Bob in STL Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 I read this thread the other day and became inspired. I have never really been a gambler, but there are so many threads on this board talking about betting on games, it's really sparked my curiosity. I really would like to know if any of you actually have a net gain in winnings over the course of a month/year/gambling period. Is it true that you never hear about the big losses, only about the big wins? I'm tempted to become a professional sports gambler, but I don't want to end up like this guy I know who was embezzling money from a Youth Basketball League to support his habit. He eventually was caught and his life was ruined. 831716[/snapback] Put that money in a low fee S&P 500 Index fund and wait (I mean 5 or 10 or 20 years) Add to it every week or month. History shows that it will grow over time and make you wealthy. If it doesn't grow over time than the stock market is flat or worse. If that is the case there is little you can do to make money other than real estate. Don't gamble. Invest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MavBavButav Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 put the house on the colts this week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffOrange Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 I'm guuna say something completely differant, I'd say go for it , but with some conditions. #1) You must be responcible for yourself, and yourself only. If you are supporting others with your income today, you cannot quit your job or risk their future by losing it gambling. In other words, no hitting the college fund, no underfunding the life insurance/LTD policies etc. Now if your single/ no dependants , none of those worries. Maybe you are married with kids but condition #2 applies 2) Wife/significant other has a job that allows the above mentioned responcibilities to be covered, and is PERFECTLY FINE with you attempting this career move. #3) You have to start with a bankroll and timeline. Figure out what you would be comfortable losing, and what income level you would need to be at in order to continue in your lifestyle now at the very least, and by what date you need to earning that. This is where most guys who try to make this move fail. They take 50K out of savings, say heres my bankroll, and I'll give it six months. They have some good weeks, many more bad, and six months later their bankroll is down to 5K, yet they think things will change. So they waste more time, usually hit another source of funds to increase their bankroll, and it just leads to them becoming 100% flat out broke. BTW, making fake bets and seeing how you will do and trying to make a decsion from there DOES NOT work. Like playing poker with play money, just a whole nother level when your income is on the line. If you meet these conditions, I say god bless ya and go for it. Lord knows, I can't bet two games correct in a week 831773[/snapback] This is some good advice. I've sort of been expiramenting the last couple years: didn't fare too well last year when road favorites were unusually successful (those are games the public always loves but I never pick); this year I've done really well. There are more good line shoppers than there are good handicappers too - that's really important. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikie2times Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 I read this thread the other day and became inspired. I have never really been a gambler, but there are so many threads on this board talking about betting on games, it's really sparked my curiosity. I really would like to know if any of you actually have a net gain in winnings over the course of a month/year/gambling period. Is it true that you never hear about the big losses, only about the big wins? I'm tempted to become a professional sports gambler, but I don't want to end up like this guy I know who was embezzling money from a Youth Basketball League to support his habit. He eventually was caught and his life was ruined. 831716[/snapback] I'll tell you everything you want to know, but I'm telling you it's not worth it. I did it for 2 years, from 2002 to the end of 2003. I researched statistics for countless hours everyday. I'm talking 40+ hours a week on excel, that’s all I did. The most you should ever count on from betting on sports is supplemental income. If you wish to keep reading I'll give you an idea of what you’re getting into, but like I said I strongly advise against it. My bankroll was around $20,000, which is NOTHING if you’re trying to do this full time. If I were ever to get into this again I would start with nothing less then $50,000-$75,000. If you’re in the top 2-3% of all sports handicappers in this country you have a chance to make a 100% ROI over the course of the year without an obscene amount of risk. But even if you can accomplish this, which 97% of people can't, you'll need to be practicing perfect money management or you'll bust. By perfect money management I mean each bet should be no more then 1% of your total bank roll. So if you have $10,000 you shouldn't be betting more then $100 a game, otherwise the swings will kill you. You should be able to see the potential for income problems with what I said. That’s why you need a lot of money, because you need to be safe (because it's your job), yet still make enough. If you ever have to draw on your winnings during the year forget about it. Those winnings are what will protect you against the inevitable downward swings. Now to the swings, which is the most important part. You need to look at each bet as having a probability. It's no different then flipping a coin. When you flip a coin you have it has a fifty/fifty chance of it being head or tails. Same goes for betting on a game. Obviously it's your goal to find lines that have more then a 55% probability of happening. Over the course of betting 100's of games, or flipping a hundred coins, one event will/can happen in streaks much more frequently. You might flip tails 65 times out of 100, then the next 100 you might flip head 60 times etc. If your money management falters at any point during these streaks you will lose everything. Really consider how difficult that can be. Say you’re up 800$ on the week, feeling great, then you lose 3 or 4 in a row. Most people will then want to get that money back so badly they risk more. Remember the bookie never runs out of money, you will. You need to become indifferent to winning and losing. Those streaks will always happen, it's the long term that makes a difference. That's pretty much what's involved. Is it possible? Yes. But very few can actually do it. What makes matters worse is the ones that try usually get burned BAD. I've made money the last 5 years, but the research time and stress has taken away a lot from my life. I like things a lot more with a normal 9-5 taking care of things, and capping as the gravy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zona Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 ok, here goes. I started gambling in the hey day off the Bills. Kelly and the boys made me LOTS of money. I started every year with $500 and quit when it was gone. I gambled every year since up till the last two years. The most I made in a year was @ $12,500. I was on a roll that year. I hit for 3-$3000 weekends. That year saw me in Vegas every weekend for 13 weeks. It ended on a losing weekend that saw me drop $800 in tickets. The most I ever lost for a year was $500. All told I am up probably around $20-22,000. I never kept exact records. I know that free agency has made gambling harder every year. The last 6-8 years saw me losing more until I basically quit. I gamble once or twice a year now, and dont lose my $500 either. Mostly I nickel and dime it now. Small potatoes. Largest one week loss-$800 Largest one week win- $5200 12-15 good years gambling on the greatest sport on the planet-Priceless If you are smart and can stick to your budget, then there is nothing wrong with gambling... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rico Posted November 11, 2006 Share Posted November 11, 2006 I read this thread the other day and became inspired. I have never really been a gambler, but there are so many threads on this board talking about betting on games, it's really sparked my curiosity. I really would like to know if any of you actually have a net gain in winnings over the course of a month/year/gambling period. Is it true that you never hear about the big losses, only about the big wins? I'm tempted to become a professional sports gambler, but I don't want to end up like this guy I know who was embezzling money from a Youth Basketball League to support his habit. He eventually was caught and his life was ruined. 831716[/snapback] If you want to come out ahead for the yeare, my advice is to only play a select few games for small change during the regular season, wait for the playoffs and bet the house against PGump & the Colts... just like in the 90's, when the bet was against Marino & the Felons. Another good bet is to go against a Marty-coached team. If you should happen to lose, bet 2 houses against them the next week. Easiest way to make BIG money. GO CHARGERS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoondckCL Posted November 11, 2006 Share Posted November 11, 2006 I only bet on horse racing and cards, but i am pretty good at the earier listed. I pretty much always come out on top just because i have been around it since i was a little kid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATBNG Posted November 12, 2006 Share Posted November 12, 2006 I bet a few games here and there for small money. I bet the NFL only. I gravitate towards home underdogs and try to identify games where the public is strongly overrating a favorite (which may eventually be christened "the daquixers theory"). Like BuffOrange, I'm having a very good year after having an atrocious year last season. I think if you were going to become a professional gambler you'd gravitate towards another sport (college hoops, hoops, maybe baseball) which allows for more opportunitites for letdowns, travel plays, etc. If you're going to have some fun, the NFL is where it is at. It's once a week and I never miss the games anyway unless some life changing event is going on. I don't recommend betting for anything more than fun money. If losing makes you much unhappier than winning makes you happy, that's when you know it is time to quit. If you're betting income that is not disposable, that will happen very quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffOrange Posted November 12, 2006 Share Posted November 12, 2006 I was just breaking down my season picks yesterday: 4 games per week. 21-15 overall entering today. Home favorites: 8-8 Road favorites: 1-2 Home dogs: 8-0 Road dogs: 3-5 Luv home dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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