Casino Raising a Family on Table Games

"So, is it possible to win at gambling if you jump in with both feet .......it is .......IF.......you have all of the things I give to you to do or have ....and if one is missling, the whole cahin can collapse ......What good is a big BR if you can't play the game of craps or know diddedly squat about sports ...or never heard of poker ....let alone Pai Gow Poker ......

And if you live too far from a casino or your wife is against you doing this ....or you honestly won't set the Win goals or LOSS LIMITS I set out for you......and if you are not willing to accept small wins for the first 4-5-6 months ...then you ain't ready..... " John Patrick

so you see, patrick says if you follow his methods yes YOU can go full time....just live near a casino and get wifes permissin

 

One really needs to live in Las Vegas to make a Casino Lifestyle work out. The Indian casinos have skimpy comps and are to tight to really thrive there. Atlantic City and Tunica may be second choice though not as good as LV will ever be.

Yep, your wife/spouse has to support this, be part of the adventure. Otherwise if she/he is gives you grief every time you to to the casino, then give it up. I found that a spouse that overly worries about ones casino adventurers creates to much of a distraction and emotional turmoil to the point where you have to give up the spouse or the casinos.... some choice, right?

 

I know several full time gamblers ... they all live in Las Vegas or fly in from LA or from near by States... Here is some of what I have found:
lIKE i SAID, UNLESS CASINO COMPS FLIGHTS...IT REALLY CUTS INTO PROFITABILITY

- None of them are raising a family... either the children are grown and out of the home or they never had children.
That tells the story as to whether there are consistent wins.....if there were consistent wins, the family would be living the good life even with kids
- Full time gamblers only play when they have an AP situation. When there is no AP to be found, they will scout for AP situations and network with fellow gamblers.
And even with the "ap situations" they are not confident enough to try to raise a family from this. Meaning losing outnumbers winning.
- All of the FT gamblers I ever meet live in a house they fully own. Most of them had money from previous jobs, inheritance, or from non-gambling lucrative ventures.
Yes, thats the key. A 9-5 job pays more
- Most have income flow from investments, trust funds, Social Security, properties they rent out in other states. Some had a well employed spouse who supported them.
- FT gamblers, those that live in LV, mostly live off of the casino comps for daily eating (Diamond Lounges, etc..), maximizing every promotion and free gift they can get.
OK that saves you 100 dollars a week. I can easily buy 100 dollars in groceries and eat well for the week.
- All of them are very frugal with spending, will not make bets with a high house edge, and will not gamble where they are not treated well.
I suspect that is the case
From what I have learned and observed, life for the FT gambler is a lot of ups and downs, fest and famine. Casinos at times treat them like the High Roller, and other times the casino give them a lot of scrutiny, comp cutting, and heat.

Every single FT gambler I have meet said that DISCIPLINE is the only means they can survive. Without it, they would have 'flamed out' (going broke) long ago. Relationships are rough for the FT gambler, the insecurity of the lifestyle is often to much for a marriage to survive.

In my humble opinion, very few people probably could survive as a FT gambler.

From the above, I see what I always suspected. Winning at casino table games to raise a family is a dream.
Gambling is a grind, sometimes eeking out small wins, sometimes losses. You get free rooms and meals along the way, but you cant pay rent, and for a childs summer camp with rooms and meals. You cant fund a retirement plan with free rooms and meals. You cant buy your kids christmas presents with free rooms and meals. Basically free rooms and meals are just nice things that you dont really need if you live locally. And those meals are for one person...it doesnt feed your wife and kids.You may save 5k a year in food savings if every single meal every day of the week is eaten at the casino.
But we all know thats not gonn happen. You still, have to do grocery shopping,. Maybe the net value of all the free meals would be 2k a year.

 

LarryS
There are guys who live in LV, who are full time gamblers who fully support a wife and kids. They use the meal comps for 'take out' and feed the family that way. Most of the time the credit cards fill in the gaps when things are down, and when things are up those debts get filled in. Other casino perks such as gas cards, gift cards and other gifts greatly help the gambler with day to day living and something to give to the family on those special days.

You really have to have the support of your wife and family if you are to do this. If your wife is greedy or has other designs for your money, then forget it.

 

I appreciate your response and I cannot refute what you say. But Ican picture momma saying to the kids "we will eat tonight as soon as daddy brings the styrofoam containers from the casino".
If someone is successful....using credit cards would not be required. They should have a nice bank account to draw on.

The act of using credit cards to fill in here and there speaks to living from paycheck to paycheck so to speak and not being able to sock away a rainy day fund,

Making just enough money to live, along with the styrofoam box dinners and filling in expenses with credit cards....is NOT supporting a family as i described with vacations, retirement plans, and college funds. Just the basics that people making a good(not great) living have.

 

LarryS

It is really about how you want to live your life, and what you want to do with your time on planet Earth. For some, sitting in a cubicle performing menial task and answering to uncaring dickheads is what they do to earn a paycheck to live a life that others tell them they have to live.

The gambler chooses the lifestyle for the freedom they gain and the growth of themselves as a person. Some gamblers may have side ventures they perform on their own time and in their own way. Most of the pro gamblers I now are very freedom centered individuals who don't suffer fools gladly.

A few gamblers I have meet are future traders, and some are specialist who contract their skills out. What they have learned is that the art of gambling can be taken out of the casinos and in to the market place where they can find some very lucrative bets where they have the edge! It all comes down to lifestyle and freedom, and the gambler will always choose freedom.

It really does come down to having the support of those around you. If your wife is not supportive or if your mother or mother-in-law is giving you grief, that is what drives a person back to the uncaring and cruel cubicle land of the offices, because the security of the paycheck is what they want....might not be what you want.

Ill leave you with this:

“In this dirty minded world, you are either someone's wife or someone's whore. And if you're not either people think there is something wrong with you....but there is nothing wrong with me”
― John Irving, The World According to Garp

 

I never said there is something wrong with full time gamblers.
On one of the judge shows in daytime some dude had his own company where he goes around and scoops up dog crap from around peoples homes and yards(seems like rich people who own pets).......He said he was an engineer and he did that so he could spend more time with his kids when they were born. Again I dont think there is something wrong with a full time gambler just I dont find anything wrong with a man who scoops dog crap in order to spend more time with his kids.

However I was in a bookstore and read the opening dedication of Barry Greensteins poker book.....Ace on the River...he apologizes to his children for his failure as a parent due to being a gambler. It actually brought tears to my eyes as he gave examples of how he neglected them and wishes it was different.

Some would say not only cant you fully support a family, but also you cant fully parent a family. It can be viewed as a selfish lifestyle that is only appropriate for a single person with no other obligations. Its a job that requires sacrifice of others...rather than the doggie pooper scooper man who made financial sacrifices himself along with his family but was a better parent in exchange.

 

I would caution you, that a degenerate if any sorts is not going to be a good parent in any place or time.

 

Agreed...a 9-5er that brings work home, and stays late can also neglect children and spouse.

However gambling offfers a "high" that the man beaten into the ground from overwork as an accountant doesnt get.

The release of chemicals in the body from gambling is equivalent to opiates. The bosy often craves it, You have a hard time distinguishing between wanting to gamble right now, or needing to gamble right now.

Its the "need" that leads to the Greenstein apology.

Just like alcoholics that claim that they can drink a sixpack and they dont feel it at all,....so it goes for alot of full time gamblers.

 

Trust me, I meet gambling addicts all the time. Here in Oregon there are over 6,000 VLT's, these machines have horrible return rates for popular Video Poker games and slot games. They are in every bar, every family dining establishment and there are these VLT Micro-casinos everywhere around me. We also have bingo halls, and one just opened across the street where I live at. We would be far better off with full casino gambling here, but the State and the Bingo operators have a good thing going, so it is unlikely to change anytime soon.

The gambling addiction is very real. The primal brain of the affected person asserts its dominance where it is 'kill or be killed' and the person afflicted actually experiences that primal brain mind of pure and raw emotions. Sure, bio-chemical changes happen, endorphin and adrenaline are produced and the person feels 'high' or like they just had the greatest sex they ever had - win or lose it does not matter to them because it comes when they are playing.

Gambling Anonymous does not help them at all. There are other ways to gamble that do not require money, often it is sexual perversion and degenerate sex. Often though gambling addiction is just one of many problems such a person has.

Higher levels of consciousness developed though meditation and reflection are the means to keep that healthy relationship with gambling, and to keep it in prospective. I for one know a bad bet when I see one, and won't play. The degenerate on the other hand may also see the bad bet, but they will play never the less.

I can tell you that a PRO gambler is not a gambling addict. A pro walks in to the casino with a goal and leaves when that goal is achieved, where as the gambling addict will keep playing after the goal is achieved and up the stakes to make it more thrilling and exciting til all the winnings they had are gone. All of the pros I have meet are very aware of their gambling and what is at risk, and watch their emotions carefully as to if they are in control or if the emotions are in control 'going on tilt' as gamblers say. If a pro goes 'on tilt' to often, that will quickly be the end of the pro and born is a new gambling degenerate.

Not everyone can be a pro. It is not for the lack of skilled play but rather the lack of self-control and discipline. Without self mastery developed, no ventures in gambling will be successful.

Having said that....

What kind of person you are now will be the same if you become a pro gambler or not. If you are already spending time with your kids then that will not be affected in one bit if you become a pro, or not.

 

Interesting comments, however your use of the words "professional gambler" is arbitrary. Since there is no governing force overseeing this supposed "profession", no code of conduct, no provable level of expertise...I see only full time gamblers. A homeless crack addict can call himself a "professional gambler".

I watch quite alot of tv poker...and see the "professional poker players". Many have made millions online or in live tournaments. And one thing that is common, is that in the middle of the games(both cash games and tournaments)....when the table is full of these "professionals",,,there are a ton of prop bets. Side bets about nonsensical things ..it seems to keep their "action craving" satisfied.

Its as if the regular poker isnt enough.

There seems to be a craving for action, within the action of the regular game.

It seems they suffer the same cravings, the same rush as the everyday man...even though they are self proclaimed "professionals"

I find it hard to believe that someone who goes to the bar and hangs out and drinks alcohol everyday for one or 2 hours hours isnt an alcoholic.
I similarly find it hard to believe that someone who gambles everyday for 1-2 hours isnt an addicted gambler.,,and doesnt feel the chemical release that all gamblers crave(conciously or sub-conciously)

Yes alcoholics can be good at disguising their addiction and move through society seemigly normal to the naked eye. And I am sure full time gamblers can dress nicely, and seem focused and present a controlled persona to the general public...yet still feel the rush and crave the rush.(in fact in poker, being successful means suppressing your joy and adrenaline rush when you get a great hand...hiding emotions and outward feelings is a real positive quality needed..that doesnt mean that inwardly the rush isnt occuring)

I am ignorant of meditation so I will not trash it..that would be foolish of me.
Maybe meditation can help control some urges. I am not discounting that.

When it comes to poker or sports betting I can see realpeople are successful at it,

However when it comes to casino table games, or machines pre-programmed to win for the casino....professionals/non professionals would be hard pressed to raise a family from these games.

 

As to the first statement, are 9-5'ers addicted because they work 8 hours? My job that I do has me inside casinos more hours than this. I'm not addicted. It's my JOB!

As to the second, you have no clue!

And yes, I raise a family strictly from my casino winnings.

 

Yes and no. There are plenty of pro players who make a lot of money on their game and blow a lot on games they know they can't win at. Like Phil Ivey. He's loves to bet huge amounts on craps, even though he seldom comes out ahead. He does it because he's addicted to the feeling he gets when playing, the adrenaline rush. He has a gambling addiction.

 

Are 9-5 ers addicted because they work 8 hours?????

You cant be serious. People who have to ring a register at walmart for 8 hours are doing so because they are addicted""??? You cant be serious.

There is no adrenalin rush that has been observed in people who ring registers, clean toilets, do accounting, or fill prescriptions.
they are all 9-5ers. Its a pretty weak argument to point fingers the general working population and proclaim that they work because they are addicted.

Addicted people by definition would have both mental and physical withdrawl symptoms if they stopped their addiction cold turkey.
It could be tremors, insomnia, irritability,depression, sweats, palpitations, loss of appetite, increased appetite....any or all of the above.

I dont think the 9-5 cpa would get those symptoms if they stopped working for a few months.

Its a specious argument

It makes no sense. And shows a real lack of understanding of the word "addiction"

I know of a crack addict that raises a family from his winning. The family lives well in a burnt out abandoned storefront. A declaration that you raise a family says nothing. You could be living with fellow druggies on the street, or you could be living in a mansion with your kids college fully funded, your retirement funded, and all the comforts of life at your fingertips.