By Samantha Williams
Famous gunfighter, John -Doc- Holliday, who is best known for being one of the good guys in the gunfight at the OK Corral, once said that “poker is an honest trade.” Holliday knew this well. A former dentist, Holliday had to quit medicine because of tuberculosis and thus made his living playing poker.
Making a living gambling is risky, but can be quite lucrative if you know what you are doing and practice your skills. There are certain types of gambling that are fun, and others that are money makers.
The money makers generally involve some sort of skill and rely less on luck. While most gambling has a luck factor to it, there are certain games that rely more on luck than others. If you are going to make a living gambling, you have to realize that there are some games played for recreation and others that can be played to make a living.
Gambling games that are played for recreation include the following:
– Roulette
– Slot Machines
– Craps
– Bingo (or one of its many derivatives
– The lottery
Games that involve skill and can be played to make a living include the following:
– Poker
– Blackjack
– Horse racing (although, this is not as reliable as cards)
As you can see, playing cards is the way to make money gambling. There are many people who make their living playing cards for a living. This trend is even growing with the popularity of “Texas Holdem,” which is a form of poker. “Texas Holdem,” is easy to understand and offers tournaments that call for a relatively low buy-in, when compared with regular poker.
Many years ago, if someone in the United States wanted to gamble, they had to go to Las Vegas or Reno, Nevada or make an illegal bet with a bookie. The only legal form of gambling in most states was going to the horse races. While some people enjoy making a living handicapping and playing the horses, this is still risky. You are putting all of your money on an animal that may or may not be having a good day.
Two decades ago, things started changing in the United States. Certain states started to pass laws about gambling. Gambling added to revenue for the state so lawmakers found a way around state statutes that prohibited gambling. Cities that were along the water began having “riverboat gambling.” As long as the boat was on the water, gambling was allowed. People began flocking to such boats.
Prior to that, Indian Reservations, not governed by state laws, permitted gambling. People who could not go to Las Vegas, often traveled to Indian Reservations to gamble. In certain states such as South Dakota, certain forms of gambling were available within Indian Territory.
Two decades ago, Atlantic City was one of the first cities to legalize gambling since Las Vegas. Casinos started springing up on the boardwalk as Atlantic City, New Jersey, became the gambling center of the East Coast.
Around the same time, off track horse betting became legal in some states. People could now go to a facility and bet on horse races taking place all over the country.
With the introduction of the internet into society, gambling took on a whole new form. Now people could play poker against others for profit right from the comfort of their own home. This has both advantages as well as disadvantages.
Most people who make a living gambling play some form of poker. Others play Blackjack. Both poker and Blackjack require a certain amount of skill and knowledge. You also have to know how to read other players, especially when playing poker. Those who make their living gambling usually play online as well as in casinos. Most travel to tournaments where they can earn in one night more than many of us make in a year.
Gambling in the United States is now quite prevalent and there are many ways to enjoy gambling as both a hobby as well as a business. Whether you play for fun or as a way to earn an income, there are plenty of opportunities to participate in games of chance on the internet and throughout the United States.
