How To Be A Professional Sports Gambler

A $100 bankroll isn’t going to help you become a professional gambler. Even a $1,000 bankroll won’t do the trick. You need a sizable bankroll so that you can make large bets and survive potential losing streaks. The amount needed all varies based on how much.

How To Become a Professional Sports Bettor by Dave Busk -. Many articles have been written over the years about being a professional gambler. I can't explain 'what it's like' but having done it (i'm currently inactive) & having observed others doing it and others trying & failing (often comically) I can give you some commonalities of the successful ones: 1-We think outside the box. Like most small businesses, professional gamblers can deduct expenses that the IRS considers “ordinary and necessary” to “carrying on any trade or business.” The website ProfessionalGamblerStatus.com provides a long list of tax deductions for professional gamblers you can deduct, ranging from internet connections (if you play online. Manage Your Bankroll and Create a Unit Size. It’s integral that, as a sports bettor, you decide how.

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There’s a lot of information on the internet claiming to offer “foolproof” methods to instant sports betting success. Unfortunately, there is no such thing. Becoming a successful sports bettor requires hard work, determination, knowledge, and experience.

Part of gaining these necessary skills is to learn which strategies to apply and when to implement them. In this article, we’ve compiled 10 quick betting tips and strategies that will move you towards being a stronger, more successful bettor over time.

Like anything worth doing, achieving a better sports betting winning percentage takes both time and perseverance. Sports betting is not tantamount to gambling, so we advocate betting with skill, measure, and precision. Don’t leave everything up to luck!

1. Manage Your Bankroll and Create a Unit Size

It’s integral that, as a sports bettor, you decide how much money you’re going to dedicate towards betting on sports. Of course, this hinges on your individual financial situation. It’s never wise to bet money that you can’t afford to lose.

Now that you’ve established a pre-ordained bankroll, decide on unit size. We recommend that beginner bettors stake 1-5% of their bankroll on every bet they make.

This is undoubtedly thecrucial first step in becoming a more successful sport better. Every single “sharp” scrutinizes both their bankroll and unit size regularly. For more information, we’ve written a whole guide on sports betting money management.

2. Understand Your Risk Tolerance and Goals as a Bettor

Different types of bettors like to make different bets. The sooner you decide which types of bets you prefer making, the sooner you can perfect your strategy and start winning.

Some people like to bet on significant underdogs or highly improbable events. They’re attracted to the longest of long odds. These are the same bettors who are more inclined to create huge parlays and bet on games like the Browns beating the Patriots on Monday night.

Others have a preference for smaller profits, but more likely outcomes. Betting on heavy favorites and welcoming short odds may not pay out as big, but these bettors are likely to win more often.

Some bettors think strategically, with a long-term view of players or teams. These bettors spend a lot of their time and bankroll in the futures marketplace.

You may bet once a week or stay active in sportsbook live betting, placing many bets every day (or even multiple bets on the same event).

Of course, none of these types of bets are mutually exclusive. Seasoned sharps are highly active in every single kind of wager, no matter whether it’s got long or short odds attached to it.

Focusing on one particular kind of bet is a wise move if you’re looking to improve quickly.

3. Develop Realistic Expectations

A successful “sharp” wins 54% of the time. A historically great “sharp” wins at around a 60% clip. These are the best sports bettors in the entire world.

Wanting to achieve these numbers at the jump or even over an extended period of time is a tall order. We can’t stress this point enough.

Even if you win your first 10 bets (which is not unheard of), the law of averages suggests that unfortunately, you’ll come crashing back to the earth at some point. Knowing this and setting realistic expectations can help prevent you from doing anything rash.

Don’t deviate from the strategy and methods that made you win 10 in a row in the first place.

4. Keep a Record of Your Bets and Review Them Periodically

This strategy might seem unsexy, but it’s nevertheless incredibly important.

It isn’t fun to revisit losses, but if you do, you might prevent yourself from making the same types of mistakes twice. Sometimes, you’ll lose bets even if you’ve done everything right. Other times, you knew you were reaching, but made a bet anyway. Correcting misguided reasoning will benefit your bets in the long run.

An occasional retrospective on your successes and failures will doubtless provide a long-term boost to your bankroll.

5. Bet with Your Head, Not Your Heart

The majority of sports bettors began betting because they were sports fans. As such, they probably had allegiance to one or more teams. If this applies to you, we’d recommend from abstaining on betting on any event related to your favorite team (or teams).

Loyalty can cloud our judgment, and we recommend being rational and measured in your sports betting. Bias can affect us in both conscious and unconscious ways. For this reason, we recommend skipping lines that you have a personal interest or an emotional investment in.

6. Avoid “Sunk Cost Fallacy”

For this tip, we’re going to borrow a standard term from behavioral economics. The “sunk cost fallacy” means that the more time or money one invests in something, that harder it becomes to abandon. This encompasses everything from business investment to a bad relationship.

Decisions are colored and tainted by accumulated emotional attachments related to the investment. People engaging in the “sunk cost fallacy” will throw more money at a project or venture that’s doomed, just because they’ve invested so much time in it already. They simply don’t know when to cut their losses.

This applies to sports betting just as much as it pertains to investments. If you’re having a bad day, cut your losses. And whatever you do, don’t keep upping the size of your bankroll to cover a nasty losing streak.

7. Bet on One Sport

As Warren Buffet says, invest in what you know. The same applies to sports betting.

How To Be A Professional Sports Gambler Game

If you’re new to sports betting, it’s worth it to stick to the one sport you know the most about. You’ll already be ahead in the methods you need to get an edge in over the bookmakers, just based on your pre-existing knowledge of how the game is played.

You’ll already know how to evaluate players and teams, and where to gather information about the sport. This is integral to finding the smartest wagers.

8. Line Shop

Line-shopping is all about taking advantage of pricing discrepancies between the same event at different sportsbooks. Finding the best odds possible is guaranteed to have a significant positive effect on your sports betting ROI.

Line shopping is the closest thing to a foolproof, sure-thing strategy in sports betting. It’s guaranteed to net you bigger profits and long-term success in sports betting. The sooner you start doing it, the better.

We’ve written a full guide on all things line shopping, and why it’s essential.

9. Hedge Your Bets When It’s Appropriate

At its core, hedging is a risk management technique that can be applied to sports betting. It’s a way to either reduce your bankroll exposure or lock in a profit on bets.

Hedging is complicated and beyond the scope of this quick strategy guide, but every hedge you make will be done by betting on a result that’s different than your original wager.

10. Do Your Research and Talk to Other Bettors

In the age of the internet, getting involved in the sports betting community has never been easier. Join sports betting forums, peruse sportsbook-related subreddits, and talk to anyone you know in real life who may be keen on sports betting.

Not only will you become more accustomed to sports betting lingo, but you can also exchange sports betting strategies with your friends.

Patience Is a Virtue

As we’ve mentioned, becoming a successful sports bettor takes time. As you develop more in-depth knowledge and comfort within the sports betting world, you’ll start to see a more significant ROI.

Remember, never become a gambler. Everyone has rough days sports betting, but betting responsibly and sticking to a plan will help you remain successful. Discipline is integral to keeping your cool, having fun, and staying successful.

Professional Sports Gambling Strategies

How To Become a Professional Sports Bettor
by Dave Busk - 05/06/2009

Many articles have been written over the years about being a professional gambler. In this article, however, I will touch on some of my views on what it takes to make a living betting on sports.

How could I give you advice if you don't know a little about me? I'm 33 years young but in terms of a gambling age I feel like 60. Gamblers are like dogs in that they age several years during a calendar year once they start applying their trade. My road in gambling started long ago as I am the son of a former bookmaker and a very successful blackjack player that still to this day is banned from many casinos because of his winning ways. I choose not to bet in casinos and after a short stint going to the track around 18 and 19 years old I quit betting horse for two reasons: 1.) at 18 you think you know everything but in reality you know nothing and 2.) I noticed nobody had nice shoes at the track, so that was it for me.

At 21 I was in the Caribbean working in a sports book and this is where I started the learning curve that for me took about six year's to start to really understand what I was doing. I have read numerous articles and books and heard many different opinions along the way -- some make sense some don't, but hopefully you can't take something from this article to help you get better.

Discipline

Discipline is one of the keys to being successful at this, and probably the main thing I tell people who ask how to become a professional sports bettor. Discipline can range anywhere from staying within in your limits, to not letting your emotions take over after a tough day. Winning at betting on sports is a 'mindset' and to be a successful gambler you need to be good in other areas besides just picking winners and discipline is key. You need to be able to handle winning just as much as you need to manage when you go on a losing streak. Remember, when you have a tough day no matter if you were way off or you lost a game that you should have won, let it go and don't chase your losses. This is easier said then done but you need to 'maximize your wins and minimize you losses'. Remember, our National Anthem plays multiple times every day in ballparks and arenas across the country - there's always' tomorrow.

How To Be A Professional Sports Gambler Teams

Money Management

Money management is another strong suit of a successful gambler -- some guys go with the logic that a play is a play meaning every bet is worth the same. For me this is a grind but I do think some games stand out more then others and the value just shines. I think there are certain situations where you need to step out and play a little more. However, staying inside the limits that your bankroll allows is crucial. I highly suggest that you separate you living money from your betting bankroll. If you have a good week or month take a higher percentage and add it too your bankroll and then pay yourself. Don't forget that in between watching, rooting and handicapping games that this is a business.

Mentality

One mistake I made when I was younger was I never took a break, it was always go, go, go. And while taking a break doesn't need to mean a week or month, it could just mean doing something else for an hour or two. I put a tremendous amount of time into thinking about what millionaires or future millionaires are going to do while playing a kid's game and to be successful at this you need to put time into it, but there comes a point where doing too much will burn you out and that leads to bad decisions. No matter if things are going good or bad, take a step back and retool your thought process. Remember, there is a lot that you can't control. The things you can control are hard work, discipline, money management and getting the best of the number. Don't be afraid to make adjustments to how you handicap over the course of a season -- the season is long and many teams go through situations over the course of time that change a team's overall mental state. Every year is a new year and you have to keep re-educating yourself on the leagues -- don't ever kid yourself and think you know it all.

Market

Like any other business, sports betting is part of a market and one good asset that a gambler can posses is understanding the movement of the market. The line will move for many reasons - it could be sharp money, it could be the public or it could be an overreaction to a noted injury or weather situation. This is where I feel you need to know and understand how to make a solid number. If the number you wanted moves before you get down your wager there comes a point where your play loses value and you must stay disciplined and simply pass. Remember, that value is in the number, not just the team. Understand when it's time to bet early in the market and when it is better to bet late in the market. This comes with time and by watching the line movement and developing a good understanding of where a number should be you can make the market work for you.

Understand the oddsmaker's weaknesses and while they have many edges he does have to hang a number on every game while we can pick and choose our investments. On a weekend in the fall we have multiple sports going on with baseball, college football, NFL and in October and November NBA and NHL. The oddsmaker is going to focus on the NFL with that being their biggest handle and with 70-plus college football games plus other sports going on Saturday they will be more likely to make some mistakes. The key their is knowing where the market is weak and how to handicap and capitalize on their mistakes. This is easier said then done.

While people handicap and look at games with different styles, I would suggest you do what works for you. I don't handicap every sport the same -- the only aspect I have that is the same for each sport is that I make my own number and use as a guide against the line the oddsmaker hangs. I re-educate myself on these teams every day by reading newspapers across the country. I don't follow trends or have a system. The problem I have with a trend or a system is it takes the emotion out of sports and sports is all emotion. Understand that no matter how much you think you know about the players you still don't know if that pitcher or quarterback is having problems at home or in his daily life to take their focus away from their jobs. These are still people, not robots -- none of us are at our best every single day it is just the real talent that shows at a high percentage of the time. This is a market, always' get the best value for your dollar. There is a learning curve to this and it can be expensive. Some people get it and some never will. While everybody has their different views on how to handicap games, the best advice I could give you is to learn how to be a good oddsmaker and pair that with some of the things mentioned above and this will make you a good gambler. Betting on sports for a living could become like walking through a minefield if you don't have a clue, it takes so much to win and so little to lose. However, if you work hard and show some discipline with some good money management and if you can keep your emotions in check, you will make it through the minefield and pay the bills.

For more information on Busk's baseball picks and for daily free picks, check out his Insider's Page here.

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