Most people would say the main appeal of gambling is the thrill of it because even if a person loses money, they’re enjoying the game and having fun in the long run. However, what if people could gamble without losing significant money?
Typically, gambling provides hope for a wealthy future and a fun time, but through skill-based games, gamblers can make money more consistently while also learning life lessons and gaining statistical expertise for the future.
One way to make money is through sports gambling, which involves actual skill and knowledge instead of a chance-based game like roulette.
There are typically 2 types of general sports gambling a person can bet on: over/under, a certain statistic for a team or player, or moneyline: betting on the team if a team/player wins or loses.
Nowadays, sports gambling mainly happens online where individuals can bet on one of these two types of gambling on sites such as Stake, Fanduel, and DraftKings.
Take basketball as an example. People can use knowledge to figure out which player might do well by betting the over on Norman Powell’s three-pointers against the Golden State Warriors because every time the Warriors play the Los Angeles Clippers, Powell doesn’t miss many catch-and-shoot threes.
Non-sports-inclined gamblers can also gamble in casinos and win in skill-based games. People have said it’s impossible to win against the house, which is true if a person indulges in a skilless game such as roulette, but it doesn’t hold for all casino games.
The most well-known casino game that individuals can play to consistently make money is Blackjack, with only a 49% loss rate, according to Techopedia.
Gambling in a game of Blackjack might seem unappealing to others because of the 49% loss rate, but individuals can improve the win-to-loss ratio through card counting, which is keeping track of the point value for every game.
The concept of card counting isn’t hard to learn, so most people could pick it up rather quickly. In the process, people can also learn game theory, which has applications in microeconomics such as the prisoner’s dilemma.
Overall, gambling may seem like a mess to navigate, but there are skills people can use to win money through actually knowing the sport and matchups you’re betting on if you’re sports gambling. In addition, learning the theory and statistics behind casino games like card counting may even extend to a career as a data analyst, as the logical foundation behind card counting is just another type of analyzing the data you have to make an informed decision.