Posts Tagged ‘professional blackjack’
A pro has one goal: to maximize the return on his investment. He's in it for the money. A compulsive gambler has a different goal: to keep his money in action. He's in it for the action. It's a different motivation, that's all.
This is what it boils down to: A pro sees gambling as a means to money; a compulsive sees money as a means to gambling. That's the difference between the two.
Compulsive gamblers pose big problems to the professionals, like, "should we eat them for breakfast, lunch, or dinner?" This is true in all forms of gambling, including the stock market, real estate, commodities, and just about any activity that could fall under the general headings of "business" or "investing." If any risk of capital is involved, it's gambling, and the pros will beat the amateurs and the compulsives.
So, although I believe it's possible that a compulsive gambler could become a professional blackjack or poker player; the problem is that he'll operate in the red a lot. If he is an otherwise intelligent person who has access to money from some other source, he will provide bread and butter for the noncompulsive professionals, who much prefer to operate in the black.
This could be the best way to tell the compulsives from the noncompulsives. Operate in red: compulsive; operate in black: non-compulsive. Unfortunately, it's not easy to gather data on this, because both compulsive gamblers and professional gamblers tend to lie about their finances.
So the real answer to the question is: No.
In the same way that the liquor industry thrives on alcoholics, the gambling industry thrives on gambling addicts. Despite the Gamblers Anonymous brochures most casinos display near their cashiers' cages, usually in compliance with state gaming regulations, the industry knows that addicts are their best customers, just like your local bartender knows that the neighborhood drunks pay a good portion of his rent every month.
One of the main dangers of gambling addiction, compared to other self-destructive addictions, is that—unlike drinking or eating or taking drugs—gambling really is a profession for some people. So any gambler can convince himself that he is "investing" his money in his chosen occupation, since every gambler does sometimes see a return on his investment. Casinos understand the compulsive gambler's perspective, and they target their marketing specifically at players who possess the one psychological trait found in virtually every gambling addict—an inordinate desire to get something for nothing. Casinos offer more freebies to their customers than any other business, and these misnamed "complimentaries," or "comps," are NEVER really complimentary. They are always based on a player's volume of action at the casino's games, and that action has a real cost in dollars and cents.
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Tags: blackjack, compulsive gamblers, online casino, professional blackjack