Some people think that gambling is all about luck, and while this is true for the majority of people, it does not apply to everyone.
Professional gamblers make a living from playing the odds and beating the house at its own game, and there are lessons to learn from this lucrative market that apply in other areas of life.
If you want to absorb some of the expertise from successful gamblers, here are just a few of the things their habits and tactics have to teach us, mere mortals.
Effective budgeting is essential
First and foremost, the one thing that separates a successful gambler from an ‘unlucky’ one is the way they manage their finances. There is a big difference between a high roller who plays for fun and thrills, and someone who attempts to generate income from gambling alone (a practice we don’t recommend).
So what do you need to become a high roller gambler? A hefty bank balance and enough of a safety net to bet big and lose.
On the other hand, the pros have to keep a tight handle on their budget, allocating enough cash to bankroll their gambling without leaving them destitute if they do get unlucky at the tables.
This is a lesson which applies to everyday money management; being able to look at your monthly budget, see where you are overspending unnecessarily and trimming the fat is the best way to live comfortably within your means.
Listen to your head, not your heart
It might seem like successful gamblers rely exclusively on intuition to outsmart their opponents, but this emotional approach to play is not a good long term strategy. Instead, it is their ability to make decisions logically, detaching themselves from the heat of the moment, that limits the likelihood of errors occurring.
Resisting the temptation to ‘go with your gut’ when all the signs suggest that the route you are taking is treacherous can be worthwhile outside of the casino as well. While it is obvious that successful gamblers are not entirely risk-averse, you would be surprised at how thoroughly they weigh up their options before they commit to a wager.
Failure is inevitable
This is perhaps the most useful thing to learn from gambling at any level, as the unavoidable fact that your luck will run out at some point will set you up to cope with whatever life throws at you.
That is not to say that there is no point getting frustrated when failure does come calling, but rather that good gamblers know they may suffer a loss at any point, which helps them to remain philosophical about the hand that fate deals them.
An offshoot of this reality for gamblers is that they also need to remain humble, even in the face of big wins. This is because they know that while victory tastes sweet, it could be short-lived, especially if a loss follows hot on its heels.
Experience is important
We all know about beginner’s luck, and while it might work for one-off wins, it is only through practice, hard work and experience-building that you can replicate the right conditions for future success. Taking advantage of casino bonuses early on will help with mitigating losses from beginner mistakes.
It is no surprise, then, that the individuals who manage to gamble professionally tend to focus on poker as their game of choice. This is one of the only types of gambling which relies on the skill of the player as much as on the cards they are dealt, and so players have to get in as much experience as possible if they want to make money rather than losing it.
Rest is required
Burning the candle at both ends is often encouraged or even necessitated in business, education and other areas. Yet if we apply the teachings of top gamblers to our own routines, we need to set aside time to rest and recuperate.
Ultimately it comes down to knowing that if you are over-tired, you will make bad decisions and simply not be at the top of your game. It might be painful to pull yourself away from whatever projects you have on your plate, but stepping back for a while and then returning with renewed energy will deliver better results in the long term.
As you can see, successful gamblers are quite different from the stereotypes you may have associated them with, and by looking at the way they organize their lives we can take away useful hints about how better to handle our own affairs in other arenas.
