Wildbill
01-13-2003, 11:55 PM
Sorry, said I would post an answer to a question on a regular basis but was a bit busy getting married (nothing important!). Anyways here we go. I have received a good number of questions and tried to answer them all. Some questions have been pretty good. I have received 4 that related to playing professionally so I thought I would address this here.
Question was: How can I know if I am ready to be a professional gambler?
Mason and David did a pretty good job talking about this in general terms in their book, but I go a bit farther. Best way for me to answer it is to think of a very simple principle. I get asked this all the time and I consistently say this: Don't get INTO the game, get AHEAD of the game. While I met plenty of pros and aspiring pros in Vegas, I met many more that were on this while in California playing a lot in the public cardrooms. People there always were talking about it. They would win big a month or two and then go "pro". Usually because they hated the jobs, traffic, pay, etc. Its normal to think that, but look at how they did it. They play at stakes they don't have a bankroll for, they just play out of their pocket. They run very well so they overestimate their potential hourly wage. They play mostly on weekends or during busy times when there are a lot of live players around. In sum its far too skewed.
So I suggest something different. Play ahead of the game. That means you have proven over time (at least a year) you can beat your standard game, whatever it might be. After that you will be able to move up, but don't. Another good principle is to continue to play at stakes that are lower than you think you could win at. Try to put your risk of ruin extremely low not so much to avoid being broke, but to avoid it being an issue for you. Very few players play better under pressure, almost all of us play better when we use all of our weapons and put money pressures aside. If you are short on bankroll in sports you tend to bet fewer games and give up bets on games that you had positive EV on. If you are short in poker you play tighter than you should and play with fear more than necessary. So the key is to play at stakes you are proven at and then plan on changing stakes very infrequently.
So you need to get a grip on your expenses and figure out what bet size you need to play at to sustain yourself comfortably. As an amateur by sticking to that bet size for a long time you will insure you get a full bankroll with plenty of money set aside for expenses. In this way you are comfortable with the game from day one, the game doesn't change, its your life away from the game that does. If you follow this I give you 10 times the chance of surviving compared to the thousands that try every year and fail. They don't necessarily fail because of lack of skills, they fail because of insufficient bankroll and all the problems that causes. If you plan on lasting and doing well, you would best be advised to follow along. Of course there is much more to cover, but this is the most important place to start. If you fit this profile, the rest is a lot easier as you will have already proven your skills and have the resources you need to make it.
Question was: How can I know if I am ready to be a professional gambler?
Mason and David did a pretty good job talking about this in general terms in their book, but I go a bit farther. Best way for me to answer it is to think of a very simple principle. I get asked this all the time and I consistently say this: Don't get INTO the game, get AHEAD of the game. While I met plenty of pros and aspiring pros in Vegas, I met many more that were on this while in California playing a lot in the public cardrooms. People there always were talking about it. They would win big a month or two and then go "pro". Usually because they hated the jobs, traffic, pay, etc. Its normal to think that, but look at how they did it. They play at stakes they don't have a bankroll for, they just play out of their pocket. They run very well so they overestimate their potential hourly wage. They play mostly on weekends or during busy times when there are a lot of live players around. In sum its far too skewed.
So I suggest something different. Play ahead of the game. That means you have proven over time (at least a year) you can beat your standard game, whatever it might be. After that you will be able to move up, but don't. Another good principle is to continue to play at stakes that are lower than you think you could win at. Try to put your risk of ruin extremely low not so much to avoid being broke, but to avoid it being an issue for you. Very few players play better under pressure, almost all of us play better when we use all of our weapons and put money pressures aside. If you are short on bankroll in sports you tend to bet fewer games and give up bets on games that you had positive EV on. If you are short in poker you play tighter than you should and play with fear more than necessary. So the key is to play at stakes you are proven at and then plan on changing stakes very infrequently.
So you need to get a grip on your expenses and figure out what bet size you need to play at to sustain yourself comfortably. As an amateur by sticking to that bet size for a long time you will insure you get a full bankroll with plenty of money set aside for expenses. In this way you are comfortable with the game from day one, the game doesn't change, its your life away from the game that does. If you follow this I give you 10 times the chance of surviving compared to the thousands that try every year and fail. They don't necessarily fail because of lack of skills, they fail because of insufficient bankroll and all the problems that causes. If you plan on lasting and doing well, you would best be advised to follow along. Of course there is much more to cover, but this is the most important place to start. If you fit this profile, the rest is a lot easier as you will have already proven your skills and have the resources you need to make it.