I’m in a weird place right now, betting more than a casual gambler and less than a pro. Being at the crossroads, my mind is racing and emotions are flying high. Should I scale down my gambling and do it just for fun or should I go pro. Again.
I’ve been a pro. For two years my main (and only) source of income has been betting sports. It’s not a fun place to be. Most people envision the life of a professional gambler as some sort of a James Bond movie with no killings. Nothing could be further from the truth. It’s rather boring and emotionally taxing. No fun, no joy… just an another job.
You obsess over the stats, you’re following all the news you can find on the match you’re analyzing. You’re looking which bookie has the best odds for the bet you want to place. You’re nagging your friends and family to open online accounts for you because the ones you’ve opened have a limit on how much money you can place on a single bet, or worse, your accounts have been terminated because you won too much for the bookies liking.
Professional betting is the game of intense focus, small numbers, and extreme self-discipline. Your main focus is not to win big bucks. Your main job is not to lose your bank. It’s all about your bankroll and strategy. Make a mistake with your bankroll management and you’re done. Deviate from your winning strategy and you’re done. If your emotions take over, you're done. You fear burnout all the time, because you need to perform on high level day-in, day-out. You can't afford half-assed effort.
If you’re doing it properly you’re placing the same amount of money on a single bet. You don’t play accumulators, systems,… just one bet with flat stake. You’re placing $xxx on a bet @1.80. You’re placing the same $xxx on a bet @3.20. You don’t experiment. You don’t play for the fun of it. You’re looking at the numbers and you’re worried whether you’re winning or losing. You’re afraid of your emotions, because you remember what happened the last time you made a call with your emotions.
You’ve split your betting money into hundred equal parts. That’s your stake. One unit being one percent of your betting budget. It’s like having hundred bullets in your mag and you’re going to war. Each bullet counts. You fire one shot hoping to kill the enemy and take one of his bullets. Or 0.8 of a bullet. Or 1.8,… You don’t shoot at the enemy holding 0.5 bullets. It just isn’t worth the risk of missing. The bullets are expensive!
So, here I am again. Battling with myself. Should I go for the fun or should I invest more money, time and energy in it? Should I do it properly? I don’t have the answer yet and will continue to be in this weird place for some time. There’s no rush to make the decision at this moment.
If I were the proper gambler, I would pour myself a glass of whiskey and light up a cigar. But since I don’t like whiskey, a cup of coffee and a cigarette will have to suffice. Oh, what an embarrassment to this honorable profession I am :-) I will leave you with a man much more skilled with words than yours truly.
Enjoy and good luck!