Gambling for a living?

[NySportsfan]

Hello all, I just joined MJ today, im 18 yr old big met/knick/giant fan from New York, Just wanted to say that ive been visiting this site for a while and have enjoyed most of it thoroughly and have read some excellent write ups of things. Anyway, my situation is, I hate school, like most you did, and want to become a professional gambler, as I can count cards in bjack, and have been betting sports for 4+ yrs, the key is flat betting obviously though..My question is, does anyone here do it?...how bad is the stigma attached to it, there already is one for part time gamblers, but I dont care...Also, how the f**k do u get car loans, mortgages etc if your a "professional gambler", even if you do well, its probably not common place...Anyway, its a difficult vocation yes, but with enough work spent studying and learning daily, the key though is MONEY MGT, I was looking for some feedback from some of the older folks on here, u can email me also if u have more detailed thoughts...Im going to post picks here and there, but Im more into discussing gms w/intelligent players, instead of just posting a pick, feel free to IM me..Thanks, and I like this site, keep up the good work, hope to hear from you

Michael

 

[Jackal]

18 yrs old and wanting to choose to be a professional gambler? Already been doing it for 4 years? Oh boy... Anyone...

No intent to offend here young fella, but get a college education or a nice trade. Gamble on the side if you wish, but be prepared for a long bumpy road before you are anywhere near prepared to earn a living at it...

 

[NySportsfan]

Yes, well Ive been following it for 4 yrs lemme correct that, and playing seriously probably since 98-99, have lost $$ with local bookies and have learned hard lessons, sure many more to come. most important one is $ mgt obviously, and to study hard, b/c chance favors the prepared mind. Also at first would caddy on the side to earn some extra cash, problem is just with med.insurance, cant be on the good ole folks plan w/o school, lol but this is america, the land of the free, and you gotta follow your heart is what the old saying is..we'll see how it shakes out, just wanna hear as many thoughts as i can

 

[buddy]

"There is no substitute for youth"

The unbridled passion nearly equals the ignorance.

Don't feel bad, kid.

When you get as old as I am, there's no passion anywhere to be found and I can still sell my ignorance by the metric ton.

What I do find interesting is this...

You wannabe a professional gambler.

You've been betting sports for 4 years and according to you, flat betting is the key.

Kid, my .02 cents is this...

You may want to try a different approach.

You may want to say that you don't know shit but you're very interested in LEARNING HOW TO HANDICAP.

LEARNING HOW TO HANDICAP is a distant cousin to actually betting on sports.

Don't wet your pants and think they're one and the same.

You have to understand the distinction.

You might be interested in learning how to handicap A SPORT (pick one), not all sports.

Again, chances are learning how to handicap one sport has nothing to do with handicapping another.

You are wandering into a very dangerous area kid.

You need smarts more than you need money.

 

[WHY ASK WHY?]

There was a thread on this topic posted hase a while back, as I recall most were of the opinion that it would be a very slim chance,many good cappers here, posted their thoughts. You might try to find it.

Myself I would you first learn a skill because your chances are not really good but I would not try to discoourage you but you will need something to depend on . If this don't work out.

WHY?

 

[NySportsfan]

Obviously, having the ability to handicap is the key. and picking sports you are strong in, and of course studying for countless hours. I personally, dont bet nhl, or college basketball/football totals, just have learned I dont like em and dont have a good feel for em...I mean, your right Buddy, in that I cant sit here and show you what I know about handicapping, b/c youve never met me,talked to me, etc etc, just hafta trust what i say, but your right re:experience....of course you learn day by day, even veteran cappers are still learning...must flat bet like 2% though of your total bank, or else the breakeven % goes up, etc etc...I just think its an attainable profession, albeit very uncommon..I also have a few tax questions on this thread, but I dont assume any of yo are CPAS, but if you know anyone that is, and has a good knowledge of tax info for prof gamblers, aside from keeping a log, etc Id appreciate it.Keep the replies coming, thanks for the takes
-mike

 

[djv]

Your 18 years old been betting since you were 14. You either look big for your age or have one dumb book. I hope you are not trying it on the net, by lieing about your age. Because it's shit like this. A 14 year old, or 18 now. That brings the world down on all of us. You better study real hard a couple more years. Then try again for you need lots of practice.

 

[buddy]

Kid,

'Nother thing about youth is the pride and the arrogance.

Don't worry. We all had it. So do you.

"Obviously, having the ability to handicap is the key..."

Wrong again.

Money Management is the key, but knowing everything (and I MEAN EVERYTHING) about "spread betting" is the first thing you might want to learn.

Good luck.

 

[Neemer]

Any reason why you think you'll NOT be a part of the 99% of folks that gamble and loose money in the long haul? What attributes do you think you possess that will put you in that 1% of the population that succeed in this business? I'm not tryin' to bust your bubble or nuthin', but I believe most in here would agree that you'll more than likely end up flat on your face if you consider to do this FULL time! Quite frankly, you better have lots of skill and a dumptruck full of LUCK! And also don't forget that to live a middle class lifestyle, a man damn near needs $100,000 bankroll to start off with. For just these reasons alone, most people here "gamble" as a way to past the time and make watchin' sports a little more interesting.

I dunno if you're serious or not, but choosing this lifestyle over a college education is quite possibly the dumbest BET I've ever heard of. Lots of folks in this world don't have the means or the intelligence to pursue a college education. If you're the exception to this rule, and you choose to piss it all away for a pipe dream at becoming the next Billy Walters, then you will not make a bigger mistake in your lifetime.

I'd suggest rethinking your idiotic decision and start pursuing something that will make a difference in your life.

 

[buddy]

Neemer

just

said

it

all.

 

[AR182]

When I was 18,I wanted to move to Florida to become a gigolo.I'm glad I woke up.Now I can't believe how dumb that was.I'm still teased about this by friends & relatives.The reason why I brought this up is because becoming a professional gambler to an 18 year sounds kind of romantic to him, as becoming a gigolo for me was.Hopefully someone can talk him out of it as somebody did for me.The best advice anyone could give you NYsportsfan,has already been said,get an education or learn a trade & gamble on the side.

 

[MadJack]

just ask Nolan how many kids he's seen enter the poker/gambling scene that were ready to "TAKE ON THE WORLD!!", only to head home with their tail between their legs in no time flat. ask him, he'll tell ya.

it 'sounds' good but you should listen to these guys in here that are old enough to be your father. it ain't happnin!

good luck

 

[fletcher]

lots of stress.very little time off to spend with family or youself if you are doing the work it takes.

hard to spend money because never know when a bad spell will come.

have to be able to disingage yourself from the sport ,that means cannot veiw the world of sports as a fan.

cannot watch a game to enjoy it,because it is part of work and it gets boring watching games all the time and reading newspapers from all over the country ,listening to pre and post game shows from all around the us from different university's.

if things go wrong least i have a degree to fall back on,what would you have.

its not all fast times and high life,i have gone broke at least 3 times starting out,and its not fun. trust me it will happen . so if you don't have the funds to fall back on you are shit out of luck,a few times in my life i had to be bailed out by parents. and nothing hurts more then to tell your parents you lost your bank account or house payment and shit due to a game.

it is way more work then you can even dream of,if you think its only a couple of hours aday you are fooling yourself.

the biggest mistake is trying to make big score it is to be veiwed as an investment like stocks and that is the number one downfall. just because you made some money doesnot mean it is yours and can be spent.

you have to set up roth account or ira,pay for insurence yourself,set up a corp. so you can pay taxes and have right offs and draw a check so you can have and maitain credit or you will never be able to buy a house,car ect. what you make needs to go back into business account and you draw a check every 2 weeks if you meet your needs of the business or write yourself a captial dispersment from company to yourself as a write off. way more to what you think it is .

go to school first then learn later if you want but if you try this now i don't care how smart you are you are missing out on the best years of your life and that would be the worse shame of this whole idea of yours.

trust me from someone who knows.

Think about life for awhile and enjoy it,this isnot a game or a great way of life for all. the stress is unreal and tends to make you bitter and short fused at times, and its hard to learn not to be like that because it sucks i still have to work on that part.

and till you learn the above moneymanagement and greed will do you in more then one time.

i hope you really hear what i am saying. DON'T THROW AWAY THE BEST YEARS OF YOUR LIFE! GAMING WILL ALWAYS BE AROUND BUT YOUR BETTER PART OF YOUR LIFE WON'T BE.

 

[Nolan Dalla]

Good replies so far. I liked Fletcher's the best.

I can only add a few points. Please listen carefully. I think I can speak from some experience.

In my years of doing this, I have come across maybe a DOZEN real bona fide young people who I think SHOULD pursue gambling for a living. And, they were ALL poker players. They had a knack for the game and an inherant talent. Daniel Negreanu comes to mind. Phil Ivey. A few others. For every young prodigy, there are 1,000 wannabe's. These are the wishful thinkers that feed pros.

So far as sports gambling for a living at such an early age. FORGET IT. This is a business where it takes experience to sustain and stick around. And even if you have experience, you still may lose and go broke. I've never met ANY person under his low 20s that could pull off sports gambling as a full time profession. I don't mean this to put donw younger people, it's just not a profession that is kind to those who lack experience and disipline. If you have been around for awhile and gone broke a few times (yes, I've gone broke before) you can recognize the traps. And it's a fvcking minevielf, believe me.

That doesn't even begin to discuss the personal costs -- on family, freinds, and social life. When I was 19, I was out drinking and chasing girls. Yeah, I was gambling too. But that was second to getting a college education.

Finally, the most troubling aspect of gambling is that EVEN IF YOU ARE SUCCESSFUL AT IT (a big if) would that guarantee happiness? I doubt it.

There is no such thing as security in gambling for a living. Your life always hangs in the balance.

In closing, I do commend you for asking others for advice. You are way ahead of the curve if you listen and take it.


-- Nolan Dalla

 

[NySportsfan]

I first want to say, I appreciate all of the feedback, I really do.....I tend to think Fletch is right on the money with everything he said. College, may be the best yrs of life, but then again I dont think the work is for everyone, I for one am a person who finds school to not be that beneficial, as most of the stuff learned tends to be arcane, useless and fodder, but I am a somewhat cynical person. Your right though Fletch, that it takes the joy of the sport out of the games....Like tonight for example, even as now being a semi-pro bettor that I am, not my source of lving b/c im still at home for another yr or 2, I dont pay most bills etc..but I mean, I was looking at the the scoreboard every 2 minutes while at the mets game, didnt get to take in everything, and even when out with friends, i tend to call up the 800# phone line for scores, which kind of can sour a night...This certainly isnt healthy probably, but I just think studying gms 8-10 hrs a day, watching endless games, and believing in myself, as well as encompassing the feedback of others, I can beat the house 54+% of the time over a yrs worth of 2000+ picks, that brings you in $40k, and u try to invest as u go..OF COURSE its not easy starting out, adults as a whole tend to dismiss "kids", in some cases theyre right, but in some theyre wrong..experience is a huge factor yes, but alas you have never met me, and cant say just by my post that i automatically am the one that will fail..this goes for nolans post, although I happen to respect nolan as ive been reading his articles and posts and he seems to be very smart.Anyway, it certainly beats school IMO, Id rather study gms and stats all day b/c thats what I enjoy, and go out with buddies and girls, and piss away the whole spirit etc at college, bc im a nuts and bolts guy....I got 1200 sats, but hey, just dont feel schools for me.any other thoughts greatly appreciated...re:Fletch, I didnt know u needed to hold file as a corporation.I guess that means filing under schedule C on taxes, I dunno exactly the technical tax stuff, but Ill learn at the proper time...Again, keep the feedback coming, Im sure some of you cynicists will think Im a piece of shit, whos another kid in fantasy world, but I truly am not, may even attend the MJ super bowl party in a few yrs, who knows...Keep the comments coming, I like these boards a lot, been reading em for a while
Mike

 

[fletcher]

you can get away with out claiming anything if you live with someone or just say mom and dad pays the bills,but i think you would want to build your credit profile and invest well they will need to see something that looks like its a pay stub,an offshore ck or cash from a bookie doesnot cut it.

no one but you will know if you can do it so do what you want,don't let people tell you it can't be done or shit on your dream but just be aware of all aspacts of the life the good and the bad.

1 last tip forget the score phones and scorewatching what ever is going to happen is going to happen,have your day ready to go and different things you will do if things happen different then you think or always look at buy backs on late games to secure a nice day if your up,i watch the games live to see how a team and players are doing not to see score that is out of my hands,but breaking down a team and seeing how the match up with other is in my control this is most importent in fb have to watch as many teams as you can and for me it all starts with the line play on both sides of the ball then i work down the line.

good luck and just keep you options open.

 

[kickserv]

Man......some great responses!


I'll just make mine short and to the point


Sports gambling is fun............and always should be fun! And I assure you, if you put your financial future all on Sports Gambling...it won't be fun for long!


And remember this..........you can have a "bad day" at work but you still know that your going to get paid! Have a "bad day" at the Sportsbook not only are you not getting paid....your paying them!


Short........but I think you see my point!

 

[beantownjim]

SPORTSFAN FIRST THING I WANT YOU TO DO IS GO TO COLLEGE GET A GOOD EDUCATION SO YOU MAKE PLENTY OF MONEY SIX FIGURES A YEAR.LISTEN TO ME IM SERIOUS AS SOON AS YOU ESTABLISH YOURSELF AND YOU HAVE PLENTY OF DOUGH I WANT YOU TO MOVE TO SOUTH BOSTON ILL SET YOU UP WITH ANYTHING YOU WANT HOUSING,JOBS,WOMEN YOU NAME IT ITS YOURS AS LONG AS YOU BET WITH MY BOYS.THIS KID SOUNDS LIKE A REAL WINNER IM 42 YEARS OLD AND RETIRED IM ONE OF THE FEW WHO HAS MANAGED TO SURVIVE GAMBLING FOR 23 YEARS AND IT WASNT EASY.SO KID STOP WASTING YOUR TIME AND GET BACK TO THE BOOKS OR YOU'LL END UP LIKE NICK DOUGLAS.THE ONLY WAY TO SURVIVE AND VERY FEW CAN IS HAVE CONTROL AND ONLY BET ONE GAME AT A TIME AND DONT PANIC WHEN YOU LOSE I HAVE SEEN SO MANY SUCKERS DOUBLE THERE BETS AFTER A LOSS AND TRY TO WIN BACK THERE LOSSES BOYS YOU CANT SURVIVE DOING THAT STAY WITH A CERTAIN NUMBER DONT CHASE:nono: GOOD LUCK KID I DONT SEE YOU MAKING IT IN THIS BUSINESS VERY FEW DO SO DONT FORGET MY OFFER BUDDY.BEANTOWNJIM

JESUS SAVES,AND ESPOSITO SCORES ON THE REBOUND

 

[NySportsfan]

Again, appreciate you guys responses.. I esp like Fletchs posts the best, seems to be the most candid. Watching scores is baiscally usleless because you cant control it, your right, your better off watching gms and trying to pick up little subtleties and such from announcers, etc. Gambling is also very taxing on the senses, social life at tim es, etc, and you need to isolate yourself so you can focus on the capping, as well as you can also suffer burnout at times, with an overwhelming number of games on the card. Of course, going to start establishing credit little by little now paying small gas cards, etc etc, to get rolling. I think the main drawback to prof gambling, aside from everything else thats been said, is that you have NO med insurance coverage, unlesss your married, this is quite expensive obviously, guess you can get cobra or something for a yr, but eventually will hafta ante up. I honestly though in my heart, that if I keep flat betting 2% of my bank EVERY(thats the key word) time, that I am a good enough capper to hit 54-55%+ of all my bets, that is ENOUGH. do the math, u dont need to win every game, or even 60% to win, just managing the money is the key thing. Then of course, you need to see when to withdraw money from which acct, etc etc. I think baseball lines have enough dogs where u can grind out a decent profit most weeks to live on, I find the only problem to be sept-oct, when there is only football, end of season baseball gets tricky. The key thing is though, vacation time MUST be taken sometimes, or at least mondays off during baseball season sometimes due to the small card. This is vital to your health and state of mind.. More feedback appreciated, looking fwd to hearing from you
Mike

 

[chump]

hey man, go for it. It sounds like nobody here is going to change your mind.

There is some GREAT advice given out.

I wish I was good enough to do it professionally, but there is no way. You have to get good breaks everyday, no doubt

You should pick up a cheap sports pager off of ebay to carry around, rather than call those 800numbers for scores. You can get an espn one from a guy on there for about $80 with no fees, something to think about

good luck to you, i'm curious to see how this works out

I did it full time for about 2.5 months 4 years ago when I wasn't working, I did good at the beginning but lost my head and discipline towards the end of it...It's very very hard, and very stressful