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.
