Professional gambling might seem like an easy-money occupation. But that is a bit illusory. In fact, becoming a professional gambler is more like a hard way to make an easy living.
Even when you do have an edge – and finding that edge is integral to gambling for a living – you’re still dealing with downswings, people who wish you weren’t in action, and the need to remain extremely disciplined while under intense pressure.
All that said, if it works for you, and if you can squeeze a profit out of odds that are meticulously designed to be tilted against you, it is a great way to make a living.
And there is the question: How to become a professional gambler? This article will try to answer that.
I had a taste of it while playing on a big-time card counting team and, years later, participating in an advantage play with no less a light than the great James Grosjean, widely considered to be the GOAT of casino advantage players.
That said, I did not do it for a living, though the play with Grosjean and my time as a card counter both made for interesting side hustles – mentally challenging, emotionally uplifting, and financially remunerative (until, of course, in the case of card counting, it wasn’t).
But, even after the team busted up and the Grosjean stint ended, I walked away with extra money and risk/reward lessons that frequently come in handy for everyday life.
Find Your Game
But let’s start with a bit of wisdom imparted to me by highly regarded professional gambler Richard Munchkin when I spoke with him for my book Advantage Players: Inside the Winning World of Casino Virtuosos, Master Strategists, and Mathematical Wizards:
“No game is unbeatable. I think every game can be beaten by someone, at some time, under the right conditions.”
That is an uplifting statement from a professional gambler who would know. Finding the game you can beat is a good place to start. Poker, sports betting, and casino games all offer edges for intrepid players.
And they all have distinct characteristics. Poker is great for people who like competing against other players. When attacking casino games, you take on the house, which hates to lose. These days, betting on sports (including horse racing) usually involves a computer model.
Top bettors use technology to find overlays and to calculate parlays where advantages can be found. For starters, find the game that suits your temperament and put aside a bankroll for trying to take it on.
Get Good!
Nobody is born being able to consistently beat a game. Everyone has to work at it. Whether we’re talking about sports betting expert Billy Walters, horse racing winner Don Johnson, poker pro Phil Ivey, or casino killer James Grosjean – all of whom are at the tops of their games. They all worked hard to get to where they are.
Those striving to make it at poker will do well to read all they can about the game (and to figure out a variation to focus on: hold’em, Omaha, limit or no limit, cash or tournament, and many other forms). Start small on sites like 888poker, and learn what works. Slowly you get good, move up in stakes, and capitalize on proficiency.
If casino games seem right for you, card counting at blackjack tends to be a fitting entry point. The website Blackjack Apprenticeship is a good place to learn blackjack strategy from before hitting the tables.
Sports and horse racing may click for you. In that case, check out Bet Bash, which is a Las Vegas-based gathering of field and turf specialists. You’ll likely leave the event with fresh knowledge – and maybe even a betting team to join.
When you have skills and a plan, it will be time to put yourself to the test.
Prepare for the Ups and Downs – and Don’t Get Discouraged
If making a living as a professional gambler was easy, everyone would do it. While there is plenty of money to be made through gambling, the volatility can be stomach churning.
Consider that if you are a sports bettor and earn a 57% profit, you are extremely successful. But you also weather losses in the 43% range. Losing at that rate is a lot to take – and to blow cash when you made the right decision requires belief in yourself and in the system that your wagering is based on.
Card counters play with razor thin advantages. Despite that, wins can be rewardingly large, but the negative swings can be brutal.
Because counters make their largest wagers under the best circumstances – when the count is high – the reality is that casino dealers receive the same cards and are entitled to get lucky even when they are underdogs. When that happens, card counters get completely crushed even as they are in the best spots.
I’ll never forget the night I had at The Palms in Las Vegas when the count went through the roof and I pushed out max bets, hand after hand, only to get my head handed to me.
It was ugly and I walked away from the table with nothing to show for my efforts except for a pair of busted $10,000 cash wraps.
I called my team’s banker to let him know what happened. All he could say was, “Come by for more money and dig yourself out.”
He was right. Getting discouraged over bad variance would have been a giant mistake. Instead, I took his advice and dug myself out. I try to keep his words in my head when things go wrong at the gaming tables and beyond.
Wade in Before Taking the Plunge
Once you feel ready to play, go slow and don’t give up your day job (at least not just yet).
Advantage Play gambling – that is, gambling with an advantage as a means of making money from it – can be a perfect side hustle. My advice here would be to put together a bankroll, strictly for gambling, figure out the stakes you can play at (with enough cash to weather bad luck and nasty turns), and then go at it. Pursue being a professional gambler as if it is a part-time job or a profitable hobby, keep close track of wins and losses, and hope to get lucky early on.
The software engineer turned professional gambler (via poker) Barry Greenstein once told me that a little luck at the beginning of a gambling career can be the booster shot that gets it going. And if you don’t get lucky right away, keep grinding with the confidence that things will turn in your favor if you keep doing things right.
At the very least, you’ll make money doing something you enjoy and have better stories than anyone else at your day job.
At best, the pieces will fall into place, you’ll develop some advantage play techniques that others in your field have not come up with, and feel comfortable taking the plunge, playing games for your profession, and living the dream of being a professional gambler.
If this article interests you, explore other topics like roulette strategy and roulette wheel numbers.
