Most gamblers rely on luck and hope they win. But winning gamblers know they can never rely on luck. So instead, winning gamblers rely on their skills to win.
The problem is that most gambling options are based entirely on luck. So it’s difficult to find ways to gamble that involve skill. But a few skill gambling options are available.
In this post, you will learn about the four best gambling options where you can use your skills to win. And you’re also going to learn how to build your skills so you can win more often. In other words, you’re going to learn everything you need to know to be a winning gambler in the time it takes you to finish this post.
1 – Backgammon
You used to be able to play backgammon for money online. But this is pretty much a thing of the past because computer programs can be used to always make the most profitable play. But you can still find places to play backgammon for money offline.
Backgammon is a game that has a small amount of luck because each move is based on the roll of two dice, but over time the player with the best skills always wins more often than they lose.
Most backgammon players were unhappy when computers ruined their opportunity to play for money online, but to me, this is a good thing. If a computer can solve a game, like it has with backgammon, it means that a human can build his or her skills to the same level. In other words, with the right dedication and practice, you can solve backgammon.
The problem is that there are a large number of possible plays in every backgammon game, so you’re going to have to study and practice for many years to come close to solving the game.
Tips:
The good news is that books and computer programs are available to help you train. I have a simple program on one of my kids’ games that has a backgammon game with different skill levels I play against when I can’t find anyone to practice with.
You can also start playing for money as soon as you find someone willing to play who isn’t as good as you. Your relative skill level in comparison to your opponent dictates your profitability, not your overall skill ability.
If you want to make money playing backgammon, you must accomplish two things. The first thing is continuously working on improving your skills, and the second is finding people to bet against who aren’t as good as you.
2 – Gambling on Sporting Events
If you looked at the way the average sports gambler made bets, you wouldn’t see any skill involved. Instead, they either bet on their favorite team or spend a few minutes looking at lines and making a bet. Naturally, the gamblers hope to win in both situations but have no realistic expectation of winning.
The gambler might think they’re going to win, but they can’t realistically be expected to win because they aren’t using any skill when choosing how they bet.
But there are some sports gamblers who have a set of skills they use to make a profit betting on sports. These gamblers are professional handicappers.
A professional handicapper knows that he or she can develop skills that lead to a profit when betting on sports. You can learn how to handicap games to show you bets that have positive value.
For Example
You handicap a game, and your work shows the home team should win the game by eight points. However, you find a line where the home team is only giving five points. In this example, the value is betting on the home team and giving the five points.
On the other side of this game, if the home team was giving 11 points, the value is on the visiting team and receiving the 11 points.
You can find value on either side of a game if you develop the right skills. You don’t care which side of a game has value, as long as you can identify the value and take advantage of the value.
How do you develop the skills you need to make a profit betting on sports?
You start by watching sports and looking for things that influence the results. For example, you look at all of the available statistics, injury reports, weather reports, and the coaching for each team. Then, you build systems and models and test theories, and you keep doing this until you have systems and models that show a profit.
3 – Blackjack
Blackjack isn’t a game that many players think of when it comes to skill games. But a few blackjack players win more money than they lose, and these players use their skills to win.
Winning blackjack players use special strategies and methods, with the most common one being counting cards. Card counting is a skill that you can learn how to use, but most blackjack players either don’t know about it or think it’s too hard to learn.
But before you can learn how to develop and use the card counting skill, you have to develop a few other skills first. The first skill you need to build is identifying or finding blackjack games with favorable rule sets.
It doesn’t matter how good you are at the card counting skill if you’re playing in the wrong games.
The best card counter can’t beat a game with bad rules.
The next skill you have to develop is strategy. Blackjack strategy is readily available. But it takes some work and practice to memorize all of the correct plays.
Once you develop and master the rules and strategy skills you need, the next step is developing your card counting skills. The good news is if you’re able to master the other skills, you have the ability to master card counting skills.
Card counting is one of the hardest skills to master in gambling, but once you master this skill, you can profit from it for years.
The most important thing you can do to get started is to accept that beating blackjack is a skill you can learn. So stop hoping to get lucky and start focusing on acquiring the skills you need.
4 – Poker
Most poker players think that poker is all about luck. But winning poker players have learned that luck doesn’t have anything to do with winning. Instead, poker players with the best skills win in the long run, and every other poker player loses in the long run.
The main problem with poker skills is that there are many skills you need to master. And it takes a long time to master all of the skills you need. I mentioned in the section on backgammon that the game has been solved. Most poker games have also been solved, but no human can master everything about poker.
But you don’t have to master every single poker skill to make a profit. All you have to do is have better skills than the people you’re playing poker against to make money.
Tips:
Start by finding the worst poker players available and playing against them. Then, while you’re finding and beating bad poker players, continue learning how to improve your poker skills. Keep using these methods as you build your skills, and you can win money at the same time you’re improving your skills.
It’s going to take years to master all of the poker skills you need to compete at the top levels. But there’s plenty of money to be won at all of the other levels, so you can start taking advantage of the lower levels as soon as you start building your skills.
The one danger you need to be aware of is that some of the skills you need to win at the lowest levels aren’t the same skills you need to win at the top levels. So don’t get in a hurry to move up in levels.
Conclusion
The four gambling options based on skill in this post aren’t the only options. But these four games are the best ones you can find. It’s also easy to find opportunities to use your skills with these four games.
Backgammon isn’t as popular as the other three gambling options, but it’s a game where you can win consistently once you master the strategy. Betting on sporting events can look like luck, but there’s a lot of skill you can develop to find value.
Blackjack and poker are played using different rules, but they both have a strategy you can learn that results in profit.
