Sports Betting or Table Games: Where to Make Your Fortune

Many gamblers are faced with a difficult decision when making a choice to focus on gambling as an investment as opposed to a hobby. Should they go with the relatively low volatility of table games or reach for the stars by becoming a sports bettor?

The truth is, it depends on your personal preferences and abilities. No stock answer is right for every gambler on the planet. When choosing between sports betting or table games, where you land depends on some vital factors.

Let’s look at both, and you can decide where to make your fortune.

What Option Gives You the Most Bang for Your Buck?

The online casino boom has brought real money online casino gambling to more players than ever before in the history of gambling. You can gamble to your heart’s content day and night any day of the year.

What’s even more convenient is the ability to do all of this gaming from the convenience of your own home. Geographical limitations no longer hamstring aspiring gamblers.

Obviously, gamblers in areas with a casino may prefer to gamble in a brick and mortar establishment. Still, it’s nice to have options.

The casino games are constantly on standby, and players can log in and play from anywhere with an internet connection. Unfortunately, online casino gambling hasn’t been legalized in many states. This can hamper a player’s ability to access online casinos.

Sports betting has also enjoyed tremendous growth. Sportsbooks can be found in any decent casino across the map. Online casinos offer a huge array of events to wager on.

The significant boom in sports betting has led the sportsbooks to offer lines on more contests than ever before.

Of course, when betting on sports you will need to embrace variety more than the gambler that chooses table games. It’s easy to find a blackjack table any time of year. Still, you aren’t going to have any NFL games to choose from between February and September.

This means sports bettors must have a more diverse skill set. Texas Hold’em doesn’t have a season that only spans a five-month swath of time like some sports leagues.

However, the sports bettor must be certain not to stretch themselves too thin. If any gambler starts wading into unfamiliar waters, it can spell disaster.

The casino gambler will have more opportunities to be in the action because there are a finite amount of sporting events taking place. Yet opportunities don’t necessarily translate to more profit.

Understanding How the Edge Is Working Against You

Casino games always have a slight advantage built-in for the casino. It’s how they make money. Believe it or not, casinos are a profit game.

The house edge varies greatly from game to game, but it’s always there. Otherwise, the casino would push the games into a large pile behind the resort and burn them for heat.

The house advantage is just a part of casino gambling, and the sooner you accept that it exists, the sooner you can learn to diminish it.

The professional oddsmakers are wizards at determining what line will promote the perfect amount of equal betting on each side of a game. Why would the sportsbooks want equal betting on either side?

Because of the vig, the vig is how the sportsbook makes money. You’ve probably noticed that the sportsbooks require you to bet $110 to win $100. Well, where does that $10 go?

Right into the sportsbook’s bank account. By promoting 50/50 betting on a contest, the sportsbooks ensure a profit.

All they have to do is pay all of the winners with the money from all of the losers, and the sportsbook gets to keep $10 from every single losing bet.

In fact, this vig forces successful gamblers to win over 52% of their wagers to make any profit.

Regardless of where or how you gamble, someone is making money by simply facilitating the action. In the table games, it’s the casino, and for sports betting, it’s the sportsbook.

How Can You Get an Edge in the Casino?

The key for casino gamblers is to learn how to diminish the house edge. You’ll have to know where to look, and the place to start is blackjack.

Basic blackjack strategy can diminish the house edge to under 1%, but that’s still not going to make a long-term profit. The math never changes. And if the house has any edge whatsoever, it will always win in the end.

However, skilled card counters take advantage of the casino and place it in their favor. About the best you can hope for is 1%, but 1% of everything you’re putting into action can turn into some huge profits in a relatively short period.

This is not good news for those players that confine themselves to strictly playing in online casinos. Because of the virtual deck and the implementation of RNGs or random number generators, it’s impossible to count cards in an online blackjack game accurately.

Video poker can actually offer a slight edge to the player, but that’s only if you’re a skilled player using a strategy chart on the correct variant.

Despite all of the betting systems and good luck charms at your disposal, you’ll never erase the house edge in games like roulette or slot machines.

So, if you’re gambling with the sole purpose of making a profit, stick to games where the skilled player has an advantage.

How to Gain an Edge in the Sportsbook

It’s as simple and as difficult as learning how to spot the lines when the oddsmakers missed. Sometimes this can be easy; remember that the sportsbooks want to draw action on both sides.

Doing so guarantees a profit. Sometimes, the lines will be extremely friendly to encourage betting on the opposite side to even things out.

The sportsbook’s primary concern is the guaranteed profit that comes from the vig. They are playing for half the bettors to win. They don’t want 60% to win.

Strategy Is a Key Element

There’s a fine line between strategy and skill. After all, card counting is a skill that requires a great deal of strategy to be successful.

Video poker players use their skill combined with strategy charts to guarantee a long-term profit. Texas Hold’em players will tell you that skill wins, but strategy gets you paid.

A strategy is paramount for sports bettors, too. In fact, the strategy is almost 100% of how sports bettors turn a profit. 

Knowing how to spot value and deciding what approach you’re going to take when it comes to expertise areas will have a huge role in your overall success.

Having Clearly Defined Goals

One sure-fire way to succeed at anything in life is by having clearly defined goals.

If you’re in the market to make a possible career move, it’s probably safe to assume your main objective is to make as much money as possible.

Still, that’s a somewhat ambiguous goal. When you don’t set specific goals, it’s easier not to hit them.

How much money do you want to make in a year? 

Now, break that amount down by the month. Now, weekly. Now, daily. Now, by the game.

You’ll be in a much more advantageous position to reach your goals when you understand how to get to them.

I will say that sports betting can make you rich beyond your wildest dreams, but it takes a ton of hard work and brains to get there.

Launching Your Campaign

Now that you’ve decided what direction to take and have made a detailed plan of your long-term and short-term goals, it’s time to get started on your new gambling career.

Before you can begin raking in cash, there are a few more steps to take.

First, you’re going to need money. Specifically, it will be money that’s set aside for your gambling.

This will be your gambling bankroll, and it must not be money that’s needed for any other living expenses. I really can’t stress this enough; it has to be money that is only for gambling.

You’re only going to be putting between 1% to 3% of your bankroll into play at any given time. So, you must have a decent amount set aside.

Next, it’s as easy as choosing a casino or sportsbook and starting to play. If you’re forced to an online casino because of logistical issues, where you decide to put your money is critical.

Spend time researching online casinos and sportsbooks. Shop lines to see where the best opportunities are to be found.

Online casinos also offer some pretty amazing deposit bonuses. These bonuses act as free money for you to play with as you get acclimated.

Be sure to read all terms and conditions of these offers carefully. They all come with some form of wagering requirement that must be fulfilled before the money becomes available for withdrawal.

When you have all of the details ironed out and have read the fine print, it’s time to get to gambling. Enjoy!

Conclusion

Deciding where to make your fortune isn’t quite as simple as just picking sports betting or table games. However, having a clear understanding of your strengths and weaknesses should draw you in the proper direction.