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How many people here actually make money? : full timer
Originally posted on 10/23/2010:
Im on this forum every day but hardly ever post here. I just come here to get information (sometimes a good laugh) as well as about 6 or 7 other sites that i respect/trust for information. Whoever said earlier to use the big "touts" picks like GOY or GOM etc etc ONLY as a guideline is correct. The WORST thing you can do is jump from guy to guy and also start handicapping games differently. Find a system or service that can yield a consistent 55% to 60% average winning percentage and then STICK WITH IT even when you hit a bad run. I use my own software and another website that is software based plus all the information i gather daily to cap the games myself. I have been doing this successfully now for almost 3 years. I was in real estate and i still do that part time but it is not how i depend on paying the bills.
The goal i set for myself is to AVERAGE 200 to 250 dollars in profit per day. If i do that then i make enough money to pay bills, live, save, have fun and add a little to the bankroll etc. Do i do that every single day? NO! Have i had a bad month? YES! but again, the idea is to AVERAGE 250 per day. If you extrapolate that out for a month obviously you are making around 6k per month average. Realistically i can say I have made over 10k in a month betting sports but that is like ONE month out of the year. I have also had several months were i only made 2k or 3k but at the end of the year im still making around 5k per month which is 60k to 70k per year. Since i am 100% debt free I can live comfortably on that. GET THAT IN YOUR HEAD ALSO--I believe to do this and make money you need to be DEBT FREE--maybe if you just have a house payment its ok but for me? If i hit a bad run i never have to worry about making payments other than utilities, food, insurance. A caveat to this is also I am not a flashy guy living in vegas or something like that. I live a pretty simple life, drive a decent car and live in what most people would consider to be a nice house NEAR the beach but not ON the beach. Also, i might add that im divorced and my current gf is totally into this whole thing--she helps me do my research many times and she gives me the scores, injury reports, weather, etc. and then at night tells me stuff like "hey check it out on ESPN--this road dog covered the point spread"--so if you are with someone it is key that they be supportive of what you are doing. I have been with someone that is NON-supportive and that can be terrible especially if you hit a bad run.
I think where lots of guys get in trouble is they start gambling money they cannot afford to lose and they also do not manage money properly--so they have a bad weekend or two then they are done. To really do this business right you cannot start with $100 or even $1000 or even $5000 (i mean you can but it will take forever to make money). To do this full-time as a business and make the money you need to live and pay your bills you really need a starting bankroll of 20,000 to 25,000 dollars. A lot of people cannot do that and i understand that but and thats why when their 5000 bankroll gets wiped out in a bad month they are the ones that say that it cant be done. If you start with a 1000 bankroll or 5000 bankroll then you have no business betting more than $25 to $50 per day. Also, you should not ever put more than 4-5% of your TOTAL bankroll at risk on any given day.
I remember back in June of 2010--i was absolutely getting KILLED in baseball--and i mean KILLED!! I had a terrible month--i think i made maybe $1500 for the month which is horrible. But i kept doing what i always do and in July and August i made it all back and then some coming into the football season.
Last thing i will say and let me be the FIRST TO SAY I AM 100% GUILTY OF THIS IN THE PAST--when you start to win a little bit the first thing most people is bet higher and more games---DONT DO IT---NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER DO IT--you should increase the amount of your minimum bet as your bankroll increases but do not bet more games--just keep doing what you have been doing. Another thing people do is when they lose they want to double up and chase and chase. You lose saturday on college so you want to double up and make it back on NFL?---DONT DO IT---NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER DO IT--if you do? then you are doing what the sportsbooks WANT and EXPECT you to do because they know the odds and juice always favor them in the long run.
Do not celebrate the victories and do not bitch and cry over the loses---this is a business--do it every day and be consistent and above all else MAINTAIN YOUR DISCIPLINE and NEVER bet with emotions at all.
P.S. when you get on a bad run for 3 or more days? Take a couple of days off with no action, clear your head--THEN get back to work.
hope this helps someone
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Originally Posted by ronzer
