PROFESSIONAL GAMBLING DATA SHEET
Poker
I dropped out of uni to become a poker player and then applied for a financial trading development programme off the back of it. But since online is nearly solved by AI, I wouldn't suggest taking this up now but there will be years more left of hustling idiots at the tables of casinos, poker clubs and cruise ships. You'll make a good career if you have a knack for poker and can get in the right games.
Sports Betting
I believe this will be around for decades to come. Everyone likes to have an opinion on sports and there will be markets to facilitate that. I have been sports betting for 7 years after I met guys on my trading programme (they recruited gamblers). They showed me the ropes and I have some of the best contacts in the world now which is the most important factor in pro betting. Few will be able to survive on their opinions alone. I'm a jack of all trades and rely on sharing with a network of experts in their chosen field.
Legality
Sports betting is illegal in most of the world which means you must set up accounts in your own name (and friends' names) of a jurisdiction where it's legal (or where Bet365 flout regulations).
1. UK & Ireland
2. Australia
3. Places like Malta/DR/Costa Rica
Bet365 flout most regulations so you could make a living out of them burning through accounts from wherever you're based. For example you could move to India and get an agent to find 10 accounts per month for you for a fee and then burn through them betting on cricket. I say burn through because accounts will be closed whenever they realise you beat them. Try to act like a fool for the first 10 bets or so, so you get the green light. Never deposit in large amounts too, build it up with mug bets then smash them with a 5k lump before they realise what's happened. However places like Pinny, Topsport.com.au, Betfair.com (exchange), 5Dimes won't limit you.
Getting the edge
Basically you need to have an eye for a sport, watch a ton of it, understand all the nuances and know how much injuries and such matter. Injury news is probably 10% of pro betting. When Federer pulls out of the French Open or Dustin Johnson falls down the stairs, if I see it quickly on Twitter, I'm making free money. Once you have the edge, you bet within your bankroll and turn over as much money as you can, building and building. Your edge will get greater and your bankroll will snowball with greater exposure, specialisation and growing contact list.
As I said I'm a jack of all trades but it's a far better idea to specialise. In something you're already good at preferably.
Best markets in my view (liquidity + edge):
1. Cricket (mug Indian money and fixing make these markets very lucrative)
2. Lower league soccer (forget Premier League and CL. Tony Bloom and others bet that for 1% margins)
3. Horse Racing (these markets are often way out of whack because there's so much mug money in the markets)
4. Tennis (highly liquid on majors and a sharp eye will be able to profit nicely)
5. Rugby Union & League (fairly good if you know your stuff)
6. US College sports (& some major league stuff like NFL injuries/matchup related props/anytime TD scorers and playoff handicaps)
There is other decent stuff but stuff like Golf I wouldn't even bother with if you're just starting out. The edges are small and variance is horrendous.
OK so once you've watched 500 hours of your chosen sport and have made detailed notes whilst paper trading the markets on Betfair.com, whilst also looking at pre match and in play odds with bookies and spying on gamblers on Twitter, you might be ready to start out. After this kind of exposure, you should be able to identify value and bet accordingly.
"Hey Zac Ertz is 3/1 anytime against the Giants who struggle against the Tight End and 2/1 with most other books. That looks like true value is 5/2 so that's worth a bet"
"This is looking like a tough pitch with the way the ball is moving off it and the batsman mistiming, I'm going under 160 runs here at Evens. Batsmen are poor too"
Mentality
Don't bet when you're on tilt. I've been gambling for over 10 years and bet well within my bankroll with a rock hard constitution so never tilt, but this is a major flaw in most people and will weed out the people that can't do it. You will suffer downswings. Deal with them and move forward. Last year I was £100k under EV. Luckily I could survive that having lived frugally and saved well for the past years but it was the worst year of my life.
Bankroll management
Use a factor of Kelly Criterion. No more than 25% really unless you believe you can hedge your bet later on so the true risk is lower. If you can bet at 2/1 odds and the true odds are Evens, Kelly says bet 25% of your capital. So let's say we bet 6.25% of our $10000 bank. We stake $625 on the 2/1 odds so hope to make $1300 50% of the time. Of course you can bet to Kelly in full as this is optimal, but you will go broke much more often.
Tax
Gambling is tax free for the most part. It was a major factor in me dropping out of uni to do this full time. I figured I could make £100k per year within a few years and work from anywhere in the world I like, in my own time. How does that compare to a city job, paying half of your wages to single mothers and wars that bring refugees to your country to bomb and stab your girls? I'd probably need a £500k p.a to switch to a normal job.
Resources
Books: The Smart Money - Konik, Gambling for Life - Findlay, Enemy Number One - Veitch.
Twitter: This will be your #1 source for news, public discussion and contacts you can trade info with.
Betfair.com, Bet365.com - the 2 best betting sites in the world. Of course there are 100s of others but do your research on where you can get an edge and who pays without problems.
My life: I live in London for now as it's the best betting shop centre in the world and I was born here but I make sure to travel often, always bringing my laptop with VPN along. I invest my money into the stock market and soon to be real estate markets and then later other businesses I will enjoy running.
Open to questions.
Poker
I dropped out of uni to become a poker player and then applied for a financial trading development programme off the back of it. But since online is nearly solved by AI, I wouldn't suggest taking this up now but there will be years more left of hustling idiots at the tables of casinos, poker clubs and cruise ships. You'll make a good career if you have a knack for poker and can get in the right games.
Sports Betting
I believe this will be around for decades to come. Everyone likes to have an opinion on sports and there will be markets to facilitate that. I have been sports betting for 7 years after I met guys on my trading programme (they recruited gamblers). They showed me the ropes and I have some of the best contacts in the world now which is the most important factor in pro betting. Few will be able to survive on their opinions alone. I'm a jack of all trades and rely on sharing with a network of experts in their chosen field.
Legality
Sports betting is illegal in most of the world which means you must set up accounts in your own name (and friends' names) of a jurisdiction where it's legal (or where Bet365 flout regulations).
1. UK & Ireland
2. Australia
3. Places like Malta/DR/Costa Rica
Bet365 flout most regulations so you could make a living out of them burning through accounts from wherever you're based. For example you could move to India and get an agent to find 10 accounts per month for you for a fee and then burn through them betting on cricket. I say burn through because accounts will be closed whenever they realise you beat them. Try to act like a fool for the first 10 bets or so, so you get the green light. Never deposit in large amounts too, build it up with mug bets then smash them with a 5k lump before they realise what's happened. However places like Pinny, Topsport.com.au, Betfair.com (exchange), 5Dimes won't limit you.
Getting the edge
Basically you need to have an eye for a sport, watch a ton of it, understand all the nuances and know how much injuries and such matter. Injury news is probably 10% of pro betting. When Federer pulls out of the French Open or Dustin Johnson falls down the stairs, if I see it quickly on Twitter, I'm making free money. Once you have the edge, you bet within your bankroll and turn over as much money as you can, building and building. Your edge will get greater and your bankroll will snowball with greater exposure, specialisation and growing contact list.
As I said I'm a jack of all trades but it's a far better idea to specialise. In something you're already good at preferably.
Best markets in my view (liquidity + edge):
1. Cricket (mug Indian money and fixing make these markets very lucrative)
2. Lower league soccer (forget Premier League and CL. Tony Bloom and others bet that for 1% margins)
3. Horse Racing (these markets are often way out of whack because there's so much mug money in the markets)
4. Tennis (highly liquid on majors and a sharp eye will be able to profit nicely)
5. Rugby Union & League (fairly good if you know your stuff)
6. US College sports (& some major league stuff like NFL injuries/matchup related props/anytime TD scorers and playoff handicaps)
There is other decent stuff but stuff like Golf I wouldn't even bother with if you're just starting out. The edges are small and variance is horrendous.
OK so once you've watched 500 hours of your chosen sport and have made detailed notes whilst paper trading the markets on Betfair.com, whilst also looking at pre match and in play odds with bookies and spying on gamblers on Twitter, you might be ready to start out. After this kind of exposure, you should be able to identify value and bet accordingly.
"Hey Zac Ertz is 3/1 anytime against the Giants who struggle against the Tight End and 2/1 with most other books. That looks like true value is 5/2 so that's worth a bet"
"This is looking like a tough pitch with the way the ball is moving off it and the batsman mistiming, I'm going under 160 runs here at Evens. Batsmen are poor too"
Mentality
Don't bet when you're on tilt. I've been gambling for over 10 years and bet well within my bankroll with a rock hard constitution so never tilt, but this is a major flaw in most people and will weed out the people that can't do it. You will suffer downswings. Deal with them and move forward. Last year I was £100k under EV. Luckily I could survive that having lived frugally and saved well for the past years but it was the worst year of my life.
Bankroll management
Use a factor of Kelly Criterion. No more than 25% really unless you believe you can hedge your bet later on so the true risk is lower. If you can bet at 2/1 odds and the true odds are Evens, Kelly says bet 25% of your capital. So let's say we bet 6.25% of our $10000 bank. We stake $625 on the 2/1 odds so hope to make $1300 50% of the time. Of course you can bet to Kelly in full as this is optimal, but you will go broke much more often.
Tax
Gambling is tax free for the most part. It was a major factor in me dropping out of uni to do this full time. I figured I could make £100k per year within a few years and work from anywhere in the world I like, in my own time. How does that compare to a city job, paying half of your wages to single mothers and wars that bring refugees to your country to bomb and stab your girls? I'd probably need a £500k p.a to switch to a normal job.
Resources
Books: The Smart Money - Konik, Gambling for Life - Findlay, Enemy Number One - Veitch.
Twitter: This will be your #1 source for news, public discussion and contacts you can trade info with.
Betfair.com, Bet365.com - the 2 best betting sites in the world. Of course there are 100s of others but do your research on where you can get an edge and who pays without problems.
My life: I live in London for now as it's the best betting shop centre in the world and I was born here but I make sure to travel often, always bringing my laptop with VPN along. I invest my money into the stock market and soon to be real estate markets and then later other businesses I will enjoy running.
Open to questions.
![[Image: wink.gif]](https://rooshvforum.network/images/smilies/wink.gif)
