Originally posted on 02/15/2024:

Quote Originally Posted by wolly View Post
Can you also start this as a hobby if you bet 20,50,100 bucks? I don't want to lose large sums!
a) Define 'make a living'?
I know what the term means, but the term is subjective.
In ten words or less the term means to earn enough money to cover all of life's necessaries.

b) You mentioned that you don't know how to calculate certain statistics.
What exactly is giving you trouble?
I'm an IT operation's analyst by trade, I work for a life insurance company. I deal with actuaries all the time, maybe I can be of some assistance.

I know folks that earn 200k a year and don't live comfortably for several reasons.
They're mortgage is too high for instance.
The rule of thumb has been and still is your rent/mortgage can't exceed 40% of your budget.
And even at say 35%, that's still too high.

What's your food budget?
Some must have filet even though they really can't afford it.
I'm a firm believer of "it's not how much you earn, it's how much you keep".

I'm not a high roller, hardly, I don't even pretend to be.
I'm 'just' a 40/80/120 bettor.
A 5* bomb to me is 200 dollars, there are some gamblers that play dimes and consider 200 chump change.
Don't care what others consider, I'm perfectly fine gambling the way I do, I've been in the game for decades, and haven't come remotely close to tapping out.

I'm not a professional gambler, but I do treat it as more than a hobby, I do the research and homework before sending in my eighty-dollar wager, but that's the nature of the beast, I play to win, and I want every advantage I can get. I don't throw darts.

I consider sports betting more like a side hustle, a way to augment my earnings, since I don't make sports betting my primary source of income, I can't consider myself a 'professional, but I'm not a novice either.

To answer your question, yes you can make a living doing this, but a recent study I read is that roughly eight percent that bet sports do.
Look in the mirror and ask yourself and answer truthfully, are you or can you be in that upper eight percent class?

Sports betting is a lot like poker, it just takes a day to learn it, but a lifetime to master it.

I hope this helps.