1. #1
    dalogester
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    How much can you actually make in a year sports betting?

    I know some people on this forum claim that they bet $100 a unit and sometimes $1000 a unit (usually trolls) but how much can you actually make in a year sports betting?

    Is it possible to do this for a living and if so what unit or $ amount should it be set at?

    I guess a lot depends on the % you hit, but maybe some of you guys (if theres any) who actually do this for a living can comment on this.
    Also, if so do you guys cap all sports or just select sports where you make the most at?

    Just the thought of doing this for a living or a decent side income year in and year out is fascinating.
    Enlighten me.

  2. #2
    NittanyLionsFan
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    This might be the dumbest thread I've ever read.

    A more appropriate question is how many units is it realistic to win in a year on average. Dollar amount is irrelevant.

    And y

  3. #3
    NittanyLionsFan
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    And yes, there are people out there that bet sports for a living. Figure out a realistic unit amount to win on average, then figure out what a unit needs to be for you to make as much as you want to make, whether it be for your sole income or your side income. And realise that there is variance and you can actually have losing years even if you're really, really good. The fact you even made this thread I can tell you that you're not ready to bet sports for a living, even if you have infinite money as a bankroll. So probably keep your day job and shoot for side income.

  4. #4
    NittanyLionsFan
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    And better yet rather than trusting what people on here tell you as far as units made per year, check tracking sites, threads, etc and dig (really deep) on your own so that you know what you're being told is true. Most people on here don't even know what they're up or down in a year in terms of units and most will lie/make shit up anyways.

  5. #5
    NittanyLionsFan
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    And if you're actually serious about it and do what I just said, read books too, and read reviews on the book(s) first so you know what you're reading is actually worthwhile. I have a few friends who currently do what you want to do that have read books, but I don't know the names of them...I can ask.

    To help figure out units, figure out what a good winning percentage is and find documented cappers with this win percentage over a large sample (multiple years) and look at their plays per year. Assume they bet the same units on every game and once you get a good enough sample of cappers, do the math. That'll be at least a ballpark range of what a realistic units won per year on average can be.

  6. #6
    NittanyLionsFan
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    Oh, and the above example I said to look at winning percentages...that'll only work in sports that the majority of the bets are -110. For baseball/hockey/football (soccer) that's not gonna work. But you can still find tracking sites that keep units won for cappers that include every sport. Just make sure you're looking at large samples, because anyone can win over a couple hundred plays.

  7. #7
    NittanyLionsFan
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    Oh and the question you asked as far as how much you can make there's really no answer to. Just know that once you start winning consistently you will get cut off by multiple bookies. But you should have at least a handful that are gonna let you keep betting and just lower your max for various reasons. Some will just not cut anyone off and lower max bets and some will use your plays and bet them elsewhere, etc. You're gonna have to find at least one to book your action big though because having like 6-7 bookies that are all making your max $500ish won't work. Plus sometimes they'll make your max for certain bets lower than normal bets. For example some will make your CBB max 2k but totals will be 500 max. You won't have to worry about this until you actually start winning though.

  8. #8
    pattymayo
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    I would assume it would be very very very difficult to make a living AND keep your sanity relying on 100% sports betting income.

    The juice will eat you alive

  9. #9
    EXhoosier10
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    Quote Originally Posted by NittanyLionsFan View Post
    I have a few friends who currently do what you want to do that have read books, but I don't know the names of them...I can ask.
    Classic ^^^

    Limits on heritage/5d are 2-3k. from my experience over the years, a 5% ROI is solid with a 10% roi being at the upper end of what you will see over a decent amount of bets (200-400 in an mlb season). If you knwo what you're doing, you should be able to eek out 1-2% ROI over 300 bets.

    This year, i'm at 4.4% roi over 370 bets with a $200 unit. i'll play a few 5u plays a year, so multiply by 3 and you get yourself a 3k max bet for a 5u play. I'm up 2700 at this point, so 3*2700 is 8100. get another 200 plays through the next 2 months and keep a 3% roi and you're looking at about 15k over an MLB season with 4% ROI.

    Play with two books with such limits and you can double that. If you're in the US, I do not think it's wise to try and make a living betting online as I don't particularly trust a 60k+ bankroll being online due to legislation concerns. If you're in vegas, you can probably get more than 3k max bets throughout multiple casinos, but i have no experience with that so i'm just assuming.

    Overall, can you make a decent side income? Sure. But unless you create a pretty spectacular model to do all the work for you, you'll probably be spending quite a bit of time watching/studying/reading abotu the sport you're betting on, so it doesn't come easily
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  10. #10
    No coincidences
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    Quote Originally Posted by EXhoosier10 View Post
    Classic ^^^

    Limits on heritage/5d are 2-3k. from my experience over the years, a 5% ROI is solid with a 10% roi being at the upper end of what you will see over a decent amount of bets (200-400 in an mlb season). If you knwo what you're doing, you should be able to eek out 1-2% ROI over 300 bets.

    This year, i'm at 4.4% roi over 370 bets with a $200 unit. i'll play a few 5u plays a year, so multiply by 3 and you get yourself a 3k max bet for a 5u play. I'm up 2700 at this point, so 3*2700 is 8100. get another 200 plays through the next 2 months and keep a 3% roi and you're looking at about 15k over an MLB season with 4% ROI.

    Play with two books with such limits and you can double that. If you're in the US, I do not think it's wise to try and make a living betting online as I don't particularly trust a 60k+ bankroll being online due to legislation concerns. If you're in vegas, you can probably get more than 3k max bets throughout multiple casinos, but i have no experience with that so i'm just assuming.

    Overall, can you make a decent side income? Sure. But unless you create a pretty spectacular model to do all the work for you, you'll probably be spending quite a bit of time watching/studying/reading abotu the sport you're betting on, so it doesn't come easily
    Post of the month. You don't need to read any further than this.

    Thank you, Ex, for being one of the "good" ones left at SBR.

  11. #11
    HardCore
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    i wouldnt base it on the year i would base it on the sport. Lets be real mlb is by far the hardest sport to predict and the 1 that you should probably bet the least amount on per gm. I have friends who STRICTLY bet just the nfl and make about 50-60k 1 year over a 100k just on football because its a easier sport to predict and wagers are typically HUGE because its only played once a week and its only a 17 week season. Same with the nba, its all about what sport your comfortable betting on and remember its gambling you cant predict how much money your gonna make because once again its GAMBLING. 1 night you could make 5k cause you love the card and you hit on some parlays and 2 nights later you could lose 1k and then break even the next night and then win 500$ the following night cause you went like 2-3 or something, thats just the nature of the beast. But long story short if your sharp enough the money will come as long as your willing to bet it and be smart with your winnings.

  12. #12
    NittanyLionsFan
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    How is that classic? If you're saying reading books isn't a good idea, you're clueless.

  13. #13
    NittanyLionsFan
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    and HardCore...no it's not "gambling"..get lost dumbass.

  14. #14
    El Sol
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    Though relevant, Units up/down etc. etc. is more for record keeping and touts. But a 10% return on investment is what most Professionals shoot for. This is the reason that any legitimate Sports better will tell you that you need at least a $100,000 bankroll to make a living doing this. Anything less should be considered supplemental income to your day job, similar to mutual funds.
    Last edited by El Sol; 05-29-13 at 09:50 PM.

  15. #15
    El Sol
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    Quote Originally Posted by EXhoosier10 View Post
    Classic ^^^

    Limits on heritage/5d are 2-3k. from my experience over the years, a 5% ROI is solid with a 10% roi being at the upper end of what you will see over a decent amount of bets (200-400 in an mlb season). If you knwo what you're doing, you should be able to eek out 1-2% ROI over 300 bets.

    This year, i'm at 4.4% roi over 370 bets with a $200 unit. i'll play a few 5u plays a year, so multiply by 3 and you get yourself a 3k max bet for a 5u play. I'm up 2700 at this point, so 3*2700 is 8100. get another 200 plays through the next 2 months and keep a 3% roi and you're looking at about 15k over an MLB season with 4% ROI.

    Play with two books with such limits and you can double that. If you're in the US, I do not think it's wise to try and make a living betting online as I don't particularly trust a 60k+ bankroll being online due to legislation concerns. If you're in vegas, you can probably get more than 3k max bets throughout multiple casinos, but i have no experience with that so i'm just assuming.

    Overall, can you make a decent side income? Sure. But unless you create a pretty spectacular model to do all the work for you, you'll probably be spending quite a bit of time watching/studying/reading abotu the sport you're betting on, so it doesn't come easily
    Basically you said what I just said, But I think a 10% is more realistic for a professional and 4-5% is actually quite good for recreational. Should of read your post first...my bad.

  16. #16
    HardCore
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    Quote Originally Posted by NittanyLionsFan View Post
    and HardCore...no it's not "gambling"..get lost dumbass.
    WHATTTTTTTTTTT ok lionsfan wtf is it if its not gambling please tell me what it is investing lmao

  17. #17
    HardCore
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    I dont consider myself a professional gambler i consider myself a professional handicapper but its still GAMBLING. I like to consider poker and sports capping as forms of gambling that take skill because we the player have some control over the outcome or at least can till the odds in our favor. But all in all its still gambling weather you play poker and wait for ace/king or you sports bet and wait for broncos to play the raiders its STILL GAMBLING ONCE YOU PUT YOUR MONEY AT RISK DUMBASS

  18. #18
    2daBank
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    Quote Originally Posted by HardCore View Post
    I dont consider myself a professional gambler i consider myself a professional handicapper
    Lmao..classic, thanx bro this shit gonna make me laugh at my real job all day..

    Btw baseball one of better sports to bet and I has nothing to do w "predicting" any given gm.

  19. #19
    TwoWays
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    Quote Originally Posted by 2daBank View Post
    Lmao..classic, thanx bro this shit gonna make me laugh at my real job all day..

    Btw baseball one of better sports to bet and I has nothing to do w "predicting" any given gm.
    yup, baseball is trend-friendly

  20. #20
    sbrhedge
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    Quote Originally Posted by TwoWays View Post
    yup, baseball is trend-friendly
    +1

    hi frequency games + multivariate analysis big plus

  21. #21
    daddypoker23
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    Quote Originally Posted by HardCore View Post
    i wouldnt base it on the year i would base it on the sport. Lets be real mlb is by far the hardest sport to predict and the 1 that you should probably bet the least amount on per gm. I have friends who STRICTLY bet just the nfl and make about 50-60k 1 year over a 100k just on football because its a easier sport to predict and wagers are typically HUGE because its only played once a week and its only a 17 week season. Same with the nba, its all about what sport your comfortable betting on and remember its gambling you cant predict how much money your gonna make because once again its GAMBLING. 1 night you could make 5k cause you love the card and you hit on some parlays and 2 nights later you could lose 1k and then break even the next night and then win 500$ the following night cause you went like 2-3 or something, thats just the nature of the beast. But long story short if your sharp enough the money will come as long as your willing to bet it and be smart with your winnings.
    Every sport is beatable however, most "wiseguys" love a particular sport and excel in it. Some people do really well in baseball and others don't. In my opinion WNBA,CFL, college basketball have the softest line. Let me give you some good advice. Whatever opinion you have on a team or player does not matter as much as you might think. It really comes down to what number you can get on a particular team.

  22. #22
    Big Bear
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    the sky is the limit.

    some people make a million or more.

    just pick your spots and trust your gut.
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  23. #23
    HardCore
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    Quote Originally Posted by Big Bear View Post
    the sky is the limit.

    some people make a million or more.

    just pick your spots and trust your gut.
    yea gambling is all about your bankroll. The bigger you bet the more your gonna make. You ca be the sharpest guy in the world but if your only doing $20 bets your not gonna make a good living. Its all about what your in it for.

  24. #24
    Crystos
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    Thanks for reviving this thread...some good shit in here.

    I am glad that I began handicapping with baseball. For one thing, it has brought me much closer to a game I used to only vaguely follow. And being that it is what I started with I don't think I will have the aversion to capping baseball that I see a lot of guys have.

    Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks...

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