5 Ways to Make Profit From Gambling
The only foolproof way to make profit from gambling is by owning a casino. This is fundamentally because casinos have an inherent advantage called a house edge. However, what separates professional gamblers from any other gamblers is their understanding of casino games’ house edge.
While some professional gamblers may occasionally engage in games with a higher house edge, they are the exception rather than the rule. Even then, they confine such play to funds separate from their dedicated professional gambling bankroll.
In many occasions, when a professional gambler partakes in games like roulette, it’s purely for entertainment purposes. Interestingly, there are professional roulette players, but that’s a topic for another time.
If you believe you possess the requisite qualities, this post serves as an excellent introduction to the world of professional gambling.
Let’s explore some of the ways to make profit from gambling.
1. Bet On Sports
Sports betting is one of the most profitable forms of gambling. To succeed, you must consistently win enough bets to overcome the bookmakers’ vigorish (“vig”). This necessitates winning at least 52% of one’s wagers just to break even. Each percentage point increase in your winning percentage contributes to a higher return on investment (ROI).
Let’s delve into the mathematics behind this concept:
Imagine you place 100 consecutive sports bets and win 55% of them, wagering $20 on each game. Your winnings amount to 55 x $20, totaling $1,100. Conversely, you lose 45 x $20, summing up to $900. Your net profit stands at $1,100 – $900, which equals $200.
Naturally, if you start with a larger bankroll, your monthly earnings can be even more substantial. One approach is to seek patterns to exploit, although these patterns are not perpetual. Think of sports betting as a marketplace. As it matures, it becomes more efficient, rendering yesterday’s betting systems obsolete.
You need to also monitor line movements. When the line changes, it suggests that the general public is heavily favoring one side. Sportsbooks adjust the lines to encourage betting on the other side of the event. If the original line was accurate, which is usually the case, betting against the public becomes a positive expected value (EV) move.
Betting against the general public is generally a sound strategy because the general public often lacks expertise in sports betting. Therefore, if the line is shifting in favor of one side, it’s wise to bet in alignment with that shift.
Betting against the general public is just one method to gain an edge in sports betting. Another is closely monitoring news and information that could impact game outcomes. If you can acquire information that might affect a game’s result before the general public, you gain an edge. Although point spreads may adjust based on new information, you will have placed your bet before these adjustments occur, granting you a significant advantage.
2. Play Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS)
Daily fantasy sports betting entails players assembling teams with a higher likelihood of victory. By consistently outperforming fellow competitors and offsetting the vigorish (vig) or rake, you can indeed make profit from daily fantasy sports gambling.
Now, let’s delve into the mechanics of the vig in fantasy sports, which should ring familiar to those acquainted with online poker.
To enter a daily fantasy sports league, you typically pay an entry fee. To yield a positive Return on Investment (ROI) in daily fantasy sports, your winning frequency must compensate all the fees. The rationale is straightforward.
Consider this scenario: You possess identical skills as your competitors in a daily fantasy contest comprising 10 players. Statistically, you would be expected to win once in every 10 contests, equating to $10 per contest based on the $100 prize pool. However, you would still have incurred $10 in entry fees.
Alternatively, if you secured victory twice, your total winnings would amount to $200, but the entry fees would remain at $10.
Consequently, the greater your advantage over other players, the higher the likelihood of beating the vig.
The art of triumphing in these daily fantasy contests entails myriad complexities. You must first determine your tournament preferences, choosing between the 50/50 tournaments (also known as “cash games”) and those boasting substantial prize pools. Each type of competition rewards distinct strategies.
Read our fantasy sports betting guide page for additional insights and daily sports betting strategies.
3. Becoming a Professional Poker Player
When it comes to the pursuit of a professional gambling career, two of the most viable options, apart from owning your casino, are sports betting and poker.
However, don’t be misled into thinking that becoming a professional poker player is a walk in the park.
The difficulty in consistently beating poker arises because it necessitates more than just being superior to your opponents. You must outperform them by a significant margin. Most cardrooms impose a 5% fee on each pot, adding an extra layer of challenge. Therefore, to thrive, you must not only be better but substantially better.
To strike a balance between your poker career and quality of life, most players cannot commit to 60 hours of play each week. Therefore, diversifying your approach becomes imperative.
You can bolster your hourly earnings through various strategies:
- Multi-Table Play: Engage in more tables at once.
- Increased Win Rate: Improve the amount you win per hour.
- Higher Stakes: Opt for higher stake levels.
4. Count Cards in Blackjack
Counting cards in blackjack is another way to make profit gambling. Card counting is perhaps the most renowned technique in advantage gambling, particularly in blackjack. Advantage gambling refers to the use of legitimate strategies to shift the odds in your favor instead of the house’s. While casinos often cast a shadow of suspicion on card counting, it essentially involves skillful play rather than cheating.
Let me break down the concept in straightforward terms:
Blackjack is essentially a memory game. Card counters thus meticulously track the ratio of high-value cards to low-value cards in the deck. When high-value cards are in abundance, they elevate the size of their bets to capitalize on the augmented likelihood of receiving a natural.
Given that blackjack typically holds a house edge of 0.5% to 1% on average, it doesn’t require a significant shift in the odds to transform the game into a favorable proposition for the player. By betting conservatively when the deck is unfavorable and ramping up their bets when it favors them, players can enhance their odds against the casino to the point where they hold an edge ranging from 0.5% to 1%.
In the short term, this advantage may not always translate into substantial profits, and there’s still the risk of losing money even when the odds are in your favor. However, over the long haul, through a lifetime of play, you sure can make a profit gambling using this technique.
5. Learn to Cheat
While I do not endorse or encourage any form of cheating, it’s essential to be aware that some individuals consider it an option. Cheating involves altering the conditions of the game to gain an unfair advantage over others, which is both unethical and illegal.
To illustrate this, consider the following example:
Imagine you’re engaged in a poker game and have sharp fingernails. In a dishonest attempt to gain an edge, you discreetly mark the backs of specific cards with your fingernails. This marking allows you to identify certain cards in your opponents’ hands, providing you with an unfair advantage that others lack. It is crucial to recognize that this act is not only unfair but also unethical, as it manipulates the game’s conditions without the knowledge or consent of fellow players.
It’s vital to emphasize that participating in such practices within certain poker games can lead to severe consequences, including physical harm or even theft of your funds by individuals who discover your deceit.
Additionally, if you possess the skills of a card mechanic, you can employ various card tricks to manipulate the game. This allows you to deal specific cards to players without their awareness, providing you with a substantial advantage.
Cheating can also extend to games of chance, such as craps, where loaded dice are used to alter the game’s fairness.
