What will you do if have no other marketable skills if all you know is gambling? Of course, you can always play on the internet since it’s the twenty-first century, but that comes with its own issues. Online gambling is inherently less social. How much time do you want to spend staring at a screen?
If you’re a professional gambler, Britain is an excellent place to call home. Not only can you find endless ways to wager, but your winnings will be tax free even if you are a professional. That’s because HMRC doesn’t consider gambling to be a trade. In other words, you’ll be able to keep whatever you win.
Going pro isn’t a matter of luck. It takes hard work and discipline to succeed whether you bet on sports, play games of chance like roulette, or put your mental agility to the test in a Texas hold’em tournament. If you are a beginner or up-and-coming pro, you’ll want to:
- Take the time to build a respectable bankroll
- Make a habit of banking some of your winnings
- Never bet more than you can reasonably afford to lose.
- Hone your skills, strategies, and techniques whenever and wherever you can.
- Check your emotions at the door and stick with your game plan.
- Keep records of your wins, losses, and play time, so you’ll know where you really stand.
The Other Side of the Coin
If you dream about winning the National Lottery or having your number repeatedly come up on the roulette wheel, you aren’t alone. The size of the gambling industry in Britain is enormous by every metric. Last year licensed operators in the United Kingdom took in £13.8-billion more than they paid out in winnings. When you realise that the market grows every year, you might want to toy with opening a casino should you discover that being a professional gambler isn’t for you. If you believe that the house always wins, why not become the house in the equation?
Concluding Thoughts for Would-be Professionals
If you go pro, you’ll likely see a lot of familiar faces. It’s important to treat the dealers, casino staff, and other players with respect. Whether you are generally vibrant in public or more reserved, you should aim to act professionally above all else. If you’re known for throwing tantrums or being irascible, you could end up missing out on great gambling opportunities in the future. The professional gambling community is tightly-knit and you don’t want to be that loose thread that causes the whole industry to unravel. If you make friends, the camaraderie will make your new line of work all the more enjoyable.
While being a professional gambler may sound profitable and glamourous when the thought first crosses your mind, the reality can prove to be much darker. Yet there’s little harm in sharpening your skills, building your bankroll as an amateur, and seeing where life takes. Just make sure you have realistic expectations about what’s involved. More importantly, don’t give your boss that letter of resignation right now. It’s always wise to avoid burning bridges on the casino or office floor.