Becoming A Professional Gambler

After reading several professional gambler books these last few months, it seems the world and his wife (or husband) want to be a professional gambler. It is an ambition held by many punters who see it as an easy route to wealth. Let’s face it, who wants the daily grind of the 9 – 5 when you can watch racing at the sports bar, drinking endless pints and finish a good afternoon’s work with a meal for one.

So much for the James Bond life-style. I wonderif 007 ever treated himself to a curry after a bit of espionage?

Have you got what it takes to be a professional gambler?

What does it take? Can you simply transition from your everyday punter to someone who makes a living based on their skill to outwit the layers? In truth, this must be the route for many a professional gambler.

If only you could see the competition. Appreciate the level of skill needed to set yourself apart. It may well be such a daunting prospect that you simply give up trying before you dig yourself in a hole. We are all mere mortals. Within reason homo sapien is pretty much the same when you take your average bystander hoping, praying or confident they are somehow that little bit better.

I remember watching a bloke who specialise in buying and selling antiques. He had a niche. He said: ‘It’s not about being the best, just a little better than most!’

That’s a fair measure of ability.

From what I have seen, most horse racing punters are lazy beasts. More ploddish than some old gelding ambling around Exeter on a cold, winter’s morning. It’s not going to happen if you lack the passion to win. You need an inquisitive mind. You have to be confident in yourself that you have what it takes.

A stronger mind than most.

When I see a punter saying they bet on this, that and the other, the alarm bells starts ringing. You want to be something akin to the compendium of games. There’s a problem with that thought. If you haven’t worked it out, then that’s another red flag which you wave over your naive head.

Where are you going to find all that time to be the master of everything?

The clock on my wall has 24-hours. I sleep 8 hours. I’m wasting time like its going out of fashion distracted by YouTube and social media. I used to really love Jeremy Kyle. That’s not a quote from me, it’s one from Dave Nevison when he decided to work from home rather than work like a professional gambler and get on course. He loved a bit of Trisha too. However, he didn’t like his horse racing results too much.

How long can you focus without tiring?

What happens when you have a losing run?

How do you cope with the pressure of the daily grind?

Unless you have a niche you may as well give up now.

To be a professional gambler you need to be able to replicate how you work in both assessment and process. Why is this important you may ask? Because you need to be able to measure how you work on every level and be able to make small adjustments to hone your skills. This is no easy endeavour. Most punters are so haphazard in their thinking and working that they will never understand this key point. In fact, they will be so far from this level they won’t even understand the whole premise.

Unless you wholly understand what you are doing someone else will and they will be taking your money with a smile on their face. They will be enjoying their life with the price of your misery. They will glory in your failure. There only disappointment will be the day you run out of money.

It all sounds very harsh.

‘This isn’t the world I want to be living!’

Beef up.

That’s what I say.

Because if you don’t fight every aspect of disappointment with an equal measure of motivation to learn more you are doomed.

I don’t say these things to put you off just to brace yourself for the hurricane if you think you will be sitting on a deck chair on the beach. If you are skilful enough you may well be doing that. But if you are a newbie to the gambling ranks you will need to be the exception to the rule.

The reality of being a professional gambler is harsh.

It is built on a foundation of hard work, concrete mind and emotions.

As the quote goes: ‘You don’t know what you don’t know.’

That’s what I’m fearing for you.

Richard Wilk: Whale Hunter

I first learned about Richard Wilk watching Louis Theroux’s Gambling In Las Vegas, broadcast back in 2007 on BBC 2. This 60-minute episode followed a run of very successful documentaries from Theroux. Often hard-hitting subjects. He has the knack of getting the best answers from even those who keep their cards close to their chest. This was the case with Rich Wilk who worked at the Las Vegas Hilton. His job to find high-rolling gamblers known as whale who bet large sums of money.

Wilk finds whales (friends, acquaintances and others probably through marketing) to bring big money gamblers to lose even bigger at the casino.

Here we meet his friend Allan Erlick known as ‘The Mattress King’ because he owns one of the largest mattress manufacturing businesses in Canada. Such is their connection that Allan is godfather to Wilk’s daughter. It’s an odd relationship where friendship comes first and business second although watching the programme you have to think it’s actually the reverse. It’s not all bad news for ‘The Mattress King’ as he gets the biggest penthouse suite in the hotel for three days and nights as a complimentary gesture. It comes with its own butler. Allan jokes that the only downside is walking the vast distance from the bedroom to have breakfast each morning. In addition, Wilk’s secures $3K in free bets although this only comes when Allan has lost $50K, after a good start on day one on the roulette, (we didn’t see the losses) and then a disaster of a session on the slots which saw him lose about $70K. He smiles at Louis when he wins $5K on the slots as if saying: ‘See, you can win big money.’ While Theroux stares back bemused as if saying: ‘Yes, but you’ve lost over $100K.’

In fact, every time Theroux uses the elevator he ask guests ‘Are you winning?’ I think one bloke said he was but all the others seemed to be losing tens of thousands if not more. It was, unsurprisingly, a catalogue of losses.

Theroux said: ‘Las Vegas wasn’t built on winners!’

Rich Wilk talked about the business of being a broker for the casino a position which clearly paid well. You’d have to imagine he was collecting 10% of any losses if not substantially more. What’s worse for the punters (unlike betting in the UK) they have to pay tax on their winnings. Allan said about his $5K win, that it was worth $3.5K after taxes. With the house cut it must be impossible to win gambling in Las Vegas. Especially too, when the roulette is double zero compare to the United Kingdom.

Wilk’s said he has one or two whales commit suicide. It would seem most of the big players were addicted to gambling. If not, like another patron Martha Ogman, who had lost $4M on the slots, she just ‘loved playing so much why would I stop?’

Gambling In Las Vegas is a fascinating venture into the realities of gambling often to excess. ‘No one wants to see a gambler lose their house’, one of the floors managers says. You kind of get the feeling they wouldn’t be bothered either way.

As Allan leaves the Hilton a limousine awaits. He looks a little subdued saying bye to Louis and his friend Rich. After three days and heavy losses, it’s time to go back to Canada minus at least $160,000.

Gambling In Las Vegas is one place you really don’t want to bet.