How to become a pro ?

[magX]

The 1M$ question. How to become a pro punter ? How to make consistent money from sport betting ?
Any suggestions, ideas etc on how to become a pro from an average punter ?

[durito]

hard work

[magX]

hard work

of curse
But where do you start from ? and how ? - where do you learn from ?

[vanman]

I don`t think you`ll get to much help on this as guys will be giving away their edge if they tell you.

[jjgold]

Forget it, you will lose everything Son, 98% of people that bet sports lose.

Your not special, asking how to become a Pro? I would pay to be your bookie

[crackerjack]

Same as any other "business venture" you have to have liquid capital. To be pro, you have to have 10-12 hours a day to invest in handicapping. If you rely on a full time job for your betting $$$, then forget it...you won't have the time to invest that's necessary to be successful.

[MrX]

Pick a sport. If you choose wisely and you do tons of hard work, you may only need one.

Do some research and come up with some theories on what might create good betting values.

Gather and/or buy all of the necessary data you will need to test your theories. This might range from typical box-score type stats to hour-by-hour weather data, to god-knows-what depending on the theories you're testing. It will definitely need to include historical betting line data. This is a glorious information age we live in, and you'll need to take full advantage of that fact, because others are doing so as well.

If you don't know a programming language, you're going to want to learn one. Custom programming will almost surely be necessary in the research phase, and even if not, you'll definitely benefit from some helper programs once you have a viable system. You're also going to want to be very good with a spreadsheet.

When you're using your data to develop an angle, magic-formula, whatever, develop your system using only a subset of your complete dataset. Then when you're sure that you have something great, test it against the remaining data that you didn't even peek at to come up with your system. Don't be surprised when the results of that test are not what you hoped. Continue doing this until you find something or give up. If you don't know how to determine if your findings are statistically significant, learn how to or have someone who does know take a look.

Now if you've actually got something, take the time to understand the Kelly Criterion and the like. You've done way too much work to screw it up by under or overbetting your bankroll.

So, that's the way I know how to do it if you're talking straight handicapping. There may well be other ways, but I can assure you it can be done this way if your willing to do a lot of work.

And of course there's always arbing and other angles, but you'd have to ask someone else about those, and you probably won't get much in the way of useful answers. Too much competition in those areas.

[Justin7]

Learn to count cards at Blackjack. Every winning sports bettor I know started with that. It teaches you money management, statistics and and other skills useful for gambling.

[pags11]

I don't recommend becoming pro in anything related to gambling...

[BuddyBear]

I agree with Pags....

[Halo]

Write a program that predicts a more accurate game outcome than the bookies.

[michael777]

How to become a pro ?
easy,listen to coach gold

[raiders72002]

99% lose which means that 1% scoop up their losses. Fezzik quit the actuarial field to become a pro.

[buztah]

Just pick more winners than losers. That's all there is to it. MUCH easier said than done for me as a recreational gambler. Don't know what I'd do if the mortgage payment depended on the outcome of the Brewers/Nats game tonight. LOL!

[jjgold]

Go to work Son, I am a pro gambler and still have to cut lawns and wash cars to make it

Need I say more?

[BuddyBear]

You have to be pretty damn sharp to be a pro....basically you have to have:

1) A very large bank roll
2) Exceptional money management skills
3) Selectivity in picking games
4) Patience
5) A rock hard stomach
6) A strong ability to contain your emotions
7) Contacts in different cities across the country
8) Understanding the difference between entertainment and business
9) Ability to routinely get the best number...not always, but most of the time

and most importantly,

10) An unwavering faith in statistical analysis and other quantiative techniques that produce winners

[jjgold]

Most gamblers are miserable period.

[vanman]

Most gamblers are miserable period.

But must maitain a sense of humour at all times

[jjgold]

Don't waste your time, your looking for the easy way out and there is no easy way out.

If you gamble do it for enjoyment only or your doomed for financial hardship and failure.

[vanman]

Hard graft is the key to success in anything.But when you gamble alongside your job there is not as much pressure to HAVE to succeed.Just remembering to only gamble what you can afford to lose.

[mavs1978]

you need to have "the plays" to win.. everyone else does not.. sure a few guys can grind out a profit but thats about it

[The HG]

You have to be pretty damn sharp to be a pro....basically you have to have:

1) A very large bank roll
2) Exceptional money management skills
3) Selectivity in picking games
4) Patience
5) A rock hard stomach
6) A strong ability to contain your emotions
7) Contacts in different cities across the country
8) Understanding the difference between entertainment and business
9) Ability to routinely get the best number...not always, but most of the time

and most importantly,

10) An unwavering faith in statistical analysis and other quantiative techniques that produce winners

Interesting list BB, I'll chime in a response based on my experiences:

1) Not necessarily, depending on your strategy. A relatively small bankroll could do it as long as you were able to let it grow for a while. If, as Ganchrow says, you didn't mind subsisting on tuna fish and ramen noodles for a while, you could probably keep the ship afloat for as little as $30k.

2) Not exceptional, just sensible and rational. When you realize money management is essential, it just becomes something you do. Once you understand the importance of it and the concepts behind it, it isn't too difficult to actually implement. Most people who have problems with it just don't realize the implications of their betting behavior, because the wisdom (or lack thereof) of various betting behaviors is more hidden and less obvious than, say, the wisdom (or lack thereof) of which side to take in a fair coin flip. But once you do have the understanding, the implementation of it isn't too hard.

3) Well, you have to be able to recognize your edge. If by selectivity you mean only bet on games where you know you have an edge, yes of course, but if by selectivity you mean only bet a small number of games, then probably not. If you have to impose arbitrary limits on how many games you allow yourself to play, that's not a good sign (although it can be a useful thing to do if you have reason to believe that by doing that you will correct a larger flaw you have).

4) Yes, and i would add a bit of stoicism and prudence. Your actions should always be dictated by how much edge you think you have, not how much edge you want to have.

5) YES

6) YES

#s 5 and 6 are never things you can completely master, but they do get much easier if you do all the other stuff right.

7) Not at all. Why?

8) Yeah that's an interesting point. People always say "do what you love" but I'm not sure it's as simple as that. Doing what you love as a business can ruin the love of it for you. In many ways, it's better to do something you find interesting, but keep the things you love as hobbies. Just because you enjoy doing something for entertainment doesn't automatically mean you should try to do it as a business.

9) Yes. In this business, if you don't start to find that you can predict line movements more often than not, that's a bad sign.

10) Well sure, presumably if you didn't have that to begin with, you'd never entertain these thoughts in the first place.

[BuddyBear]

You'd need contacts in different cities for a few reasons:

1) In baseball you'd have a more accurate weather report so this is key if you are a total player
2) Easier to get breaking information. Sure info will dissementate pretty quickly but if you get a source close to a program or team you could get info before it breaks (i.e. last year when Drew Tate was out against Syracuse...it was reported on Iowa media before the national media).

I am not saying it is essential...but any info you can get to reduce uncertainty will help.

[raiders72002]

Buddy's list with my opinion

1) A very large bank roll - Liquidity is the key, you don't have to have $200k in the bank but have to be able to get it. Most have other investments, real estate, etc.


2) Exceptional money management skills- Yes

3) Selectivity in picking games - disagree. Play if you feel you have an edge and that may be 1/3 of the board.

4) Patience -Yes

5) A rock hard stomach - Yes

6) A strong ability to contain your emotions - Yes

7) Contacts in different cities across the country - Helps but not essential. Some guys go solo and other in teams.

8) Understanding the difference between entertainment and business - Yes this is huge. It's a job and not always fun.

9) Ability to routinely get the best number...not always, but most of the time - I feel that this is the most important thing of all. Get the best # ever day and you'll make some nice coin.

and most importantly,

10) An unwavering faith in statistical analysis and other quantiative techniques that produce winners - To some this is their whole game and Pinny or another book may try to recruit them. This isn't always the case. Some times based on line movement, lines at different books or syndicate plays you have to rethink your formulas and admit that you may be off.