A gambler is considered to be a professional if they gamble full time to earn a living and not merely for fun and excitement. Professional gamblers report their income and related expenses on Schedule C as self-employment income. Net Schedule C income is subject to federal income tax and to the self-employment tax, plus any state income tax.
That said, I’m going to cover the highs and lows of being a pro gambler and finish by concluding if it’s a worthwhile pursuit. Best Aspects of Being a Pro Gambler. Professional bettors enjoy a number of general advantages and benefits that are specific to their chosen game. The benefits discussed below apply to most forms of pro gambling. Professional gamblers are treated differently from amateur gamblers for tax purposes because a professional gambler is viewed as engaged in the trade or business of gambling. The professional gambler reports gambling winnings and losses for federal purposes on. Oct 28, 1992 Directed by Mel Damski. With Powers Boothe, Cindy Pickett, Terry O'Quinn, Rene Auberjonois. Thriller about a former preacher, now a professional gambler, who heads down New Mexico way to visit an old buddy, only for him to be killed. The value bettor is probably the purest type of professional gambler. They are not using loopholes or bonuses, instead they make money gambling by beating the bookies at their own game. Resources to help you get good at value betting I have a detailed free introduction guide to value betting.
So you want to be a professional gambler? Do you know what you need to do to get started?
You need a bankroll and you need to know which games to play and which ones to avoid. But you also need to know some of the tricks and secrets used by professional casino gamblers.
I’ve put together a list of seven tricks used by professional gamblers in casinos to help you get started. Some of these tricks are going to help you play with the lowest possible house edge, and other can help you completely eliminate the house edge and play for a profit.
1 – Video Poker Hustling
Video poker machines are not popular with most casino players, but professional gamblers know all about them. They know that video poker machines can offer a terrible house edge for players or one of the lowest edges in the casino. This is all based on video poker strategy, pay tables, and game variation.
The good news is that with just a little bit of study and practice, you can easily identify the machines with the lowest house edge, and easily use the best strategy to keep the house edge down.
Start studying video poker variations, pay tables, and strategy so you can start taking advantage of good opportunities like the pros do.
2 – Counting Cards at the Blackjack Table
The only thing most gamblers know about counting cards is from watching the movie Rain Man. But the way counting is portrayed in the movie isn’t how it really works. You don’t have to memorize every card that’s been played.
Many professional gamblers use card counting to play with an edge when they gamble. You can learn how to count cards and start using your new skill in the casino in a short time. If you work hard at it, you can learn how to count well enough to play in the casino in less than a week.
Even if you only work at it an hour a day you can be counting cards for an advantage in a month or less. Read a few articles about blackjack card counting to get started.
3 – Bonus Hustling
If you gamble online you’re probably familiar with bonus offers. Online casinos entice gamblers to sign up and make a deposit by offering bonuses on their deposits.
This is smart marketing because it gives gamblers more to play with and most gamblers lose anyway. But smart gamblers know how to take advantage of online bonus offers and use them to make a profit.
You have to read the terms and conditions of every bonus offer, because some of them are so restrictive that you can’t possibly make a profit. But some of them aren’t as restrictive, and offer an opportunity to make more than you lose.
4 – Comp, Contest, and Coupon Hustling
If you don’t like to gamble online, you won’t be able to take advantage of bonuses like I described in the last section. But you can take advantage of other ways to offset your losses.
When you gamble in a land based casino you can often find a comps program, coupons, and special contests that you can enter.
The comps program is usually as easy as signing up for free and getting a card. Once you get your card, just use it whenever you gamble. The casino tracks your play using your card and you earn free comps.
Look for coupons in local newspapers and online. You can also ask the player’s club desk if they have any coupons. Any time you can use a coupon it helps you have a better chance to win.
Many land based casinos run special promotions that offer a chance to win extra money and/or prizes. Some contests are free to enter and others require a set amount of game play. Look for casino promotions and contests everywhere you play.
When you find one, read all of the rules to find out how to qualify and what you can win.
5 – Poker Profits
Most casino gamblers don’t think about poker as a casino game, but smart gamblers know it’s one of the few games where you can win more than you lose using your skills.
Popular poker games like Texas holdem are available in most casinos, and if you build your skills you can win money playing. You need to learn how to play better than most of your opponents, but there’s plenty of poker strategy information available in books and articles online to help you get started.
You can also find private poker games that can be quite profitable when you can’t get to the poker room or casino. Once you learn how to play well, ask around to see if you can find some local games. Be careful about where you play, because in many areas private poker games are technically illegal.
6 – Progressive Calculations
Many different casino games have progressive jackpots, with the most common ones being slot machines. You probably also know that casino games, and especially slot machines, are designed to take your money.
But one thing that you might not know is that when a casino game has a progressive jackpot, the jackpot can climb so high that it eliminates the overall house edge. This doesn’t happen often, but when it does, many professional gamblers take advantage of it and play for a chance at hitting the big jackpot.
Track the progressive jackpot where you play, and when one climbs to a larger than normal amount consider learning more about the game it’s attached to. Find out the normal house edge and see if there’s any information available about how high the jackpot has to climb to overcome the edge.
7 – Secretly Seeing Cards
This is one of the tricks that almost no one knows about. And it can be so profitable that even if you can only use it occasionally, you need to know about it.
Anytime you play a casino table game with face down cards, how much better would your chances of winning be if you knew the value of one or more face down cards?
Imagine if you’re playing blackjack and the dealer has an ace showing for his or her face up card. If you knew the face down card was a jack, you’d take the insurance every time. And if you knew the face down card was a four, you’d turn down the insurance every time.
But how can you possibly know the value of any face down cards in the casino?
Most of the time you don’t have any way to know, but occasionally professional casino gamblers are able to see them. Here’s how you can spot down card values sometimes.
Every dealer in the casino deals a unique way. Even if they’ve been trained by the same person, sometimes they deal slightly different than other dealers.
You need to watch the cards every time the dealer deals them. Sometime a dealer gets lax on their proper dealing procedure and shows the value of a card when they’re dealing. It helps when your face or eyes are closer to the table top level, but this is hard to do without being obvious.
The only way you can hope to see some down card values is to start looking for them. Keep a close eye on every deal and eventually you’re going to find a dealer who you want to follow around to see more cards from.
Professional Gambler Business
Conclusion
Irs Professional Gambler
You can get started playing like a professional casino gambler today by using some or all of the tricks listed on this page. Whether your goal is to play close to break even or to beat the casinos at their own game, these secrets are going to help you reach your goals.
Once you learn these tricks, you can keep learning new casino gambling strategies by reading good books and articles that expand your knowledge. These aren’t the only tricks you can use to be a winning gambler, but they’re a good place to start.