+ Register

[Mike]

He's really nailed it. 

http://www.financial-spread-betting.com/Becoming-a-professional-gambler.html

[Sputnik]

I like the writing very much.

Thanks.

Cheers

[Sputnik]

Mike, does he talk about advantage play only or do he talk about all games in general - including system players.

Cheers

[Mike]

Sputnik,

The site is really about financial spread betting, but in some pages he writes about gambling or speculating in general, including casino games, so I suppose that could mean systems too.

So we're reduced to being *ugh* gamblers. How depressing.

Actually, not really. This "investor, speculator, gambler" thing is really just an IYOUHE game. I YOU HE. I am creative. YOU are eccentric. HE is an acid-tripping lunatic. See how that works? I am an investor. YOU are a speculator. HE is a gambler. But let's take it down a step further. You get an unhappy feeling when I tell you that you're a gambler. Why? Why is that bad?

What it is, I think, is that a "gambler" is considered to be someone who takes foolish risks without thought, and who is out of control when it comes to money. This is totally wrong. A gambler is just someone who takes risks with money, nothing more. There are a lot of people in Vegas who lose everything they brought to town, even if they went way up before blowing out. There are a lot of people in Vegas who play the various games available without consideration for their chances of success at each one, and without a specific goal in mind. For those who were just there on a vacation, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. For those who went there with the plan or the need to win, this is pretty unfortunate. It's also unfortunate to see folks trading... sorry, betting, and getting into losses way over their head that they hadn't planned on and can't quite afford.

But there are also people who gamble in Vegas who have a risk management plan. They lose small amounts and then stop. They win and pull part of their profits so they make sure they have something to take home. They win for a while, and then stop when the market... sorry, the game starts to move against them. There are also people who gamble successfully for a living. Not too many of them, but they play only specific games with a very specific plan, and treat the entire endeavor (the play, the risk management, the profit management) as a business. It is a business for them; it's the methodical and studied attempt to accumulate income.

In trading, it's the same thing. I went to Vegas once in 1997 (sue me, sitting in smoke filled rooms isn't my thing). I was absolutely blown away at the similarities between playing craps, roulette (heaven help you), slots, etc. and trading. Everybody's got a system, but very few of them are sensible -- at least, very few of them are sensibly and consistently implemented. People talk about luck, about risk and reward, about the huge amount somebody made once, about the big losses somebody had once. Folks win a little, lose a little. Everybody dreams about an absolute killing, and next to nobody gets one. Most folks seem to lose what they came with, but not way more than that. Emotion reigns as king; every sizeable win yields a victory dance and flashing lights, and every long drawdown and big loss produces despair. I played quarter slots. I started with a fixed maximum loss, and as the position increased (it was a Saturday evening, on a machine near but not right at the entrance...) I set a trailing stop onthe amount of money in the machine. I got as high as £475 ahead, but when the trailing stop at £300 got hit, I cashed out. Nice trade; nothing to write home about, but a decent return on quarter slots. Over the next couple of days, I won a little more and then lost steadily. When I got down to £200 ahead on the trip, I stopped and watched everybody else lose money for the duration. Same as being wrong about the same market too often, so you give up and go somewhere else for a while until the market behavior changes.

http://www.financial-spread-betting.com/trading-or-gambling.html

Lots of great info here whatever your game.

[XXVV]

Thanks Mike for bringing this comprehensive site to our attention. A mine of information.\R

[The Crow]

Life as a gambling Pro seems too broad. How about life as a roulette professional?, that's more like it.
You don't need 500k as a bank, 50k tops. You can binge gamble once a month to make enough to maintain a living. What more do you want?, unless you are an amateur who needs to gamble every chance you can.

Life is good.

The Crow

[RouletteKEY]

Life as a gambling Pro seems too broad. How about life as a roulette professional?, that's more like it.
You don't need 500k as a bank, 50k tops. You can binge gamble once a month to make enough to maintain a living. What more do you want?, unless you are an amateur who needs to gamble every chance you can.

Life is good.

The Crow

yep   $50 is about right (maybe a little more depending on what kind of living you want to maintain  )

[NathanDetroit]

Life as a pro gambler requires a  stock portfolio of $ 600,000.-- , home or Condo ownership without mortgage and a  gambling  bankroll of $ 50,000.--.


ND

[Sputnik]

ND have John Patrick wrote about this - i think you once mention it ...

Cheers

[NathanDetroit]

Sputnik

,
Quite possible  that I did.


ND

[iggiv]

Mike thanx for the info

[NathanDetroit]

Iggiv,

If ypu are $ 50   short of the  $600,000 don`t be discouraged as long as you meet all the  other requirements .



ND

[Sputnik]

Life as a pro gambler requires a  stock portfolio of $ 600,000.-- , home or Condo ownership without mortgage and a  gambling  bankroll of $ 50,000.--.


ND

5k is nothing ND - but maybe there is a way.
And i don't have 60K in stocks LOL

Lets say you have rent, bills and food for 31 days each mounth 1400 Euro.
You work for a living and pay this amount of money for your needs.
We might also add 200 Euro for fun things to do and clothing, so we end up with 1600 Euro.

Now how are we going to earn that money each mounth.
We can not work and play professional in the same time.

I assume that if We play professional we will spend at least 8 hours each day in casino.
Can be to get action when other pepole are around or getting the right conditions.
Just as regular work.

There is no gurantess, i assume you will have good mounths and bad mounths.
So where is the money comming from and what kind of size do you need for you bankroll.
I would say you need at least 25K one year of income to make one year of income, right ?

I would also say that you need to take advantage of the state/govurment.
In my contry you get 80% of your salary as insurance if you not have work for one year.
After that you get 65% of your salary as insurance if you not have work for as long you want.
But to qualify for this you have to show the insurance company that you search for work each mounth.
You need to apply and write like 20 companys each mounth.

Now you have insurance if your to become professional not succed and during the path or jorney you have insurance with some minium wager from the goverment as uneployed.
I assume that is how some one neeed to do it or make it if they don't have 25K as bankroll.
Then maybe 5K would help some one build a decent bankroll during 2 years period - maybe reach 30 to 40K
I also think as professional you will traveling around and get other expensives, bills.

This is also a very important expect about gambling.
When you working in my contry you get points from the gouverment for your pension.
So when you grow old you get money from the state and can live a peace full life.
But when you not working and gambling you don't get this points or insurance.
Then you get minimum pension from gouverment that is around 600 to 700 Euro.

Now we can assume there is around 700 Euro missing. (if working we would get 1400 E)
And when we grow old we want to have around 1400 Euro or more to get a peace full life as old person.
We might live 30 years more after 65 years old.
That means you need to save money to get a decent life as old and we are not talking about peannuts.

This means that during your gambling carrier you need to play big and win big.
You might grind during bad flucatations and variance when bad weeks hitting you.
But when you play your regular game you need to win serios money.

So can it be done - Yes and No - you need to be clever and use the society to your advantage to get a good start.
If you don't have 60K in stocks and 25K bankroll

Cheers

[NathanDetroit]

Sputnik,

that stock portfolio  is $ 600,000.00 ( SIX Hundred Thousand Dollars) bringing you about a monthly income of  $ 1,250.00.

In additon I would like to  mention  that  here in the USA  some of the bonafide  professional gamblers have formed their own LLC ( Likmited liability corporation) who are  paying taxes on their net  earings( winnings  .


All on all I go along with  the calcularions from your vantage point.

ND

[Natural 9]

Hi Mike.

Thanks for sharing this post.

Life as a Pro Gambler is possible if you have: 1) the gambling funds, 2) the mental & physical toughness, and 3) a solid system of play.

When I say gambling funds, these are funds solely for your gambling activities. Not money to be paid for bills...food...rent...mortgage...tuition...etc. In this way, the psychological pressure of your daily needs will not distract you from your gambling activities. A bankroll of at least 1,000 units could give you a very good advantage over your chosen casino table game.

Unknown to many, gambling is a very stressful activity both mentally & physically. Have you tried playing 6-8 hours of your favorite casino table game, 5 to 6-times a week, for 1 whole month under a smoking environment?

A solid system of play prolongs your bankroll under the worst possible table conditions. So, when the favorable conditions come, you can easily recover & profit at the same time.

If you satisfy these three requirements, then, you can commend yourself for being the very few who gambles for a living.



Natural 9