Each person familiar with casinos and sports betting has probably thought at least once about how great it would be to go big and become a professional gambler. This job, if we can call it a job, has been tremendously romanticized with the help of Hollywood’s movies about Danny Ocean and the relatively recent premier of Molly’s Game, a movie based on the memoir of the same name by Molly Bloom. All these and many other stories of success added up together make lots of minds wonder what it takes to start a professional career in gambling. We have studied all the intricacies of this issue and are more than happy to present our best tips on how to get ready. Spoiler alert: we won’t be talking about how to select the most beneficial bookmaker or where to grab the most generous 1xbet promo code. We’ve dug a little bit deeper. Keep on reading to figure it out with us.
#1: Learn the Stories From All Angles
Everyone has heard of the biggest gamblers in the world, like Bill Benter, Edward Thorp, and Billy Walters. Most of these stories emphasize total net worth in millions of dollars, while only briefly mentioning their problems with authorities, business owners, and the law in general. You have a priceless opportunity to learn what other people have used in order to make a name in the gambling industry. But do not be blindly inspired and biased in this regard. We’d like to move you in a slightly different direction.
It’s a brave thing to state that only Mr. Benter was genius enough to come up with the “perfect” formula for predicting outcomes in sporting events. We’re pretty sure there were many more people who tried and failed. Therefore, we don’t know their names and stories. This phenomenon is known as “survival bias.” And to put it very succinctly, you have to learn from the stories of success and consider the stories of those who have not achieved the desired result. This frame of mind will sharpen your perception of gambling and your ability to have a career in this field.
#2: Ready, Steady, Lose!
Even the most experienced representatives of the world’s club of punters are placing bets which are not ending well. The wealthiest, avid gamblers can lose thousands of dollars in casinos over the night. Be ready to have your own ups and downs because, after all, it’s inevitable. You can learn as much as you can, and we’ll come back to this point a bit later, but either way, nobody is immune to failure.
Take this conception as a general part of the process. Yep, you can impact the number of losses with your great ideas and strategies. But a better move here would be to push back financial ruin with the help of smart money management. Many years ago, when the banking system and banks were just being established, some intelligent people started theorizing the basic principles of money management and eventually came up with great strategies, which we now know as investment and hedging rules. If you know that you’re going to lose sooner or later, why wouldn’t you learn and apply to your experience those ideas that can help you mitigate losses and not feel their impact on your overall condition? Be smart—act smart.
#3: Yet Again Back to Studies
Logically, this advice should follow tip #1, but with the intention of being a little bit more intriguing, we’ve put it as the third point. Be honest with yourself when answering the next question: “Do you really believe that you can become a genius overnight?” If the answer is “NO,” congratulations, you already see a bigger picture.
Sports betting, gambling in casinos, and even lotteries, to some extent, require comprehensive knowledge in these fields, which vary from one another. Sports bettors should know everything about the basic rules of many games, teams, their lineups, previous performances, behavioral patterns, motivations, and statistics. Now multiply everything said by the number of sports available for betting and the number of teams and leagues. That’s the entire unplowed field for studies if you’re not on a first-name basis with it already.
Both land-based and online casinos require no less effort to become a good gambler. There are so many card games besides poker and blackjack. And it’s not the greatest idea to become a one-trick pony and be decent only at one game. Be ready for a continuous and never-ending process of improvement, and perhaps one day the hard work will pay off.
#4: Develop as a Multifaceted Person
Yet another tip about personal development, but this time we’d like to focus your attention on alternative factors that will help you succeed. It’s essential to know the basics of gambling. But when this knowledge is complemented with different so-called “social skills,” you’ll advance to the next level. Get yourself familiar with such a concept as emotional intelligence. Once mastered, you’ll be able to read the emotions of other punters, which can come in handy in card games and some other casino activities. But do not limit yourself to reading emotions only. Figure out how to impact the entire process with emotions and stay within the bounds of propriety at the same time. Becoming a genius is boring. But becoming an “evil” genius is much more efficient.
Please note that this advice can be straightforwardly applied to gambling. It’s quite unreal to affect somebody when you place a sports bet via a website and watch the match on TV. Here you can make use of reading people to the maximum level. Let’s say a coach held an interview prior to the game, and he was lost, not really confident, his eyes were running around, and he was licking his lips nervously throughout the entire conversation. Does he have interviews this way every time, or does he fall out of his typical behavior patterns? These and many other nonverbal signals can help you confirm or deny the theory of the upcoming match.
#5: Know The Limits
Knowing your limits is an essential skill in every field of application. We’ve started this article with stories of success, and by now you should have a better understanding of what stands behind these stories. It’s hard work with blood and sweat, both to be prepared and to make a profit. You might have accepted the rules of the industry and been ready to dive in, but somewhere along the way, you realize this is just not your thing. Don’t be afraid to say out loud that you don’t want it anymore. It was hopefully a fun experience, but now it’s over and you drop it. It’s absolutely OK. You grew as a person no matter the results, and now as a responsible adult you take a step back.
Well, and vice versa, if you have an overwhelming confidence to keep going, know the limits, but in a different way. As we mentioned before, a bad streak or series of failures can happen to anyone. Do not try to make up and place another bet in a rush. Do not let your emotions be in charge of you. Always stay sober in every sense of the word while gambling. And, while edge walking may appear advantageous and appealing, be cautious. One step in the right direction at a time.
Final Thoughts
At this point, anyone should agree that being professional in gambling and getting a name in the industry does take heaps of effort. And, if there were any doubts about whether this practice could be called a job at first, we can now say with certainty that it is hard work equivalent to a full-time job. We deeply hope that all your doubts were dispelled and that now you know where to begin. If you still want to take this path, we wish you good luck and patience. And if you decide to let this idea go, well done. It takes a lot of wisdom to realize that and not become yet another unfortunate example in the history of gambling.
