Becoming a roulette professional. It may sound like a dream come true. Traveling all over the world and beating the top casinos of Europe or Las Vegas. Become a millionaire in no time and enjoy the high life in the most luxurious hotels. Now please wake up and let me tell how it really is to be a professional roulette player or any type of pro gambler, who makes his living at the casinos. For those who would like to pursue such a life anyway, I will even try to offer some tips and advice how to overcome the many challenges you are going to meet on your way to become a pro.
Read also in the Roulette Professional series:
- The seven woes of the pro gambler
Do you have the guts and determination to overcome Disappointment, Loss, Instability, Loneliness and much more? - 7 rare personality traits of the professional player
Do you have the character and abilities to be a professional gambler. It is not an easy job. Only the best need apply. - Pro gambler advice: 8 problems and tips
We talk about money issues, bad beats, losing streaks and loss of confidence. - The positive aspects of losing
Expect loss, learn from it and use it in your strategy. Loss is good. Do not fear failure. Be always ready to receive it. - The gambler as entrepreneur
Kavouras’ philosophy: approach your game, your wins and losses as a business, and your bankroll as capital investment.
Practical considerations
Cellphones and Communications
Problem
It’s the middle of the night, in an airport in an unfamiliar city. You need to make a call, and the cellphone is dead – the battery has died, the cell coverage is inadequate, or not supported by the local carriers. Fundamentally, today’s travelers can be completely stranded or stonewalled by this kind of issue.
Solution
Several options present themselves. Fortunately, a great many airports have kiosks where you can pick up a replacement battery, a charging cord, or the more powerful instant-charger options. Alternatively, if you have time and a little patience and ingenuity, you can find a fellow-traveler, with whom you might share a charge in a pinch. Of course, though considerably less than in the past, there are still standing pay phones inside or near the airports.
Clothing Malfunctions
Problem
It’s happened to us all. A popped button, broken zipper, ripped seam, and suddenly we are exposing much more than just the cards in our hand. Some can be catastrophic in nature, but generally, it is only a matter of a short time problem.
Solution
Even the clumsiest of us can be saved by the tiny travel repair kit, often available from hotel concierge desks or at worst, their gift shops. For an emergency alternative, fasten brass safety pins into the inner lining of your waistline of your slacks or jeans. These work in a pinch as a stitch or two. Alternatively, always keep a Golfer’s set of clothes in your carry-on. In case you ‘get a hole in one’.
Sleep problems
Problem
Maybe you are a light sleeper, and have a tough time getting to sleep, or a heavy sleeper and have a tough time getting to your early start times. Maybe you just can’t get quality sleep away from home. In all of these cases, your ability to perform can be adversely impacted, and you will be off your game because of them.
Solution
Planning is usually a good idea, because certain of these circumstances can be avoided that way. In a pinch, there is always caffeine and other stimulants, but you need to be aware of how these affect you before you consider them, and only then in extreme circumstances. Some find that by traveling with a pillow or other reminder of your sleep at home can help ease the inability to get sleep, and doing what you can to get quality sleep when you can so you are as fully rested as possible certainly will go far to keeping you awake and alert.
Travel Issues
Problem
It is almost a constant problem to successfully travel these days. Between airline overbooking, lost luggage, doubled-up seating and the dreaded middle seat, today’s travel is itself a source of many “Murphy’s Law” moments.
Solution
Again, planning goes a long way to avoiding these kinds of problems. Arrive early, pack light, carry backup paperwork, and be ready for quick-thinking are all keys to preventing a real problem when these kinds of issues occur.
Lifestyle limitations
Family Life
Problem
Raising a family, or even maintaining meaningful relationships are very difficult for the consummate bettor. Kids have events and significant moments in their lives you are expected to attend; Daily life drama may require your active hand and presence. Fidelity issues and faithfulness are all tied up and confusing.
Solution
Openness and communication are absolutely critical. The problems that arise are generally easier to resolve if everyone is actively trying to make it work. Understanding on the part of the family, along with clear boundaries on the part of the gambler, goes miles toward resolving what otherwise might mean the end of the relationships altogether.
Time away from home
Problem
Standard things that are usually handled are forgotten by the roulette pro. You leave on the water, forget to take out the garbage, your lawn guy needs to get paid. All of the niggling details of home can ruin a game, or even throw you off your strategy.
Solution
Choose a person to be your representative for such things in advance, provide them the money to accomplish these tasks, and let them handle it. Alternatively, pay will in advance and keep these accounts pleases with you, so that a short delay won’t cause catastrophe. In other words, be responsible before a ‘run’ and you won’t have to worry while you’re out having fun.
Emotional Stressors
Problem
You are ready to head out on a gambling run, you have a great bankroll, you have your ingeniously winning strategy, and suddenly, you get word that a relative that is close to you had to go to the hospital, or you had a car accident on the way to the airport, or even your backers suggest they may not be able to keep up the support for you to enter a future tournament. Any and all emotional stressors like these can cause all kinds of havoc with your success.
Solution
Detachment may be the solution for some of these issues, relegating them to a concern for later, or realizing there is nothing you can do immediately to resolve or eliminate them. Establishing backup alternatives when possible also help, but never can fully prevent the mental anguish. In the end, adaptability is the key.
Globe-trotting
Problem
One of the biggest challenges to a professional gambler’s life is the many locales and locations they must visit, and many issues come up. Languages spoken, customs rules, even local and public transit can not only cause delays, but can even deter or preclude success.
Solution
It may seem redundant to say, but advanced preparation plays a key role in reducing this issue’s impact. Whether it means hiring a local translator in advance, perhaps learning key phrases in other languages, or at least assuring yourself of the local laws and transportation possibilities, the challenges of traveling from city to city, or nation to nation, can be overcome.
Life out of the Suitcase
Problem
While it is considered somewhat desirous to be staying at fine hotels, there are a lot of negatives to that kind of life. Limitations on what you can wear on a given day, access to your favorite foods or beverages. Even little things like temperature and atmosphere are often beyond your control. All these little details can have a bad effect on your ability to work your plan adequately.
Solution
One great way to handle this challenge is to have familiar objects shipped to our room in advance of your stay, so you can acclimate better. Favorite floor fans, radios, even more sophisticated things like computers and the like can make the room feel more like home. Further, recording favorite sounds and bringing them on your MP3 player can bring the sounds of home with you, easing your mind and making the experience more appealing.
Health and security
Illness and other ’biological hazards’
Problem
Whether brought on by convention hall crud, bad airline food, or just a case of stomach indigestion, the ‘runs’ are not a pleasant illness for a gambler, or anyone else for that matter. But the inability to keep your composure or your seat for that matter can make any problem a real challenge.
Solution
First of all, try to travel, for the most part, on an empty stomach, just to reduce the potential for such issues. Keep a roll of antacids nearby, and carry a travel-size container of your favorite medications for any unpleasantness in travel. Use and have available your choice of travel meds as well, to cut down on the coughs, stuffy noses, and other physical maladies known to impact travelers. You will be glad you did!
Health Issues of a major nature
Problem
Many of us have personal medical conditions that require at least some medications or specific conditions that become a problem on the road. Running out of a prescription, needing certain conditions for our health to be met can sometimes become insurmountable. Long periods of standing, restricted access to bathrooms, and the like can really cause issues of a medical nature. Even transitioning from place to place with drugs of a controlled nature can be an issue with local customs and laws.
Solution
While not all contingencies can be considered in every case, it is better to be forewarned of the problems to reduce their effect. Learn before you leave whether such situations are a possibility, and plan accordingly. There are mechanisms and gizmos to help in any circumstance (folding chairs, furniture you can sit on, etc.) that can help in these situations, and a clear understanding of the laws concerning medications and the like can prepare you well in advance.
Medical coverage and conditions
Problem
Beyond the minor inconveniences above, the independent nature of this career can have adverse impact on everyone in the family. Insurance coverage for medical conditions, pre-existing or developed along the way make it tough to keep. Crossing state or national borders may make access more difficult, or even unavailable.
Solution
Becoming aware of the requirements is very important, and can mean the difference between success and failure, not only of a particular sortie, but also of the lifestyle altogether. Make preparations in advance, including ample medications for the duration, as well as scheduling checkups and doctor visits in other times, to prevent additional stress worrying about them.
This is just our first article in our Roulette Professional series. Stay tuned for our next articles where we explain other very interesting aspects and requirements of the “gambling profession”, from personality traits to the risk of doing (this) business.
