Online Gambling

I get some of my best sports gambling concepts from non-sports
gambling books. Thats not really surprising, since there are so few serious works addressing sports handicapping and
gambling. Of all the various
gambling related disciplines, sports
gambling is perhaps the most complex. The paucity of written work on the subject is downright shameful in light of that fact. Since theres so little specific literature available some of the best theoretical resources available to the serious sports gambler can be found in books written for the serious poker player.

Poker–like sports betting–can be a profitable endeavor, and one in which knowledge and skill can counteract the theoretical odds against him. Legendary poker theorist Bob Caro once noted that while there are some professional poker players, sports bettors or blackjack players there’s not a single professional roulette player.

The reason for that is that the house advantage in roulette is too high to overcome by any combination of skill, money management, strategy or discipline. To throw in another Caro concept, its a case where the decisions made by the roulette player simply don’t have a role in overcoming the house advantage. Over the long haul whether you choose red or black, even or odd the house edge remains the same.

Caro stresses the paramount importance of
discipline to a poker player’s long term success and profitability. It’s important to keep in mind that to succeed as a professional
gambler that you need to approach a trip to the casino with a diametrically opposite mindset to that of the recreational
gambler. A recreational
gambler heads to the casino to *avoid*
discipline and ‘unwind’. The professional uses
discipline to his advantage.

The importance of
discipline that Caro imparts to poker players also applies to serious sports gamblers. The most fundamental component of sports
gambling success is to look at it with the same degree of seriousness,
discipline and professionalism that you would any other vocation. It’s crucial to rework your thought processes to those of a professional, and abandon all vestiges of the ‘recreational gambler’s’ approach to betting. The greater degree to which you can be disciplined and methodical in your sports
gambling, the greater your level of success and profitability.

This isn’t to say that there’s anything wrong with being a recreational sports
gambler. In fact, those of us who do this professionally *need* recreational players–they’re the financial lifeblood of the casino and sportsbook industry. Handicapping sports would be pretty pointless without a bookmaker to take our bets.

If your goal is to bet recreationally, that’s great. Unless you have the dedication, desire and
discipline to approach it at a profession a recreational approach to
gambling is ultimately better for most people. You might benefit from some greater
money management
discipline, but at the end of the day as long as you don’t bet more than you can afford to lose it’s really no big deal.