GAMBLING
PROFESSIONALLY (An
interesting blog - comments added)
Forums,
blogs, bookies and betting websites are full of people dreaming
of becoming professional gamblers. Being your own boss,
working when you feel like it, making loads of money and
watching racing for a living is certainly appealing to most
people. Let this post (and the rest of this blog) be a reality
check.
I
see a lot of people wanting to give up jobs to do this after
a short time punting. They think it’s easy and straight
forward, they think it will last forever. They haven’t
thought it through.
When
you give up your job, you’re not only going to be
risking your money gambling, but your entire future job
prospects. Let me tell you, gamblers are not viewed in the
same way as someone who works in a normal job. Compare
the reaction you get when you tell someone you are a gambler
to when you tell them you work in a bank. (Too
true) Even if you compare it to being a “day
trader”, the reaction is a mixture of contempt, fascination
and disbelief.
Most
people will flatly not believe you. Gamblers are the vagrants
of society. The losers that hang around race tracks, wasting
their family income on an addiction. No one believes it
is possible to win, and if you have – it’s just
luck. Like it or not, this is how you will be viewed. Some
will feel sorry for you, others will not give you the time
of day. You are going to be one of society’s outsiders.
Family
relationships can be strained and tested. It takes a lot
of understanding from family and friends and this can weigh
on your mind whilst you are gambling. A stable family life
is important, it spills over into your work – few
jobs are affected as much by this.
(True) You need stability and space to work
well. And vice versa, a bad day at the office should not
affect the way you treat those closest to you. Can you really
say that you won’t be in a terrible mood when you
lose $1000 on some horse at Horsham?
Your
financial future is now uncertain. You are no longer contributing
to society, you are not paying tax – an advantage
to the gambler sure, but it doesn't improve your self esteem
and further enhances the feeling of being an outsider.
Try
to borrow money from the bank? It’s easier said than
done. This is why you need to try to secure your future
financially as far in advance as you can before you make
it your sole income. (very true!)
What
about future job prospects? If you need to work again, do
you really think future employers are going to be happy
with you spending a year or two gambling for a living when
they read your cv.
How
much have you won before you turn pro? It’s hardly
ever enough. You need to make many times your current annual
income before you do it. Make sure you have savings that
are stashed away, preferably making you a reasonable amount
of interest. You cannot perform in this game if you are
too worried about losing your hard earned cash. Pressure
on your profit and loss is deadly.
What
about when you do take the plunge, your day to day life
is going to change dramatically in ways you may not have
imagined. Interaction with other people becomes scarce.
You will be spending long periods of time alone, clicking
away staring at a screen all day. The temptation
to live up to the stereotype is obvious. Why bother making
an effort when you can get up, do some work and go back
to bed again. Discipline. Working alone throws up
serious challenges. Your health and fitness can suffer drastically.
The way you interact with other people can take a tumble.
Prepare for this in advance.
It’s
not all excitement and glamour. It can be downright
boring doing the same things day in day out. Boredom for
some gamblers can be their most dangerous adversary. You
can end up working on things you don’t need to be.
Betting too much and over trading for the sake of it.
Gambling
certainly doesn’t owe you a living. A normal job pays
you for turning up, no one’s going to do that here
– they are going to try to take money off you for
turning up. It’s you against a world of other people,
all of whom have opinions, some of them most definitely
better informed than you. Just how professional
are you when it comes to the crunch, are you certain you
are at the top of the tree? How consistent is your performance
going to be to combat everyone else and stay ahead of the
game. There are some brilliant brains out there trying to
beat you at every turn – be wise to the available
strategies and the people you are up against and give them
respect – it’s your money and therefore livelihood
they are after.
There
are very few real professional gamblers, the reasons above
outline why. It’s incredibly tough to do. You are
going to be tested mentally every day and you will need
to guard against developing bad psychological habits. There
are reasons why gambling can cause problems for most people.
There is a fine line between problem gambling, pathological
gambling and professional gambling. Many professionals develop
problems, be aware of the risks. With all the negative problems
you can face as a professional gambler, you better make
sure you are being compensated. Ask yourself what a fair
amount is for enduring these problems, if you aren’t
already making that then is it really worthwhile.
Think
about your life situation and your family life. You are
risking your money and theirs. I was fortunate
when I began that I was young, single and in a job that
didn’t pay that much and I was able to spend as much
time as I liked pursuing it, without overheads and relationship
damaging consequences. It’s extraordinarily time consuming
to begin with, especially as you are going to have to work
hard to increase from little to a sum of money suitable
to work from. Don’t underestimate the time this takes,
and the time you will be spending away from family chasing
something that might not even work out.
I
know this post is quite pessimistic. I think it’s
supposed to be. I’ve heard it said before that professional
gamblers are pessimists, I’m not sure I agree completely,
but in this post I certainly think it’s a good idea
to be. No matter how much you think you are ready, wait
a while longer. Wait until you are sure you aren’t
just lucky, then wait some more. Know why you aren’t
plain lucky, and be big enough to admit defeat if you have
been
.
