Open Letter to Aspiring Handicappers

For the aspiring handicapper in all of us remember what Fast Eddie Falson (Paul Newman) said in The Color of Money; “Money won is twice as sweet as money earned.”  There’s one small thing Fast Eddie left out of that quote: nobody is winning money in this business regularly that’s not willing to go out there and earn it through blood, sweat, and tears.

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Football season has come and gone much faster than any of us would like.  The dog days of February lead the most veteran bettor to a stark reality; there’s no pigskin left to line the wallet.  What’s lost in the afterglow of Superbowl is a self reflection period to analyze what we did well compared to those skills requiring improvement for better results a football season from now.  The daily grind associated with betting the NBA, NHL, College hoops, soccer, and every other sport oddsmakers hang numbers on consumes the day-to-day.

The life of a sports bettor isn’t glamorous.  It’s not spent enjoying extravagant dinners, luxurious trips to exotic destinations, popping bottles at the trendiest nightclubs during high season, or gallivanting to all the biggest games when there’s money to be made.  The serious sports bettor spends their time largely in isolation; locked away in offices of their own creation pouring over stats, game tape, beat writer comments, and articles fueling their edge.  Remembering what life is like from February until August can be rather challenging and somewhat sobering for a good many of us when it comes to dusting off those shelved social skills.

If your primary motivation for getting into the gambling business is a life of free wheeling extravagance you might want to think twice before going all in on this field.  There’s a myriad of reasons being your own boss has benefits but the laundry list of pitfalls looming around every corner for the undisciplined are dangerous.  I encourage everyone hell bent on turning this into a profession to test their skill over and over again before even considering a lifelong commitment to the craft that shows no mercy for the weak.  Life without the security of steady paychecks can be a cold dark place when that 15-5 run quickly becomes an 8-24 stretch challenging every ounce of mental fortitude.

Life as a professional anything requires work ethic and self control.  Putting in the time to differentiate yourself from the competition, fighting for a piece of the pie others are intent on taking off your plate is the only way to reach the pinnacle.  Sports betting creates challenges other occupations don’t; there is no time off the clock when the market closes or traditional businesses shut down.  There are bettors picking and choosing sports, trying to maximize profits in short windows where they can find ample opportunity.  WNBA, lower division soccer, golf, etc. can provide well-informed handicappers a substantial edge but the challenges of placing wagers large enough to sustain a livelihood in these sports are numerous.  There’s no short cut in this field; no get rich quick scheme or chase system that overcomes the house’s mathematical edge.  The only recipe to make it in this dog eat dog world of sports betting is to outwork the competition; putting the time into your craft and making sacrifices others won’t.