Becoming A Professional Gambler

After reading several professional gambler books these last few months, it seems the world and his wife (or husband) want to be a professional gambler. It is an ambition held by many punters who see it as an easy route to wealth. Let’s face it, who wants the daily grind of the 9 – 5 when you can watch racing at the sports bar, drinking endless pints and finish a good afternoon’s work with a meal for one.

So much for the James Bond life-style. I wonderif 007 ever treated himself to a curry after a bit of espionage?

Have you got what it takes to be a professional gambler?

What does it take? Can you simply transition from your everyday punter to someone who makes a living based on their skill to outwit the layers? In truth, this must be the route for many a professional gambler.

If only you could see the competition. Appreciate the level of skill needed to set yourself apart. It may well be such a daunting prospect that you simply give up trying before you dig yourself in a hole. We are all mere mortals. Within reason homo sapien is pretty much the same when you take your average bystander hoping, praying or confident they are somehow that little bit better.

I remember watching a bloke who specialise in buying and selling antiques. He had a niche. He said: ‘It’s not about being the best, just a little better than most!’

That’s a fair measure of ability.

From what I have seen, most horse racing punters are lazy beasts. More ploddish than some old gelding ambling around Exeter on a cold, winter’s morning. It’s not going to happen if you lack the passion to win. You need an inquisitive mind. You have to be confident in yourself that you have what it takes.

A stronger mind than most.

When I see a punter saying they bet on this, that and the other, the alarm bells starts ringing. You want to be something akin to the compendium of games. There’s a problem with that thought. If you haven’t worked it out, then that’s another red flag which you wave over your naive head.

Where are you going to find all that time to be the master of everything?

The clock on my wall has 24-hours. I sleep 8 hours. I’m wasting time like its going out of fashion distracted by YouTube and social media. I used to really love Jeremy Kyle. That’s not a quote from me, it’s one from Dave Nevison when he decided to work from home rather than work like a professional gambler and get on course. He loved a bit of Trisha too. However, he didn’t like his horse racing results too much.

How long can you focus without tiring?

What happens when you have a losing run?

How do you cope with the pressure of the daily grind?

Unless you have a niche you may as well give up now.

To be a professional gambler you need to be able to replicate how you work in both assessment and process. Why is this important you may ask? Because you need to be able to measure how you work on every level and be able to make small adjustments to hone your skills. This is no easy endeavour. Most punters are so haphazard in their thinking and working that they will never understand this key point. In fact, they will be so far from this level they won’t even understand the whole premise.

Unless you wholly understand what you are doing someone else will and they will be taking your money with a smile on their face. They will be enjoying their life with the price of your misery. They will glory in your failure. There only disappointment will be the day you run out of money.

It all sounds very harsh.

‘This isn’t the world I want to be living!’

Beef up.

That’s what I say.

Because if you don’t fight every aspect of disappointment with an equal measure of motivation to learn more you are doomed.

I don’t say these things to put you off just to brace yourself for the hurricane if you think you will be sitting on a deck chair on the beach. If you are skilful enough you may well be doing that. But if you are a newbie to the gambling ranks you will need to be the exception to the rule.

The reality of being a professional gambler is harsh.

It is built on a foundation of hard work, concrete mind and emotions.

As the quote goes: ‘You don’t know what you don’t know.’

That’s what I’m fearing for you.

Richard Wilk: Whale Hunter

I first learned about Richard Wilk watching Louis Theroux’s Gambling In Las Vegas, broadcast back in 2007 on BBC 2. This 60-minute episode followed a run of very successful documentaries from Theroux. Often hard-hitting subjects. He has the knack of getting the best answers from even those who keep their cards close to their chest. This was the case with Rich Wilk who worked at the Las Vegas Hilton. His job to find high-rolling gamblers known as whale who bet large sums of money.

Wilk finds whales (friends, acquaintances and others probably through marketing) to bring big money gamblers to lose even bigger at the casino.

Here we meet his friend Allan Erlick known as ‘The Mattress King’ because he owns one of the largest mattress manufacturing businesses in Canada. Such is their connection that Allan is godfather to Wilk’s daughter. It’s an odd relationship where friendship comes first and business second although watching the programme you have to think it’s actually the reverse. It’s not all bad news for ‘The Mattress King’ as he gets the biggest penthouse suite in the hotel for three days and nights as a complimentary gesture. It comes with its own butler. Allan jokes that the only downside is walking the vast distance from the bedroom to have breakfast each morning. In addition, Wilk’s secures $3K in free bets although this only comes when Allan has lost $50K, after a good start on day one on the roulette, (we didn’t see the losses) and then a disaster of a session on the slots which saw him lose about $70K. He smiles at Louis when he wins $5K on the slots as if saying: ‘See, you can win big money.’ While Theroux stares back bemused as if saying: ‘Yes, but you’ve lost over $100K.’

In fact, every time Theroux uses the elevator he ask guests ‘Are you winning?’ I think one bloke said he was but all the others seemed to be losing tens of thousands if not more. It was, unsurprisingly, a catalogue of losses.

Theroux said: ‘Las Vegas wasn’t built on winners!’

Rich Wilk talked about the business of being a broker for the casino a position which clearly paid well. You’d have to imagine he was collecting 10% of any losses if not substantially more. What’s worse for the punters (unlike betting in the UK) they have to pay tax on their winnings. Allan said about his $5K win, that it was worth $3.5K after taxes. With the house cut it must be impossible to win gambling in Las Vegas. Especially too, when the roulette is double zero compare to the United Kingdom.

Wilk’s said he has one or two whales commit suicide. It would seem most of the big players were addicted to gambling. If not, like another patron Martha Ogman, who had lost $4M on the slots, she just ‘loved playing so much why would I stop?’

Gambling In Las Vegas is a fascinating venture into the realities of gambling often to excess. ‘No one wants to see a gambler lose their house’, one of the floors managers says. You kind of get the feeling they wouldn’t be bothered either way.

As Allan leaves the Hilton a limousine awaits. He looks a little subdued saying bye to Louis and his friend Rich. After three days and heavy losses, it’s time to go back to Canada minus at least $160,000.

Gambling In Las Vegas is one place you really don’t want to bet.

Roy Keane Profile

Tough-tackling midfielders might be something of a bygone relic, but Roy Keane was more than a ball-winner. The Manchester United legend was the definition of a midfield driving force. Though goals were never his currency, Keane was an elite all-rounder who could compete with the best players of his generation.

Coming through at Cobh Ramblers, Keane soon signed for Nottingham Forest before arriving at Nottingham Forest. Over a 3-year spell, he established himself as an elite midfielder before joining Manchester United, staying there until 2005 before joining boyhood heroes Celtic.

What made Roy Keane so special?

Keane was a midfielder who had a habit of scoring big goals, but also tended to be a major outlet for avoiding pressure. His ability to hold onto the ball and progress it up the pitch was sublime. So was his ability to compete and to fill in for teammates as they made their way up the pitch.

The ultimate competitor, Keane was the perfect example of a midfielder who could do a bit of everything. While he tended to play with specialists, Keane could fill in any position in the United midfield. Added to that, he carried an indomitable spirit and a desire to win in every opportunity, no matter how difficult, showed best when he played a key role in taking United to the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final.

What does Roy Keane do now?

Having had several spells in coaching and in management, Keane today is mostly seen as a witheringly acerbic pundit who has no problem insulting former teammates, colleagues, and fellow professionals. Aside from the insulting terms, though, Keane is a respected analyst with a clear eye for what works and what does not – when you peel back the hyperbole, there is an inspiring, engaging professional waiting.

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All Is Fair in Love, War & Gambling

I wonder if you remember Ron Pollard?

Sadly, he passed away in 2015, aged 89. If his name sounds familiar then you may remember reading his quotes in newspapers, often related to gambling, because his role as an odds-maker and PR Director made him a star turn at Ladbroke’s.

Pollard’s biography Odds & Sods: My Life in the Betting Business, published by Hodder & Staughton in 1991 is a superb read. In fact, for insight and revelations about the bookmaking industry it is one of the best books I have ever read. There are many humorous stories including one about the 1982 Miss World Competition.

This is where Pollard uttered those insightful words: ‘You’ve got to make a living, son, and so you have. All is fair in love, war and gambling.’

He’d bet £300 on Miss Dominican Republic at odds of 16/1 to win £5000.

In 1982, Ron was invited onto a show hosted by Michael Aspell and Danny Baker called the Six O'Clock Shows. It was a behind-the-scenes look at Miss World. The advantage Pollard had over other bookmakers was that he made the odds and the other bookmakers followed suit. So he told a little white lie when pricing Miss Dominican Republic at bigger odds because he was convinced she was the favourite to win. He asked Ladbroke’s staff to keep him informed of the betting just in case someone tried to scupper his plans.

Ron needed to get close to have a good sighting of the girls to make his book. This was made all the more difficult as Eric and Julia Morley, who run the competition, didn’t want him anywhere near them. In fact they had declared war on him after 1979s competition made headline news in the Daily Star. The Morley’s were worried betting would turn their ‘pride and joy’ into a cattle market. In fact, she was determined to stop him.

Unfortunately, she was too late.

Rather humorously, he had been jogging with the girls in Hyde Park, and had the tapes to prove it. Also, when the girls were invited to the Variety Club lunch he disguised himself as a waiter to see the contestants in their national costumes. However, he failed to see the swimsuit parade. He was assisted by the Daily Mail’s photographer who said nothing to dissuade him from Miss Dominican Republic.

However, there had been a tremendous amount of money for Miss Trinidad and Tobago whose odds were cut from 12/1 to 5/4 favourite. In fact, Ladbrokes stood to lose £500,000 is she won the competition.

When the big day arrived and judging was over, it was revealed that Miss Dominican Republic had won!

Ron Pollard punched the air with excitement, he had won £5,000. The money was good but in truth it was as much about ego, simply being right.