[Firefox14]

I know it obviously depends on one's skill set between the two, but let's say we had your average person with average skills in both areas. Which one has the best chance of profit if he is going against the top tier?

[IrishTim]

The better question is which has more squares/whales/dead money.

[Indecent]

I know it obviously depends on one's skill set between the two, but let's say we had your average person with average skills in both areas. Which one has the best chance of profit if he is going against the top tier?

One of the reasons I decided to focus my attention on sports-betting instead of poker was a matter of scalability.

When you improve in sports-betting, there's no real "next step" beyond creative ways to get down more money, and that's likely a great problem to have. When you progress in poker, the game changes. In many ways you have a new game to learn every time you jump up a few stakes.

For example.. Limping in early position may play in lower games, but you might get raped in tougher games trying to play the same way. In sports-betting, assuming the market doesn't adjust to eliminate your edge you could theoretically use the same model/approach/whatever from $5 bets to thousands and more.

[illfuuptn]

Sports betting and it's not even close.
Going up against the best in sports betting means nothing if you're betting openers. As long as you put in your bets within 15 seconds or so of the opening line then you get the same value that other sharps are getting. In poker, as you move up in stakes, the people get better. In sports betting, you get the same %ev on your bet whether you bet $20 or $50k.

Right now poker is about as dead as can be. No offense, but almost everyone on here could load money on full tilt and get smashed in the $20 husng's. 4 Years ago poker was a goldmine but now the games are too tough for it to be more profitable than sports betting.

****HOWEVER, if you're building a bankroll then poker might be a better choice. In SB, if you have $5,000 then you can't find enough good plays per day to build that bankroll up to say $10,000 quickly. In poker, you could grind away at $20 husng's for a month and reach that 10k. Now that you have $10,000 you can make that next $5,000 faster by betting sports than you could playing poker. The numbers may not be right but you get the concept...

[mebaran]

The better question is which has more squares/whales/dead money.

^ This.

Average skilled poker players can make money consistently at lower limits..but in sportbetting, there really isn't any "lower limit" (maybe if you consider retarded books that offer bad lines).

[Tackleberry]

Sports betting and it's not even close. Going up against the best in sports betting means nothing if you're betting openers. As long as you put in your bets within 15 seconds or so of the opening line then you get the same value that other sharps are getting. In poker, as you move up in stakes, the people get better. In sports betting, you get the same %ev on your bet whether you bet $20 or $50k.

You're forgetting that limits on openers are a fraction of what they will be come game time since the books are aware that they are vulnerable to sharp action.

[Tackleberry]

^ This.

Average skilled poker players can make money consistently at lower limits..but in sportbetting, there really isn't any "lower limit" (maybe if you consider retarded books that offer bad lines).

I think obscure small market sports and many prop markets would be good comparisions to low limit poker and you don't have to go to a "retarded book" to find them.

[illfuuptn]

You're forgetting that limits on openers are a fraction of what they will be come game time since the books are aware that they are vulnerable to sharp action.

No doubt, but that doesn't mean I can't get down 40k on every single MLB game I bet by betting at various online books and in Vegas.

[mrmarket]

SB is more scalable. Both require work though. A decidedly average person will be just that in both.

[cc440unn]

I say sports betting for only one reason.: Sports betting doesnt come more harder each time you reach a new level with your bankroll

I mean... at poker. if yu start with 100$ br playing some 5$ sng. if your grindning you will reach the 500$...but at 500$ you will play 10$ sng and it will be more harder than the 5$ sng...when you will be at 5000$ you will maybe play 100$ sng and it will really hard..

im not good ine english. I apologize for the error.

At sports betting. take a 1000$ bankroll and reach her to 10000$ will not be more hard then take a 100$ bankroll and reach her to 1000$. You only have to add a zero to all your bet.

[mminkovski]

sportsbetting for me. I've tried poker few years ago but it's boring.

[donkson]

Sports betting and it's not even close. Going up against the best in sports betting means nothing if you're betting openers. As long as you put in your bets within 15 seconds or so of the opening line then you get the same value that other sharps are getting. In poker, as you move up in stakes, the people get better. In sports betting, you get the same %ev on your bet whether you bet $20 or $50k. Right now poker is about as dead as can be. No offense, but almost everyone on here could load money on full tilt and get smashed in the $20 husng's. 4 Years ago poker was a goldmine but now the games are too tough for it to be more profitable than sports betting. ****HOWEVER, if you're building a bankroll then poker might be a better choice. In SB, if you have $5,000 then you can't find enough good plays per day to build that bankroll up to say $10,000 quickly. In poker, you could grind away at $20 husng's for a month and reach that 10k. Now that you have $10,000 you can make that next $5,000 faster by betting sports than you could playing poker. The numbers may not be right but you get the concept...

good post, exactly my thoughts.

[donjuan]

SB is more scalable but the vast majority over-estimate its scalability.

[Dark Horse]

Which one has the best chance of profit if he is going against the top tier?

If you pick your spots in sports betting, you can win right from the start and never have a losing year. The quality of opponents has nothing to do with it.

Top players in each field? Poker is a lifestyle. No money unless you put in the hours at the table. In sports betting you can get beyond that. If you invest time upfront into research and models you can end up putting in just an hour a day, because the work is already done.

[JOHON8]

You have more control over how you manage your luck in Poker. In sports gambling the best way to have control is to have inside information or enough knowledge to take the best line possible.

In general I think a professional poker player makes more money, it varies from person to person obviously.

[Duff85]

I've made the switch from Poker to Sports for the same reason as some of the above. I am def more profitable at micro stakes poker, however I can make more money from sports betting provided I build up my starting capital. I am certainly not going to be able to make the same amount of profit if I was to climb the ranks in poker.

[Ruifgalmeida]

is it possible to make money on poker?

[JustinBieber]

is it possible to make money on poker?

are you ******* kidding me?

[kpoutlaw]

Not only is sports betting more profitable but it's better for your health. For all of you online players or 24-multitabling nits, think of those long, grueling 12-hour sessions where you're constantly clicking on your mouse button with several 20 oz Gatorade bottles reeking of piss and cigarette butts lined up on the floor. Just a terrible way to live and gamble. How can you compare this to the convenience of placing a bet on your iphone on the way to work, or chilling on the sofa while you break open an ice cold 6-pack and watch your favorite sports channel?

[Duff85]

Not only is sports betting more profitable but it's better for your health. For all of you online players or 24-multitabling nits, think of those long, grueling 12-hour sessions where you're constantly clicking on your mouse button with several 20 oz Gatorade bottles reeking of piss and cigarette butts lined up on the floor. Just a terrible way to live and gamble. How can you compare this to the convenience of placing a bet on your iphone on the way to work, or chilling on the sofa while you break open an ice cold 6-pack and watch your favorite sports channel?

Believe it or not my longer sports betting sessions have been longer than my longest poker sessions. If your betting sports in high or even moderate volume - your not sitting on the couch with a six pack - your pretty much grinding it like you would poker to get as much money into play as possible. Again your pushing very small edges like poker.

[ProphetofProfit]

For me, sports betting because I suck at poker and learning poker develops almost no skills that can be transferred over to regular employment, which is necessary when you're as bad as I am. Plus, I find myself intensely hating all my opponents at the poker table and gradually turning into a monster.

[kpoutlaw]

Believe it or not my longer sports betting sessions have been longer than my longest poker sessions. If your betting sports in high or even moderate volume - your not sitting on the couch with a six pack - your pretty much grinding it like you would poker to get as much money into play as possible. Again your pushing very small edges like poker.

Did I ruffle the wrong feathers? LOL. Just playing, and yes, you are right. Even in sports betting, you have to spend a considerable amount of hours tracking line movements, calculating edges, updating new data, following injuries and team reports, etc, etc,..and knowing that despite all of this, you still might end up on the losing side of the spectrum on any given day.

But now we're getting off-topic, and whether you're grinding out small edges in poker or at sports, or find the latter more enjoyable than the former, what's important is whether or not you're making $$$. I honestly can't say I've made profits in either of these two endeavors, so what's the point of me making these these ridiculously redundant posts anyhow. *SIGH*

[mighty maron]

To each his own. Poker has been way more profitable to me than sportsbetting.

[cc440unn]

is it possible to make money on poker?

?????

[cc440unn]

For me, sports betting because I suck at poker and learning poker develops almost no skills that can be transferred over to regular employment, which is necessary when you're as bad as I am. Plus, I find myself intensely hating all my opponents at the poker table and gradually turning into a monster.

lollll.. I still laughing since 2 min

[SparJMU]

Original poster,

There are some great responses in here. illfuuptn and DarkHorse gave you answers if you intend on becoming a master in sports betting, which requires a lot of brains and a lot of hard work. Very smart people can master sports betting and can guarantee profit over the long term. The same goes for poker, but it will always be a huge time commitment and greater risk in my opinion.

Since you asked about the "average" person, my advice may be more applicable. I have always had a full time career in finance so I have never truly mastered poker or sportsbetting, they are both hobbies, so I consider myself average. I have been playing poker for about 7 years. From 2004 - 2006 it was like taking candy from a baby. People all over the world thought they knew how to play poker and lost all their money. People who truly studied the game and had experience cleaned up. My only regret is that I didn't dedicate more time to the tables and player higher stakes because I literally never had a losing week. It was almost like luck didn't matter, the opposition was SO TERRIBLE. By 2007 most of the dead money dried up and it became much much harder to win. These days I can still win, but it is a serious grind, and I have plenty of losing weeks. Honestly, if you are only average I would skip online poker. It's unhealthy to spend a significant amount of time in front of a computer or sitting at a casino table, grinding away small profit. There are still dead money games in AC, which I visit once or twice a year, but you aren't going to make serious money doing that. It's more for fun/

Sportsbetting on the other hand..... once you figure out the basics you can guarantee yourself profit every year, with minimal effort, maybe just a few hours a week. All it takes is opening up a few different accounts, shopping lines, and making +EV bets. And if you really have the brains and the time to master it, the sky is the limit.

If you are trying to decide which hobby to pick up, go with sportsbetting.

[Firefox14]

Good posts indeed. I assumed sports betting would be the true answer, but opening this topic up for discussion gave me a wider range of opinions and of course, knowledge.

Yes, poker has evolved dramatically the last five years or so. I have noticed (especially on the more popular websites, i.e. Full Tilt, Poker Stars) that it is MUCH more difficult to make money. For a second there, I thought my play was diminishing, but it was simply the public getting sharper. With the surge of the public fascination with poker, Hold' Em particularly has gotten sharper, leaving a negative EV for many players. I haven't tried other games, but I would guess that the small limit wages in particular for say Razz, Omaha, etc, would give one a higher EV (what do you guys think)? Plus, as some posts eluded to, hours sitting at the same table with no change of scenery can ultimately lead to boredom, which can cause one to make hasty decisions, become impatient, fatigued, and ultimately get into a risky situation with a significant amount of bankroll on the line ala "ALL IN".

With sports betting, what I love is there is so much transpiring at once. If you lose one game, it's on to another game, with a different atmosphere and feel, leading imo to more excitement, entertainment, and pleasure, along with many other components.

[Yi]

Sportsbetting because if you have a good model predictor, it is not as time consuming as poker.

[Tackleberry]

Sportsbetting because if you have a good model predictor, it is not as time consuming as poker.

Thats a mighty big "if" and is something the average person is not going to have which was the OP's question.

[licketysplit1966]

I am new here..are there any cash games on this site?

[Melloweitsj]

It seems to me that sports betting is a lot easier once you "get it". Poker requires you to constantly improve your game if you are to move up in stakes. This kinda goes for sports betting as well, but I think the return levels are higher at the smaller stakes sports betting (steam-chasing, props, relative market plays, teasers, etc.) is more profitable now than poker, if someone where to start from scratch. At least poker needs more work.

[CanuckG]

Well, I think Poker there are more winners...or known winners anyways. Anyone can donk a low buy-in high prized structure tournament and go from there. In Sports betting if you want to win big you usually have to start big or you'll be grinding for along time. Poker there are so many MTT's and games that even people just starting can get lucky and bink a tournament. Once you do that you can get coaching or just grind more and study your game. So many opportunities in poker with cash games and tournaments all over the world 24/7. Sports betting you're doing research on games you can't control the outcome of. You can control how well you do in poker if you're playing TAG pre-flop, and not shoving every hand.

[byronbb]

Both are hard work if you want to make big coin unless you are a savant like Phil Ivey or Tom Dwan. There is no such thing as a Phil Ivey of sportsbetting though, except for Phil Ivey himself who is also a huge whale.

[CanuckG]

Huge whale who can afford the losses he has supposedly absorbed sports betting. I believe it's easier to become better as a poker player vs. a sports bettor.

[nyplayer33]

i'd rather bet sports and get 3 hrs of thrlls etc as for poker it can all be gone in one hand. Games in usa are much harder and with all the cheating,bots,collusion..id rather stick to sports by far