|
Qualifications
Discipline: If you have to make a bet for the sake of making a bet
you are in trouble.
Focus: If you are distracted with other activities, people, family
or problems you will not be able to give gambling the attention
it requires.
No Superstitions: I personally do not know anyone who is superstitious
and successful at the same time.
Record Keeping: Show me someone who does not keep records and I
will show you a loser.
Ego: I've seen this be the downfall of what otherwise may have been
a good professional gambler. Until you have won 10 million or more
gambling, check the ego at the door. If you have reached this level
of success than why the need for the ego.
Emotions: This one is key. You must not let the highs and lows
affect you. If you cannot do this than you need to find another
profession. Examples of the bullshit I've heard ten thousand times.
The ref made a bad call. The stupid jockey judged the pace wrong.
Some dumb ass took MY card. Why did or didn't they go for the 2
point conversion. If you are or want to be a professional gambler
this is going to happen everyday, SO FORGET ABOUT IT. If you can't
handle it you have almost zero chance of success.
Pull the Trigger: When you have the advantage you must be able
to make the appropriate bet. If you look at money in terms of what
it could buy you, you're in the wrong business.
Bankroll: First you need to have one. What you can borrow on your
visa card does not count.
Bankroll or Money Management: There are some good books on this
subject. If you do not know what I mean by money management you
need to buy such book. Hint: You cannot play 50-100 stud on a $10,000
bankroll. You cannot bet $5000/game on a $50,000 bankroll. You cannot
play a $5 video poker machine on a $100,000 bankroll. If you try
this you are not a professional gambler you are just a gambler who
will go broke sooner rather than later.
Maths: This will win you more money than any other single factor.
If you don't know the math than you better learn it or at least
know someone who will do the math for you. If you don't like math
than find another occupation.
Adversity: As in any endeavor there comes adversity. Be emotionally
ready to handle it because it is a sure thing. You will be barred
from casinos, cheated and stiffed during your career, that I can
promise you.
Be true to yourself: Resist the temptation to do things that are
detrimental to your well-being and your bankroll. Going on tilt,
drug use, and binges will have a negative affect on your ability
to perform. Even a bad diet will have a negative affect. Whatever
form of gambling one embraces it always gets down to who's brain
is functioning the best, who has the bankroll, who knows the math.
Reputation: To me this is everything. Without a good reputation
you will never be a professional gambler in my eyes. You may win
money, but doing it without honesty and integrity you're just a
bum to me. If you win by cheating, scamming or stiffing people you're
not a professional, you're a cheat, scam artist or stiff. A good
reputation will become your greatest ally in the war to win. Once
you establish a good reputation opportunities are everywhere. Other
professionals welcome the chance to work with you, help you, and
partner up with you. Having a good reputation does not mean keeping
your word 9 out of 10 times, it means 100% of the time keeping your
word. I know a professional poker player in Las Vegas who did not
do the right thing 25 years ago and to this day nobody will have
anything to do with him. Once you sell your reputation you can never
buy it back.
To be a professional it takes a rare mix of qualities not found
in most people. As one well known professional poker player likes
to say "Its a hard way to make an easy living". To be
a professional at anything it takes a unique person and gambling
is no exception.
Expectations
When first starting out you should be buying all the books you
can read on the aspects of gambling that interest you. The gamblers
Book Club in Las Vegas is a great place to start. The internet now
offers more opportunity for learning than anything I've ever seen
in my life. Gambling conferences are a great place to cut your teeth
also. I personally don't attend these functions for personal reasons
not because I don't think they are helpful. Las Vegas used to be
the Mecca for most professional gamblers but with the internet and
opportunities in other locals this is no longer as true but still
a reasonable place to make new contacts and a place to hone ones
skills.
Expect both positive and negative flux in your bankroll. If you
decide to be a professional blackjack player you will at some point
lose 60 top bets during your career. If you play long enough you
will have a losing year. If sports are your choice, expect to go
2-22 on a busy college Saturday at some point. If you never seem
to flux up or down you are doing something wrong. If your emotions
cannot take flux you need to pick a different profession. If you
enjoy flux this could be a bad sign also. When your bankroll fluxes
upwards this is not the time to buy that fancy car you have always
dreamed about. There will be plenty of time for all of that but
until you have a substantial bankroll (at least 500K) you will need
to preserve capital. Things can go bad in a hurry in this business
and you need to be prepared to weather the storms.
Expect to put a huge time investment into gambling. It is not uncommon
to put 80+ hours/week. To be successful this is a business that
will take over all aspects of your life. Once you get established
and secure with yourself than you can cut back on the time investment
but many guys still choose not to.
If you have the ability to make more money doing something else
you probably should stick to something else. This business can be
an emotional roller coaster and the only thing (in the long run)
to justify it is the extra money.
Realities of the Business
You have no bosses or customers to speak of so you are totally
independent of the bull shit most people go thru in a normal day.
This is the good part. The only person that you need to answer to
is yourself. Don't bullshit yourself or you will become a bad boss.
Be true to yourself.
You produce no product or service that society requires. This is
the bad part. As you become more successful your purpose in life
becomes more meaningless. While other guys are saving lives, producing
goods and services you are not much better than a parasite to society.
With success comes (a feeling of) a debt you owe to your fellow
man. Most successful gamblers I know give heavily to charity; donate
their time and money to help their fellow man in some small way.
I believe it is their way to make up for the empty feeling one gets
from years and years of not producing something of substance. Many
successful gamblers look for something else to do with their lives
after becoming financially independent. Relationships don't work
for most of us early on in our career so this is another avenue
many professionals look to achieve as they become financially successful.
Source: Financial Spread Betting
|
