[Pro] Money Sports

[mount187]

I posted this in the main forum and got no real responses, so I'd like to get your response if you have time:

Just curious, how do you handle your bankroll in terms of knowing how much you need to make to cover expenses? Do you keep enough in reserves that if you have a slow month, you can cover expenses out of some other pool of money? How do you budget month to month, without knowing for sure how many chances to make money you'll have? What happens if the books are really sharp for a few months at a time? What if you look at a weeks worth of lines and think, "FML, I don't see much I like here ..."? What happens if you just go cold, or you make the right play over and over, and the breaks just go the other way? Another question I have: did you make a conscious decision to start betting more money and do it for a living, or did you just gradually build your bankroll to a point that you were making enough to live on?

Thanks in advance for answering my curiosity.

[@So_Money_Sports]

Hey Aaron, I'll start from the bottom.

The decision to start betting more and for a living was a conscious one. My first bet was a hockey parlay on sportsaction (government-sponsored betting) when I was 12 and I had no idea what I was doing. A $2 ticket paid out $1.64. I bet very small throughout high-school and booked; that is when my fascination with the bettor's mentality took flight. In my first couple of years of University, my betting amount gradually increased as I became better but it still wasn't serious at this point. However, it was during this time that I made the decision that doing this for a living was a goal I would strive for. I knew I had a natural knack for picking winners based on identifying situational tendencies for teams and assessing the gambler's mindset but I was missing 2 very important elements for me: I didn't have an "education in numbers" or real insight into the industry.

A lot of pros I know have been around the industry from a very young age. For example, 2 guys everyone knows, PhillyGodFather and PayneInsider, have been surrounded by real bookies and the game their whole lives. They grew up in the game and lived it from a very young age. I never had that. My first industry experience and real contacts were made when I took jobs in the industry. Back to University, I started taking a lot of advanced stats classes and was looking to apply every concept to sports whenever I could. My bets gradually started getting bigger and I was becoming better but obviously still being a student, I had a long way to go. I was very lucky that in the few years before the DOJ came down on books, there were a few offshores that were based in Canada. In the final year of school, while still building my bankroll slowly, I got my first job in one of the 2 offshores I would work for. This is when everything took off for me. My bets continued to get bigger, I continued to get better, I really learned about betting and made contacts I simply could not have otherwise.

After I finished school, I still worked in the industry and focused on picking up sportsbook tricks while building my network. Altogether, it took me approximately 5 years from the time I became really serious to be comfortable enough and with a large enough bankroll to take that big step. I was now armed with a natural ability, education in numbers, industry experience, amazing network of contacts, and a formal University education in my 2nd biggest career passion (Finance).

When I first started seriously, I broke down how much money I need to cover my living expenses every month. I always re-assess this and obviously there was a major change after I got married. As a general rule, beyond the betting money used solely for generating betting income, I keep 6 months of living expenses aside as a reserve. During a bad month, I will dip into that reserve but make sure to replenish that first before pocketing the next month's payouts. In this way my cable bill never depends on if a kid will make a FT or not. So basically, I have my bankroll spread across various books that is large enough for me to make a living off of and also 6 months worth of living expenses on reserve.

There are a couple of additional things I want to touch on here as well. I am asked all the time when is the best time to make the move and I always feel awkward answering, "whenever you're ready". I have been very fortunate in a lot of areas of my life (one of the big reasons I like to give back for free). I started early when I didn't have a lot of life pressure. Even though I gambled with my student loan money I was able to take countless statistics classes to hone my skills and I got a huge break with sportsbooks being based locally. Further, I have an amazing wife who understands the process, has a great job and is self-sufficient. Everyone's home situation is different and sometimes it is these things outside of the game itself that allow you to really devote the time and energy at improving and getting to that point of sports betting.

Also, kids always talk about what a great life it must be and how they want to start as soon as possible. I always tell them to finish school first. I do some consulting work only because the finance industry is my 2nd greatest career passion and I have the desire to stay current. If, for whatever reason, I cannot bet on sports anymore I have created a safety net for myself and will always have something else in life.

The biggest key to success doing this for a living is allowing yourself to get the point where you're not consumed by every play. I always sense a lot of resentment talking to some guys in my network who live and die in this game while it is strictly a business for me. In general, before anyone makes the move, get your personal life and finances figured out, and have a safety net because to be completely blunt this is not for everyone. When these things are not in order, the bets become desperate and once that happens, you've already lost before the game even starts.