The Gambler vs. The Businessperson

Those who consistently win at games of chance win because they've found a way to take the gamble out of gambling.

They put their faith in reason, not in luck. Most of the pros are so talented at numbers they could be mathematicians, so quick at complicated calculations that they could be CPAs. Chances are they would have made better money, with their respective professions too.

For whatever the reason, a few good minds wind up in just about every field, and that includes gambling. This is the obsessive gambler--- the addict, is entirely another matter. The professional gambler realizes that after 10 flips of the coin that all come down heads, the chances of the next one being heads too are still just about the same as all the other times, 50-50.

The addict-gambler, however, will believe that tails must be due, that the law of averages just couldn't let it be heads again. The pro knows that averaging it out may take lots longer than one person can reasonably expect to live.

For the gambling addict, the thrill is the risk. True gamblers like the feeling of uncertainty, of chance-taking that goes with placing their bets. But the pro is looking for an angle, some way to take the risk out of his bets and turn them into sure things.

Thus, the gambling addict is happy only when the odds are against him. In a way, this seems true of the pro, too, but appearances are deceiving. The professional likes to bet when the odds mean bigger profits, for the simple reason that longer odds mean bigger payoffs.

The only kinds of long shots the pro likes are ones where he has some information that lets him believe that the odds makers are wrong. It only looks like a long shot when he bets. To him, it has to be a sure thing.

To the man who makes a living placing his bets, the casino isn't even a distraction. It's just a place he has to walk through on his way to do business. He goes to the coffee shop, the restaurant, or wherever the other bettors are known to hang out.

Or maybe he makes his way to the private room, the quiet room, where the high-stakes draw poker games are played.

The earth has no choice but to play by the laws of physics. Casino owners and other gamblers aren't bound by universal rules. If they think you've got a sure thing, they don't have to bet with you.