Pro Gambling 2019 – What’s Hot And What’s Not
When people ask you what you do for a living and you reply with “I’m a professional gambler” there are likely to be one of two thoughts that spring to their mind. You are a loser because you don’t have a real job, or you are a wealthy playboy who spends more time on his private yacht than actually doing anything.
As a pro, you will be fully aware that both are total misconceptions. Yes, you get to work when you want and unconfined to ‘office hours’, but the chances are you work for longer hours, every week of the year. Being a professional at anything requires continuous research and practice, as well as meticulous record-keeping.
Hot, Hot, Hot
So for 2019, where have the pro-gamblers been applying their talents to make a living?
Sports Betting
Top of the list and has been for several years. Not only are there a vast number of sports to bet on, the odds favour well-informed gamblers. The art of winning is little and often, the more times you wager wisely, the more wins you are likely to have.
You only need to achieve a little over 50% wins to be turning a profit.
E-Sports
A surprising second on the pro gamblers list, this relative newcomer has a considerable following in the professional betting community. Many of you will think it is the younger generation because it involves wagering on well-known video game tournaments, but the odds work in a very similar way to standard sports betting.
It is a simple matter of adding another string to the punters' bow.
Poker
These days poker is only ranking third, even though it is the oldest and one of the most revered options. Naturally, the majority of professionals are competitive players themselves, but there is an increasing market for those who prefer to wager on the outcomes of the big tournaments rather than being involved as a player.
Poker is a two-edged sword and one where the savvy individual can take advantage of both sides.
Blackjack
Ranking fourth for 2019, Blackjack is a bit of a wild card. The real professionals claim that they can gain up to 1.5% advantage over the ‘house’ using simple card-counting techniques. Of course it does take a particular type of analytical mindset to do this and it is naturally frowned on by the casinos.
Perhaps a subject to reserve judgment on!
Ice Cold
So now we have seen what the pros have been betting on in 2019, let’s take a quick look at what they are conspicuously avoiding!
Slots
Slot machines in their many forms reap a staggering 80% of the profit for many land-based and online casinos. They attract numerous players because of their simplicity and the fact that no knowledge is required to play. What the pros know is that slot machine operators are collecting anything up to 30% of the total take for every machine.
Considered lowest of the low are the accumulator machines which have a visible bonus meter. They are beatable, but the payouts on these machines are small and they require extended periods of play for little profit.
Good fun for the casual or recreational player, but not worth it for the pros.
Video Poker
Again, it is possible to make a profit from this using a mix of skill and strategy. However, the average gains reported by professionals equate to considerably less than minimum wage per hour played.
Most certainly not a ‘professional’ choice of how to spend time.
Keno
Realistically, you have almost as much chance of winning big at Keno as winning the National Lottery; low stakes and too many players involved. Your chances of winning carry ridiculously high odds (the probability of a player picking 20 numbers on a 20 number ticket is 1 in 3,535,316,142,212,174,320). The house percentage is often a startling 40%.
Surprisingly, this game is not right at the top of the pros ‘cold’ list, but as only casual gamblers tend to indulge, it is pretty far off the any professional’s radar.
So, the majority of pro gamblers say that sports betting is still top of their lists. E-sports is so similar that it is almost in the same category. There is little to choose between pros preferences regards the ‘old school’ casino games of Blackjack and Poker, but to make a professional living at either certainly requires dedication and a particular type of mindset.
Tracy started writing for us in early 2017 and is a crucial player within our team. She’s the editor of our Blog and regularly writes other articles. Tracy’s online gambling insights are born out of years of real-world experience as a Croupier overseeing table games.