The internet is full of information about how to become agreat gambler, how to win big at poker, and a whole slew of mostly infomercialstouting a winning strategy product. But a system is not the most importantfactor for a good gambler. There are certain traits a gambler has—both inherentand learned—that contribute to his or her wins. The way a good gambler thinkshas nothing to do with luck, and everything to do with information, and how andwhen to act on that information.

A Bad Rap

Another key to being a good gambler is patience. In any case, never lose your cool and chase losses. If you are losing your bets continuously, take a step back and stop playing for a day or two. Avoid making random bets at any cost. How to Become a Professional Gambler A professional gambler occupation must not be taken casually. It will take patience, time, and motivation to develop the skills you require to earn a living with specialized gambling. Many gaming programs are being offered nationally. Winning at betting on sports is a 'mindset' and to be a successful gambler you need to be good in other areas besides just picking winners and discipline is key. You need to be able to handle.

When psychologists study the gambling mind, they mostlystudy gambling addiction. There is a stigma associated with full time gambling,that it is a sin, a vice, or a disease which results in total ruin. While gambling addiction isa real thing, the motivation behind professional gambling is not governed byuncontrollable impulses or bad judgement calls. To really look into thepsychology of professional gamblers, one much first look at the reasons whythey gamble, and the motivations behind their bets.

There are definitely those individuals who cannot stopgambling, and they are addicted to the thrill of both winning and losing; thebuzz is there for both results. Professional gamblers do not work with emotion,they use reason and mathematical probability to guide their betting decisions. You’llnever hear about a mythical beast called the professional slots player. Slotsare totally random, making them great for short term play, but not financiallyfeasible for a professional to base a career upon.

3 Types of Gamblers

According to psychologist/philosopher Dylan Evans, there arethree basic types of gamblers. The first type of gambler is the poker star, therock star of the bunch. The professional poker stars make their money in thelimelight, on the tournament circuit, in full view of the world. They love thecelebrity status, the thrill of being number one, and the psychology of thegame of poker. Poker is largely made up of psychological insights andexercises. The goal is to find the weaker opponent, figure out what cards hehas, and convince him your hand is better. The insight of ‘the tell’ and theart of the bluff are the tools of the trade. A poker star also has a colorfulnickname like Amarillo Slim or Texas Dolly Brunson.

The second type of gambler is the blackjackplayer. A blackjack player is applying a system to calculate mathematicalprobability. For every turn of the card, there is an appropriate type of bet toplace in blackjack. A professional blackjack player has already reasoned outthe odds of winning in every type of hand dealt, and responds with a betappropriate for that hand. This type of player does not think in terms of fastcash, but thinks of the long term goal of winning over time. Emotional thrills arenot the main motivation for this type of gambler.

The third type of gambler is the sports gambler. Not thecomputer-informed version who lives on the stats, but the old-fashioned, intuitivesports bettor. This is a special type of gambler who really lives for the game,one who goes to the race track every day, for example, and figures out theprobabilities and racing odds, all in their heads. Then they apply thisknowledge to win. This type of gambler uses what Evans calls “riskintelligence.”

Risk Intelligence

The ability to gather information from a wide variety ofsources and form accurate predictions based on probability is called riskintelligence. In a simple online test, you can get a risk intelligencereport. Rather than an IQ test, this is an RQ test. While the familiar IQ testgauges your general intelligence and capacity for knowledge, the RQ testassesses your self-knowledge. It’s not about what you know, it’s about howconfident you are in that knowledge.

We are taught facts, figures, and quantifiable informationin school. But we are never taught how to apply reason to situations where theresults are unknown. By learning how to develop your risk intelligence, you canmake better decisions in the face of uncertainty. For the gambler, this meansonly betting based on the confidence they have of a certain outcome. If the gamblersees a very small probability of winning a particular bet, they will betaccordingly, with a small amount—or not at all. But when the odds arefavorable, and with the right amount of risk intelligence, a gambler can winbig with one or two carefully-timed bets.

There’s always another Race

The expert gambler doesn’t think in terms of immediate gain.He or she is going for the long haul. A professional gambler doesn’t get caughtup in the hoopla of the moment. All those cheering people waving their arms andshouting around the roulette wheel is just a distraction. The skilled gamblerlooks for the type of game that doesn’t depend on random chance to win, andkeeps on walking to a poker table or a blackjack table. And when the proencounters the inevitable losing streak which is bound to happen, theprofessional gambler walks away then, too. There’s always another race.

Signal or Noise?

How To Become A Successful Professional Gambler

What separates the pros from the amateurs is in the way theysize up a game. There’s a lot of information out there in the Information Age,but most of it is just noise. Author Nate Silver wrote in his book, TheSignal and the Noise: The Art and Science of Prediction: “Every time wechoose a route to work, decide whether to go on a second date, or set asidemoney for a rainy day, we are making a prediction about the future. Yet fromthe financial crisis to ecological disasters, we routinely fail to foreseehugely significant events, often at great cost to society.” This statementexplains how our leaders screw up so badly in the result of seemingly obviouswarning signs.

Most of the decisions made by those in power are motivatedby short term gain. Why would a politician think of the future when they canmake out like a bandit now? This is exactly the kind of logical fallacy mostgambling addicts make. They are unable (or unwilling) to see beyond the noiseand excitement of the moment, and they make irrational choices which lead toruin, and they seem doomed to repeat them.

A professional gambler is also motivated by personal gain,but he or she has developed the ability to cut through the static and look forthe real signals out there. The mind of a good gambler concentrates on thereally important signals and ignores the noise. And when the signal is right,they place their bets.

How To Become A Good Gambler Korean Drama

Who’s the Sucker?

In the game of poker, the name of the game is to spot theweaker players, read them, assess them, and beat them. At any given card table,there are winners and losers. The old poker adage says that if you haven’tspotted the sucker at the poker table in 30 minutes, you’re the sucker. Inpoker, it isn’t necessary to have the best cards to win. You only have toconvince everyone else at the table that you have the best hand. This is theart of the bluff, and this is what makes or breaks a professional poker player.The psychology of his opponents provides the good gambler with information justas important as probability and statistics. A mastery of both is needed tosucceed.

Signs Of A Gambler

In the long run, the good gambler is able to separatefeelings from facts, and think of long term gains rather than short termtrends. The pro relies on risk intelligence over gut feelings. And a goodgambler never doubles down during a losing streak in hopes of recouping losses.The good gambler gathers his remaining chips, and comes back to gamble anotherday.