For the great majority of us making a living from gambling in the United Kingdom is envisioned as a glamorous profession, with jet-set locations, flashy displays of wealth, and extravaganzza more alike to Katy Perry’s Walking Las Vegas than a down-to-earth work.
The reality is, like the video, 99% of Gamstop customers who attempt it only waiting for lady luck smiling at them, will end even lower than when they started. And what about the remaining 1%?
Putting aside the real winners of the gambling industry, the operators, those who find ways around Gamstop at NonStopCasino.org and gamble for a living are the hardest working people you will ever see.
Here are the reasons:
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Tenacity
In this very hard line of work, working consistently is the path for success. Many people think that gambling is a matter of having one lucky shot. Sure you might get it, make a million but it is more easy to be hit by lightning twice (or seven times) than being able to be rich and keep that fortune gambling.
Real pros are the ones putting from seventy up to a hundred hours a week tirelessly to keep their edge on the game. That’s the kind of work shift that not many are willing to endure for long, especially without any immediate result.
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Confidence
There is a difference between self-confidence and self-delusion and another bigger one while being autocratic and in self-doubt.
But, if you manage to do the job right, against all odds, against all expectations, even if the outcome is not the desired, and no one is there to give you a hand, but you still manage to keep it cool and fight again, Congratulations! because that trust is worth more than any cash prize you ever win.
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Bankroll Management Discipline
Is good to keep honing your edge and playing it cool but if things are taking the rough course it is time to make adjustments.
Bankroll management is crucial to any gambler. It has the same equivalent as a lifebar in a video game. You play it wrong, and you are done.
A disciplined bankroll management allows you to keep it going through the stakes and tolerate the savages twists of feast and famine you’ll eventually encounter. There will be seasons where you run hot and make the big figures while others will be thankful for barely breaking even.
The following stories are the crude example of how combinating these factors are the ones that separates the wheat from the straw.
1. Daniel Negreanu – Poker
Source: PokerNews
Dream vs School
Daniel Negreanu, the most recognized face inside and outside the poker world, stated his path from very humble origins. But its huge ambitions and even a bigger will, were there tickets to make him succeed in a profession where easy money is made the hard way.
As a teen, his dreams of being a snooker player were impaired with the strictness of regular education, which made him be considered a trouble kid. At 15-year-old the Romanian born learned how to play poker, and after seeing that school was an obstacle in his career, he dropped out and graduated as a rounder.
Toronto’s pool halls, sports bets, card games whether legal or not, became its home and work place within just 16 years.
Challenging Las Vegas
After conquering Toronto, a 22-year-old Negreanu decides to take a shot in the only place where stakes are larger than egos, Las Vegas. Despite his skills it only took him a weekend to get busted, making him return beaten to his hometown only to build its bankroll again.
On its account, Negreanu recalls playing from Monday to Thursday in Toronto, flying to Las Vegas on Fridays only to return empty handed on Sundays. This occurred several times until one game. After losing every single chip, he went to the bathroom to wash his face, only returning to an empty poker table. That day he understood that in Las Vegas, he was another sucker.
But that didn’t deter him and after building a massive bankroll and seeking mentorship from fellow aspiring poker legends Phil Ivy and jenny Hartman he started to make his way among the stakes.
Moment of Truth
His moment at the spotlight appeared after winning two 1997 tournaments which made him considered best player of the year At the age of 24. He won his first WSOP (World Series of Poker) bracelet in the 2000 pot limit holdem, The feat made him gain the moniker “KidPoker” as the youngest player ever to win the bracelet.
That was the stepping stone for another streak of winnings totaling six WSOP bracelets and two WPT (World Poker Tour) titles under his belt along with an amassed fortune of 42M only in poker tournament winnings.
Unlike many, he hasn’t let his good fortune in the game get over his head, has been very supportive with his family and a well known philanthropist. Unfortunately, fortune doesn’t always shine in every aspect of life. On the occasions his parents passed away he couldn’t be at their side, probably being his only regret in life.
Regardless of struggles and losses he is always open to crack a smile, making him considered along his peers as one of the most skilled, polite, and warm hearted players you can ever meet.
2. Patrick Veitch
Source: Racing Post
Patrick Veitch is one of those names that doesn’t call the attention of regular citizens but in the world of horse racing, it causes the same effect on bookies as lighting striking their feet.
The Tipster Student
The cambridge dropout turned horse picker didn’t gain his status as number one enemy in the punters scene out of thin air. His incredible wits and even more astonishing work ethics make him cut out £10M on bookies in the span of 8 years and the figure stills grow.
Little is known about Patrick Veitch and is only because he has disclosed it. But all started in Cambridge as a math student. His love for horses and numbers gave him the idea to make a horse tip phone service to supply its income as a bettor. The business was so profitable that at the beginning of his third year in college he was earning £10,000 a month.
Facing Adversity
Unfortunately success always has its detractors. In 1997 a well positioned punter and his “associated” paid a visit to Veitch’s home.· The man threatens Patrick for allegated losses due inside information and gives him a simple condition: a compensation of £70.000 or getting both legs cercenated.
Although Veitch was death scared, he didn’t fall back. Instead, he went to the police, who caught the scoundrel with assault charges for almost killing a policeman. The court case was emotionally and financially draining, but Patrick, as the key witness and wearing a bulletproof vest, managed to testify and finally put the criminal behind the bars. However the episode seriously damaged the young punter.
Becoming Enemy Number One
A starving Patrick concluded that bookmakers were behind the threat. If it was true or not, the sparkle was already ignited and the only thing that would give him reparation was bleeding them dry.
From 1999 to 2007 Patrick Veitch’s hard work and insane determination made him profit the sum of £10,049,983.03. The prize, getting literally banned from all UK bookmakers.
His system, one exposed in his book Enemy Number One: The Secrets of the UK’s Most Feared Professional Punter, involves extensive form analysis with at least 60 variables to consider in order to identify opportunities where market prices (odds) are greater than the runners’ chance of winning.
But having the recipe alone, is not going to make you a bookie killer.
Veitch systems now involve more than 80 variables, that along with its 80 hours a week workshift, a lineup of horses of his property, and a web of agents that can rivalize any intelligence agency making the bets, bookies are at his mercy, The turn over? up to £100k a week.
While Vetch has told that the once damaged chapter of his life is closed and he looks to settle down and have a family, he recognizes still enjoying laying waste over those that once looked down on him.
3. Benjamin Ricciardi – Daily Fantasy Sports
Stay-at-Home Hustler
It might not seem the stereotypical succes image of a sport punter, but this fella managed to make living gambling in the non-traditional but incredibly popular world of daily fantasy sports.
His motivation, supporting his family and being there for his kids.
Every morning Ben helps his family preparing kids for school and kissing his wife before leaving for her 9-5 job. After having everything checked on the list Ben rushes to his home office: a converted closet where he grinds more than 70 hour a week streaming, writings and most importantly scanning teams and player performances to build his lineup and compete against other players for the DFS events.
Knowing your Business
DFS can be considered a combination of sportsbook and online poker. As we said early, punters make their lineup, but like the real team managers, they had a cap budget from where they make their draft. Results can be obtained comparing through real-time seasons outcomes or in its accelerated version, where algorithms decide the results based on the current statistics. The top lineup with the best overall stats and cost-effectiveness are the winners.
DFS most popular platforms are DraftKings and FanDuel, both of them holding at least 95% share of a growing 7 billion market. Draftking as the biggest of both of the biggest Guaranteed prize pool where the top winner earns a million dollars, hauling up to 10.000 players
Ricciardi recalls winning $27,000 during week 3 in the NFL season, while at the same time staying to raise his toddler. That decision not only allowed him to have more freedom and time with his family but also allowed them to save $12.000 in daycare.
But making a living gambling doen means solely devoting on bets, as Ricciardi definitely covers many aspects of the trade: he writes articles, shoots videos and records podcast for several fantasy sports websites, along with his main income source that is picking the best lineups for the hundred of DFS games he takes a week.
Being a well known tipster, sport journalist writer and combined that with taking care of his home, family and even coaching a local sports teams feddinatly requires serous time management skills that are shortly compare to his bankroll management, where he lays u to 4-12% of it each week regardless of winning or losing.
Facing Uncertainty
As daily fantasy sports drew more players like the poker boom did in 2004, state councils were making their way to ban it as it was considered gambling despite having a predominant skill factor involved. However, The council commissions guns grown bigger once they find that a Draft King employee won $350,000 using insider information. The result was ending with DFS in a very grey zone with states totally banning it or prohibiting operations form certain providers.
Ben remembers the anxiety of waking every morning and finding that another friend losing his livelihood because of a bill . Fortunately for him, New Jersey hasn’t taken the decision to ban Daily fantasy Sports, yet.
After having his family back, and taking dinner, Ben takes its second shift in his office, until the early morning hours before going to sleep and repeating the cycle. Despite the hardships and threats of his work, he considers himself a blessed man.
Final Lessons
Making gambling a form of living is a guaranteed ticket for being shunned and outcast from many of your social circles. You will also be part of the food chain that is the world of professional gambling where predators are only second to leeches.
While we don’t encourage this line of work as devoted solely to the hustle requires a steel bending will, along with skills that had to be honed every single day. Something not suitable for the average man or woman.
However, if you really have the wits, the will and discipline to take the roller coaster, do it. Make a plan, take your precautions and stick to your guns. If things aren’t as expected and gambling for a living is not a thing, be grateful for trying. Is always better to be haunted by failure than being haunted by regret.
