This is the life of a professional gambler - gambling as a profession

We like to play games in our spare time to blow off steam, but some people do it for a living. The likes of Billy Walters and Alan Woods like to be in the headlines, but there are plenty of other silent gamblers who are great at playing casino games or betting on sports. What is the life of a professional gambler like? Are you living the glamorous dream? Well, we've been in the industry for a while now, so allow yourself to share some of our findings.

professional gambling

So what is professional gambling?

When you hear those two words together, you usually picture someone like James Bond in his infamous suit going to Casino Royale. However, in real life, professional gamblers are very different. Some may reach a certain level of fame and fortune, but most are just ordinary guys who do this for a living. What sets them apart is the unique skills they have developed and their approach to gambling in general. We used to think that luck determines the outcome of most gambling, but if you're going to go pro, you need to find a way to mitigate that influence. For example, learn how to choose the best time to go to a casino: https://stopur-online.dk/den-bedste-tid-til-at-ga-pa-casino-en-omfattende-guide/. In fact, some professional gamblers claim that the hardest thing about their job is not following your gut. You have to give up some of the things that make gambling fun.

What are the best games for professional gambling?

It's hard to say honestly. Casino games are generally a poor choice these days, although the MIT blackjack team had great commercial success in the 80s and 90s. Games requiring a certain skill level such as blackjack and poker allow regular players to exist. They depend on their success on the field and receive a share of the prize money from the tournaments in which they participate. By analogy, it can be compared to a tennis player. So if you find a sponsor, you'll also have plenty of time to practice.

The alternative approach focuses on making a profit from gambling. Most members of this school are involved in sports betting and use financial strategies to manage their "investments". In general, however, this approach relies heavily on one's own research and requires a lot of time and careful planning. It is often compared to running a business and managing an investment portfolio. This thinking is very similar to that of Edward Thorpe, the founding father of card counting. Not surprisingly, after developing his winning approach to playing blackjack, the mathematics professor switched to the stock market and achieved great success there. Today, professional betting is often compared to playing stocks and exchange rates and follows similar principles.

How does gambling become a job?

This is probably the most common question a professional gambler faces during their career. It's a very strange form of work, especially when you have to explain it to your grandmother. At a time when playing computer games is fast becoming one of the highest-paid professions thanks to cyber sport, being a professional gamer seems less and less unusual. Again, this has nothing to do with the laid-back high roller lifestyle seen in the movies. Most professional players spend 8 hours a day either honing their skills or researching.

The biggest difference from a regular job is the sometimes very ungodly working day. Online poker tournaments and overseas games can work after midnight, usually on weekends. If you are good at what you do, you pay the bills and provide a good standard of living for your family. A select few will find a winning formula that gets their name in the headlines - we've already introduced you to some of the richest players in the world, which gives this industry enormous credibility. However, as with any self-employed job, expectations need to be realistic.- there will be ups and downs on the bumpy road and it will take a lot of effort to deal with all the adversity.

professional gambling

Professional gamblers are cheaters

Another common misconception, ingrained in the film world, is that in order to make a living from gambling, you have to cheat the system in some way. Well, it's not wrong in all cases - 21, for example, has accurately reproduced the thin red line on which the card counters move. However, casino security is getting stricter these days, so most professional gamblers prefer to strictly follow the rules. This is especially true for sports betting, where there are few opportunities for illegal gambling unless one has access to insider information. In fact, most professionals consider themselves more an entrepreneur because as gamblers and adhere to strict risk management strategies. In some cases, it even becomes a family business. Those who manage to make a profit over a long period of time, such as playing roulette online, tend to develop certain skills or knowledge that they do not pass on outside the family, thus passing the business on to the next generation.

The identity of the professional gambler

When you think of gambling, you often associate it with going with the flow and trusting your intuition. However, most people who consider gambling to be a full-time job have a completely different opinion. The personal qualities that are considered most important in this field are: self-control, the ability to handle pressure, good time management and excellent analytical and research skills. In general, controlling your emotions is one of the most important factors. Of course, professional players are still human beings - they're just much more experienced and better able to cope with the natural tendency to rely on luck. Professional players can seem a little more pompous at events, but more often than not, when you meet a regular player in real life, you find a low-key, laid-back person. This makes them good friends to seek out in stressful situations.

How many professional players are there?

There really aren't that many. The fact is that most people consider gambling a hobby rather than a profession. Relying on luck is very exciting, and if you miss out on it, you ruin the whole point of it. Also, getting your finances in order when you have no other income can be a real challenge. Although it gets easier with experience, initial hurdles cause most aspiring professional players to give up. Determining the exact number of those who have managed to stay afloat and turn gambling into a full-time occupation is quite a challenge. Usually, they do not seek publicity, so only the most successful ones get public recognition, and there are not many of them. On the whole, despite its positive impact on the economy, casino games tend to remain a niche pastime, as most people prefer to use them as an additional source of income rather than as their main source of income.