What’s the Difference Between Pure Gambling and Professional Betting?

08:40
20 Jan

Strictly speaking, gambling and betting are the same thing. That’s just a semantic argument though. Anybody who enjoys a flutter on a regular basis will be aware that punting on a hunch and applying detailed analysis is what we really mean here.

A committed sports bettor who spends hours every day working out new strategies is far from the thrillseeker searching online for no deposit bonus codes.

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Betting or Gambling?

For starters, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with either approach as long as whoever is wagering understands what they’re getting themselves into.

A casino fan who loves the thrill of going through the swings that a blackjack or craps tables will hand out can have countless hours of fun. Most players understand that the house will always win in the end in those types of games.

But the fun is definitely worth it. In 2022 we see so many new, innovative games appearing in the myriad online casinos with developers constantly trying to outdo each other to earn a reputation as a customer winner for the businesses building their game selections.

In sports betting, many customers opt to take a fun-based approach to betting. This too is thought of as pure gambling by the regs. There’s nothing wrong betting on your favourite teams to win as it makes winning all the sweeter. But it is unlikely to ever be a long-term winning approach.

Betting with friends on a hunch is also a spot of fun, but these bets are mostly made with passion rather than any kind of knowledge.

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Profitable Betting

Professional gamblers are the guys who are always on the hunt for an edge. This edge will guarantee a long-term profit once all of the variance has been ironed out. Even the pros aren’t guaranteed an edge to begin with, but they will maintain detailed records of how the strategy performs and pull the plug if it’s no good.

Three types of betting spring to mind that are known to be profitable.

• Poker
  
• Sports Betting
  
• Horse Racing
  

We all know that poker is profitable given a low enough rake structure. Without the rake it is a zero sum game, meaning that money doesn’t leave the system. Put simply, if somebody loses then somebody must be winning. The rake muddies this idea a lot but it’s easy to see how many people do well in the game.

General sports betting also has its big winners. Some punters spend their lives researching a particular sport, often using complex software to pore over data going back many years.

The issue that profitable sports bettors have is just getting the money on. It’s well known that bookies are prone to banning people who win too much, or at least drastically reduce how much they can wager.

Horse racing does fall under the sports betting umbrella but it has its own peculiarities. Those who are really into the sport can also spend hours poring over form and draw conclusions, but the real difference is what goes on behind the scenes and how much gamblers can find out.

Nobody knows better than the trainer how well a horse is likely to run in the near future. Those who have contacts in the industry often find themselves with massively profitable situations if they can get the money on at the right time.

Certain stables are also known to bet big on their own horses and knowing which ones this applies to, and at what point in the betting this might happen, can spot the price movement and get a bet on before it’s too late.

Gambling is great fun, just make sure you know which side of the fence you are on.