Gambling for a living?

hey guys, so when I was Vegas last week...while I was playing baccarat I met couple of gents/guys states they play for living.. Conversation started when pit mgr/supervisors were knew these guys by their names and find out they play 4 to 5 times week... And these were their full time job! (Well par time they were putting in less than 30hrs week lol) anyway they were making (claims) $7,000 to $10,000 per month minimum!!

With that being said, does any of you play casino games (gambling) for living? If you do what kind of game? How much do you make? What do you think about it?

 

Many have tried, few have succeeded.

And if they are making money, it's not on baccarat.

 

I can't think of too many things than I would rather do less than gamble at table games for a living. Its fun to hit the tables for a couple of weeks a year but there is no way I would want to do it on a full time basis, much less as a means of financial support. Through the years I've known card counters who played BJ for a living (mostly in the 80s & 90s) and every single one of them said it was a total grind and was no better than working at a normal 9-5 job. I've known poker players who have said the same thing.

Playing a negative expectation game for a living spells doom...........no ifs, ands or buts about it. In the end the house edge will grind you down to nothing.

 

i remember years ago, I was working two jobs, auto collision by day which I still do, and bartending at night being paid under the table + tips..I would go to harrahs new orleans every day as work was a few blocks away from the bar. I play roulette, I got on a roll after winning just under $1000 one night (when i played small). after that I switched things up and would buy in for $500 each day and only play that much and only a few spins, every day for about 3 months I walked out with my $500 + between $75-$400 every day...I didnt stay long, few hands and go...it got to the point where I said "if i can do this everyday, i could work a lot less" couple bad runs, have some drinks, chased it and that money went back real fast, lol

 

Yeah I agree with you... There's no way this can run forever (gambling for living) maybe short while..but when I was talking those guys, they have doing these games (baccarat ONLY) quiet sometimes (maybe more than 5 years) and claims made over 6 figures every year... Again I wonder if any of you have done it perhaps more than a year?

 

Unless it guarantees 6 figures like my blue collar all American Union job. I'd pass. Why Would You Want To Be A Professional gambler anyways? Honestly sooner or later you would probably jump out of a window... I'd rather be a pimp for obvious reasons. A lot of obvious reasons. I see no long term way to sustain a losing game.. professional poker player... maybe.. but playing against the house long term.

 

THEY said they have been doing it for that long and winning that much. I call BS on that, no way.

 

Say it ain't so, MikeO! You've burst my bubble - I just knew one day if I kept playing enough I'd beat the house edge and win the REALLY REALLY BIG one. Darn, I'm depressed.

 

Its almost impossible to do except maybe with sports/horses but even then its either feast or famine, i know some guys who grind on the horses and its not an easy life

 

I can see being a pro playing poker but none of the other gamed where you face the house vs other players who probably don't devote the same attention.

 

I do not believe anyone can win at casino games over the long run. Yes, you will have winning sessions and winning streaks but the house advantage will always win over time. It may be possible to play poker or do sports betting for a living but this would also be difficult.

I once had a streak of 6 consecutive winning casino trips, playing video poker. I thought I would quit my job and play VP for a living. It's a good thing I kept my job. The truth is simple, it is impossible to beat any game that returns less than 100% over the long run.

 

One sure fire way to win a professional gambling....

Figure out a system that never fails, write a book about said system, then sell it to the sucker and use money from the system to gamble!

 

If you're interested in this topic, you should definitely check out the Gambling With an Edge podcast with Bob Dancer and Richard Munchkin. You wouldn't believe some of the ways people have found to make a living gambling. I used to think blackjack, sports betting, and poker were the only possible advantage plays in a casino, but it turns out that almost any game is beatable if you can find the right situation.

 

The amount of professional gamblers in this world is far less than what most people would believe.

Even poker is not what you think. I don't have the stats in front of me, but I have read verified statistics that show poker 100% impossible to beat long term. The edge that can be gained from skill is smaller than the amount of luck involved. Simply put, most players are in the same 49-51% bracket while the house edge is taking 5-10% of every pot. Only the smallest stakes have players below the 49% bracket. "Pros" keep pushing their chips back and forth while the casino takes the cut every time while the pot of chips gets smaller each time.

Even so called "pros" that are known in the poker world make their money off endorsements and book deals. Most pros can't even afford to buy into the World Series without backers.

Sure it's possible to get lucky and win one big poker tournament. But most people who claim to be pros are living off of other money, usually a 2nd job, inheritance or retirement money.

As for Baccarat, it's 100% proven the game cannot be beaten long term without cheating. Yes there are cheating teams in Vegas, but they rarely make much before they're busted.

BJ card counters can get a 1% edge but it's not long before they're barred from everywhere, they go bust or they move on to others games.

 

I agree with everything you wrote except for what I quoted. I'm not sure how you could even prove such a thing.

 

The part about Bacc being unbeatable or cheaters making money on the game?

Computer simulation of every known system or betting pattern has shown there are no long term successful ways to beat the game.

Cheaters? Well, a Google search will reveal plenty of people arrested for cheating at Bacc. But some recent examples are player/dealer collusion by swapping out the entire shoe, and there's always past posting.

 

What about edge-sorting? Hole-carding?

 

Shuffle tracking and hole carding are possible in BJ but in Bacc they are not. Any knowledge of the next card in Bacc would fall under the cheating category

 

My ex-wife's aunt used to go to Vegas fairly regularly over the years. She always said that when she retired she was moving to Vegas and score it big. Well, she did retire----she took her pension from work in a lump sum, sold her house in Minneapolis, and along with a sizable amount of money from her recently deceased husband's life insurance and moved to Vegas. In less than two years she was living in a small apartment with her daughter and working full time at a Walmart...blew through the money like a rocket sled on rails.

 

I know a guy that's a pro poker player. He says that he plays to win a certain amount each week. I think he said about $2,000. Once he hits his weekly number, he's done for that week. He isn't looking for the home run, just a steady stream. If he does win more, there is not carryover.
If he has a bad week, then he'll teach poker classes to tourists at several casinos around town. I think he has some sort of a podcast too.
I know another guy who is an ex-NFL player. He and his wife both play poker for a living. I think they have "investors" that will play money down on tournaments and take a cut of winnings.