If I were the ask you to tell me the first thing that pops into your mind when I say the words "Dream Job", what would it be? Most will say something glamorous that yields a ton of money, like a movie star or a rock star or professional gambler or (if you are still living in your parent's basement) an astronaut. These professionals are portrayed by the media as living the best possible lifestyle, able to easily afford the best comforts and with money never being an issue. Ever. And this image cannot be portrayed more fully than that of professional gambler. As I say this you are already picturing somebody holding his latest cash winnings in his upraised fist behind a table with even more piles of money, wearing a leisure suit made out of money bills, a gold tooth and maybe a pimp hat. Although granted that pro gamblers do earn quite a comfy living, which you're reminded of especially when the Dan Bilzerian selfies pop up on your news feed, we are not given the complete picture of this lifestyle, such as the pitfalls and things that you have to keep on mind if you decide to make this as your main living.
To start off, let's take a look at which type of professional gambler you would like to be. Trusting blind luck and sticking to things such as blackjack or roulette is a sucker's venture which will guarantee you a comfy corner in the local soup kitchen. An element of skill needs to be involved, one that you can control and improve upon if you are to make any sort of profit. So it basically boils down to either a pro poker player or a sports handicapper.
The professional poker player, as the name implies, spends almost all of his or her free time playing poker. You can ask any pro poker player and they will probably tell you that they spend most of the day playing online poker. Whilst the legislation is different in various countries, generally online play is popular across the world. This is required to make a living and also is essential practice for when you enter those big tournaments. Most people will envision the poker player to walk out of the casino with giant wads of cash stuffed in his pocket and head up to his hotel suite. This is generally not the case. The pro poker player must understand that in order to make a profit he has to manage his bankroll to spread over all of his potential losses for any given month so that with his winnings, he is able to enlarge his bankroll and make a profit. He cannot go and spend his winnings frivolously otherwise he will impose a huge disadvantage onto himself in the coming months. So, in essence you have to be your own accountant all the time for not only your living budget but also of all your assets, which is certainly not a perk that you signed up for. Plus that new entertainment system doesn't fit in this quarter's budget so it's going to have to be postponed. Again. The bigger your bankroll, the more poker you are able to play and the best way to maximize your profits.
The other side of the coin is the sports handicapper, or someone who is able to predict the outcome of the game of his choice and then bet favorably. Now this doesn't stem from simply intuition or gut feeling or magic dust and chicken legs or anything of the sort. It comes from constant research and following all the games related to your sport. Then they need to find a pattern and form their own algorithm to identify and bet on the rising underdogs. All based on stats and numbers. Which frankly is not that adrenaline junkie yelling profanities from the stands while drinking Dom Pérignon you picture in your head. Now like the pro poker player, the sports gambler also needs to heavily monitor and protect his bank roll. Because in essence, money to a gambler is like a hammer to a carpenter. It's the tool of the trade. And if the carpenter decides to trade his hammer in for something nice to hang in the kitchen he won't be making doors any time soon and he would end up starving. No tools, no work.
I know that I have focused on the most glaring downsides of being a professional gambler, making this argument look a bit lop-sided. But this is only because the upsides don't need advertising. Making a lot of money by sitting down in a ‘pants completely optional' situation as you literally don't need to leave your house, without any overseer breathing down your neck is certainly something that everyone dreams of achieving. Without pointing out the downsides it would be like not warning a prominent rock star of the three different rehabs centers he will probably visit throughout his career, along with those colorful venereal diseases from his last tour that will keep him company throughout the night.
So now it's your task to weigh all these factors against each other to see if this is your cup of tea. The payday and bonuses are certainly something to drool over (damn you Dan Bilzerian!) but the amount of work involved and self restraint is not something to scoff at, especially when you consider that there are other trades where you can sink in this level of commitment that at the top levels will yield you more or less the same profit. Then you don't need the glamor, you can just hire beautiful porn stars to pose with you in your selfies (in your face Dan!)
To start off, let's take a look at which type of professional gambler you would like to be. Trusting blind luck and sticking to things such as blackjack or roulette is a sucker's venture which will guarantee you a comfy corner in the local soup kitchen. An element of skill needs to be involved, one that you can control and improve upon if you are to make any sort of profit. So it basically boils down to either a pro poker player or a sports handicapper.
The professional poker player, as the name implies, spends almost all of his or her free time playing poker. You can ask any pro poker player and they will probably tell you that they spend most of the day playing online poker. Whilst the legislation is different in various countries, generally online play is popular across the world. This is required to make a living and also is essential practice for when you enter those big tournaments. Most people will envision the poker player to walk out of the casino with giant wads of cash stuffed in his pocket and head up to his hotel suite. This is generally not the case. The pro poker player must understand that in order to make a profit he has to manage his bankroll to spread over all of his potential losses for any given month so that with his winnings, he is able to enlarge his bankroll and make a profit. He cannot go and spend his winnings frivolously otherwise he will impose a huge disadvantage onto himself in the coming months. So, in essence you have to be your own accountant all the time for not only your living budget but also of all your assets, which is certainly not a perk that you signed up for. Plus that new entertainment system doesn't fit in this quarter's budget so it's going to have to be postponed. Again. The bigger your bankroll, the more poker you are able to play and the best way to maximize your profits.
The other side of the coin is the sports handicapper, or someone who is able to predict the outcome of the game of his choice and then bet favorably. Now this doesn't stem from simply intuition or gut feeling or magic dust and chicken legs or anything of the sort. It comes from constant research and following all the games related to your sport. Then they need to find a pattern and form their own algorithm to identify and bet on the rising underdogs. All based on stats and numbers. Which frankly is not that adrenaline junkie yelling profanities from the stands while drinking Dom Pérignon you picture in your head. Now like the pro poker player, the sports gambler also needs to heavily monitor and protect his bank roll. Because in essence, money to a gambler is like a hammer to a carpenter. It's the tool of the trade. And if the carpenter decides to trade his hammer in for something nice to hang in the kitchen he won't be making doors any time soon and he would end up starving. No tools, no work.
I know that I have focused on the most glaring downsides of being a professional gambler, making this argument look a bit lop-sided. But this is only because the upsides don't need advertising. Making a lot of money by sitting down in a ‘pants completely optional' situation as you literally don't need to leave your house, without any overseer breathing down your neck is certainly something that everyone dreams of achieving. Without pointing out the downsides it would be like not warning a prominent rock star of the three different rehabs centers he will probably visit throughout his career, along with those colorful venereal diseases from his last tour that will keep him company throughout the night.
So now it's your task to weigh all these factors against each other to see if this is your cup of tea. The payday and bonuses are certainly something to drool over (damn you Dan Bilzerian!) but the amount of work involved and self restraint is not something to scoff at, especially when you consider that there are other trades where you can sink in this level of commitment that at the top levels will yield you more or less the same profit. Then you don't need the glamor, you can just hire beautiful porn stars to pose with you in your selfies (in your face Dan!)
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