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The loneliness of the smart gambler.

Anything else but gambling
neopas
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The loneliness of the smart gambler.

Sat Nov 23, 2019 3:40 am

How do you tell friends and family that you gamble for a living?
I stopped explaining to everyone what I do for living as their reactions were negative. Most didn't believe me. Others thought I m broke and gambling-addicted, possibly looking for a loan. Even members of my family didn't believe me. The extremely limited number of people that believed to what I say rejected me socially because they didn't feel well having a gambler (or someone smarter than them) in their company.
So I now say that I collect rentals from properties and live with this. They all believe it and I m very much respected for that.
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apoel81
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Re: The loneliness of the smart gambler.

Sat Nov 23, 2019 7:36 am

Why you feel obliged to explain to friends or family that you are winning from gambling? It will only cost you troubles. Some of them will jealous, others will ask for loan, others will want to bet on their behalf etc. Noone will understand you so better tell nothing.

Personally, only my 3-4 closest friends know what i am doing. I never tell them more infos though, there is no need to know. And never bet for them.
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Re: The loneliness of the smart gambler.

Sat Nov 23, 2019 1:49 pm

Hiding it from close people sounds like a painful experience, that’s potentially a long road of lying ahead, besides, where are you gonna get id’s from?

I don’t know what’s the best way to tell it, I usually just mention it and if someone is curious I will tell them more.  There’s probably nothing you can do about negative reactions, as time passes and they will see you are doing well for yourself, their reaction will change.

Some time ago, when I first told my father I’m making money from poker, he was of course negative, saying I will become addicted, I will lose money etc. Years later, as a retired man, he started arbing to fill up his time and make some extra cash. He’s a small time player, but still a successful one.
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Re: The loneliness of the smart gambler.

Sat Nov 23, 2019 4:52 pm

neopas wrote: The extremely limited number of people that believed to what I say rejected me socially because they didn't feel well having a gambler (or someone smarter than them) in their company.
it's unusual people rejecting you for your job alone (and why would you be smarter than them because you gamble and they don't? that's a really weird statement). sounds like there might be something else going on other than your job description?

in general, people don't give a f*ck what i do.  and i always stick to one basic rule:  never ever talk about how much money you have.
Last edited by vinciguerra on Sat Nov 23, 2019 4:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Yngwie
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Re: The loneliness of the smart gambler.

Sat Nov 23, 2019 6:26 pm

vinciguerra wrote:
neopas wrote: The extremely limited number of people that believed to what I say rejected me socially because they didn't feel well having a gambler (or someone smarter than them) in their company.
it's unusual people rejecting you for your job alone (and why would you be smarter than them because you gamble and they don't? that's a really weird statement). sounds like there might be something else going on other than your job description?

in general, people don't give a f*ck what i do.  and i always stick to one basic rule:  never ever talk about how much money you have.
You may never talk about how much money you have but your life style (your car, location you're living, your holidays) give clues. There's no way to escape from that. People have prejudices. Specially about sports betting. Sports betting doesn't sound sympathetic to most people. So my advice is, run a cover business. Collecting rentals from properties also good. That's a great retirement plan for future. Investing on Real Estate is good. Your children will thank you in future.

My family, wife and close friends know my business and they respect it but I don't tell it to most people.
Last edited by Yngwie on Sat Nov 23, 2019 6:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The loneliness of the smart gambler.

Sun Nov 24, 2019 9:42 pm

I often hear this from other gamblers and find it extremely weird and not my experience at all.

I've travelled a lot the past 10 years and met a lot of different people, but my profession has always gained a lot of interest and envy. I haven't met anyone with a job that can drum up as much conversation as a pro gambler. People find it fascinating and want to learn more. Socially amongst friends and family it's also only been great. Everyone think it's great to know a pro gambler to get a few tips from whenever they're going to watch a game.

The only negative reaction I've ever had, has been from applying for rental units, because I haven't been able to provide payslips.
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Re: The loneliness of the smart gambler.

Tue Nov 26, 2019 12:42 pm

vinciguerra wrote:
neopas wrote: The extremely limited number of people that believed to what I say rejected me socially because they didn't feel well having a gambler (or someone smarter than them) in their company.
it's unusual people rejecting you for your job alone (and why would you be smarter than them because you gamble and they don't? that's a really weird statement). sounds like there might be something else going on other than your job description?

in general, people don't give a f*ck what i do.  and i always stick to one basic rule:  never ever talk about how much money you have.
I can understand both of you.
One should be from a country with a deep tradition in gambling like the UK. The other should be from a country foul of cliches like Southern Europe or Turkey.
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Re: The loneliness of the smart gambler.

Wed Nov 27, 2019 9:34 am

I think that profitable sports bettors may be rejected and feel lonely for numerous reasons. I have stated 3 reasons below.

Prejudice around the gambling industry
People may see you as a gambler and reject you for being foolish. Making very calculated investments at the sport markets is nothing more than gambling to most people, just like neopas indicates in his post. In finance, carelessly buying and selling stocks is investment to most people. I spend much time in casinos and betting shops and I meet and talk to so many punters all claiming to be winners. None of them are profitable, but it is a mental technique they use, in order to justify continuously attending their gambling addiction and escaping reality. I have never been mistaken for this kind of person among family and friends, who already knew me before this. In public I want to be viewed upon as the regular punter of course. My bank also seem to approve, but recently my request for a mortgage loan based upon this was rejected because it is not a kind of income that the national financial authority will approve. The gambling industry only exists because people are losing money, where other investments are based upon the continued economic growth, so maybe the prejudice is evident and unavoidable.

Money is a sensitive topic
If you talk about money, people may reject you. Maybe it would seem natural to talk about actual figures in terms of the amount of money being made in sports betting because somewhat that is a measure of your succes, but it is not a good idea - maybe if you're being asked specifically. Would it be obvious to tell the size of your paycheck, everytime you talk about your regular job? No, that would seem like a poor social skill in most societies. I like talking about sports betting, but only when people want to know and I try to stick to subjects such as time spent, dealing with wins and losses, methods and maybe even ROI. I don't seem to encounter a overwhelming interest in the subject, and that is fine - I sometimes prefer to listen to what other people do - in my younger years I was a fighter pilot and that was really a subject everyone seemed more interested in, much more than sports betting.

Profitable sport bettors are rare species
Profitable sport bettors are often working alone because it makes sense. For each profitable sport bettor, there has to be a lot of regular losing punters, whose losses will pay for the profitable bettors' gains and the bookmakers' running costs and profits. Otherwise the industry couldn't exist. So it often wouldn't make sense to find someone in the neighborhood and exploit the market together and share, as you're already trying to do that to the fullest by yourself. I have a regular job also and I will always keep such a job regardless of the income made from sports betting. I might decide to work half-time, but I must have a job where I can interact on a daily basis with real people, collaborating with real people, belonging to something. I think this a basic social demand for most humans. Fortunately, the skills I learn at my regular job are applied in sports betting and vice versa.
Last edited by VidaBlue on Wed Nov 27, 2019 11:15 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The loneliness of the smart gambler.

Wed Nov 27, 2019 11:54 am

I think I mentioned before that I have been a professional casino player for a number of years. I have been a regular visitor in land-based casinos in Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Cyprus. Also, I played a lot in Turkish casinos before Erdogan closed them.
I have been banned by many casinos from these countries. Some of these casinos are not allowing me entrance. Others informed me that I am limited and the maximum stake is 2-5-10 whatever euros.
Well yes, limits do exist in land-based casinos believe it or not.
During these years I made my living from casinos. At the beginning of my career, I was openly informing people that I m a professional bettor. People didn't like it. As I said previously, the society that I live in is not welcoming gambling. In the UK there is a gambling tradition that goes back in centuries. People have heard about gamblers like Tony Bloom and others, and almost every town has many people gambling professionally. But here on the Mediterranean coasts, people are not welcoming this lifestyle. People will reject you and your family. You need a fancy cover for what you do. That is why many fellow gamblers are presenting their 2nd identity before the 1st. Coffee shop owners, Hotel people, restaurant owners etc.
And yes, money is a sensitive topic. You can't talk about it openly. Not only because people dont believe it, but because you are under risks too.
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Re: The loneliness of the smart gambler.

Wed Nov 27, 2019 11:54 pm

I think the best cover is to say you sell paper, I promise you after you say that all questions will stop. And it allows people to judge you based on you are rather than what you do. I learned a long time ago if you want a friend in this industry, get a dog.
Last edited by sadedu95 on Wed Nov 27, 2019 11:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Skaggerak
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Re: The loneliness of the smart gambler.

Sun Dec 01, 2019 2:25 am

"collect rental properties" "cars"

I really shouldn't have 5 stars beside my name :'(

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