# Can you make a living from sport betting? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 11, 2024, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-a-living-from-sport-betting/997440 "2024-02-11T19:52:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2024, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-a-living-from-sport-betting/997440/101 "2024-02-15T20:03:55Z")
Apparently Foster Brooks was teetotal since the early 60’s. He played an excellent drunk though. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2024, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-a-living-from-sport-betting/997440/102 "2024-02-15T20:17:02Z")
How dare he act! I demand all my hollywood drunks to be real drunks. Next you’ll be telling me that Dean Martin didn’t drink either. I actually heard that about Foster Brooks. He gave up alcohol, but the drunk act was too good. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2024, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-a-living-from-sport-betting/997440/103 "2024-02-16T17:35:03Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > But the ‘Moneyline’ odds (betting a team to win) are often set so that a heavy favorite pays very little profit on a bet. As described above, you would win maybe a few pennies for each dollar bet…if the team won. And then there’s this cautionary tale from last year: > **[A bettor lost $1.4 million betting on the Chargers midgame](https://sports.yahoo.com/bettor-lost-1-4-million-194350547.html)** > > Guess this bettor didn’t know that it was always the Jags. Dude bet $1.4M midgame moneyline on the Chargers, when the score was 27-0, to make a potential profit of … wait for it … no, wait … $11,200. The Chargers lost, 31-30. All the sources I’ve found seem to confirm the story – I haven’t found any debunking of it. So be careful out there. Don’t be this stupid. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2024, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-a-living-from-sport-betting/997440/104 "2024-02-16T19:56:26Z")
Good bet a hefty amount of expensive Scotch had been downed between the start of pre-game festivities and that fateful halftime decision. Plus maybe some controlled substances. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2024, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-a-living-from-sport-betting/997440/105 "2024-02-16T20:05:20Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Dude bet $1.4M midgame moneyline on the Chargers, when the score was 27-0, to make a potential profit of … wait for it … no, wait … $11,200. One always has to know what the outlay is, and what the expected return is. Sometimes, it’s best to step back and ask yourself whether it’s worth risking, say, $1000, in order to win a whopping $50. No guarantees of winning, of course. Hey, I’ll be at the track later today. Nothing like the above for me. Hello, $2 wagers! ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2024, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-a-living-from-sport-betting/997440/106 "2024-02-16T21:53:19Z")
Yeah. A 0.1% return is not a great bet even if it wins. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2024, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-a-living-from-sport-betting/997440/107 "2024-02-17T10:19:32Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Hey, I’ll be at the track later today. Nothing like the above for me. Hello, $2 wagers! Well, I couldn’t win. One of the boys won a trifecta, but it was _very_ low-priced, bringing in $13.90, for his total outlay of $6 on a $1 part-wheel wager. Never mind what all this means if you don’t understand it (\*), except that I had fun with my friends, which is the point of the endeavour. We had a few beers, laid down a few bets at the minimum, lost mostly, bullshat each other, and had a great time. Which is as it should be. Horse race betting should be entertainment, and my experience today certainly was. Point is, once again, you’ll never make a living from the track. But you can have fun. (\*) In a recent phone call with my sister, which occurs maybe once a week, I wanted to tell her about a recent visit to the track. I heard a great sigh over the phone. “Spoons, I’m interested, but can you please put it into English so I understand what you’re telling me?” Yes, the track has its own language. Thankfully, I can speak it, and translate into English for Sis. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2024, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-a-living-from-sport-betting/997440/108 "2024-02-17T13:00:54Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > One of the boys won a trifecta, but it was _very_ low-priced, bringing in $13.90, for his total outlay of $6 on a $1 part-wheel wager. I once placed a trifecta bet, choosing my three at random because I liked their names. My three turned out to be long shots, and the payoff would have been great. They ran 1-2-3 the entire race exactly as I picked them, then some other horse came up and ruined it for me. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2024, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-a-living-from-sport-betting/997440/109 "2024-02-17T13:49:42Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > They ran 1-2-3 the entire race exactly as I picked them, then some other horse came up and ruined it for me. This is exactly why I always have a tranquilizer dart gun with me. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2024, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-a-living-from-sport-betting/997440/110 "2024-02-17T17:03:30Z")
Whiskey works better, and you don’t have the needle stick pain. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2024, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-a-living-from-sport-betting/997440/111 "2024-02-17T18:37:00Z")
No, no - he meant for the horse coming up to spoil the trifecta. Wait, whoosh, zoom! I’m chuckling. Well played! ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2024, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-a-living-from-sport-betting/997440/112 "2024-02-17T20:09:33Z")
> [@wolly](#): > > Hi,I’m a ruined student by my parents and I’m trying to find something that can make me relax and studious.I want to study sport betting because unlike poker you don’t lose everytime on the board.I posted in another thread that I’m good at math but I don’t know how to calculate certain statistics and I haven’t found a book online. > Here is my grade at mathematics: You cannot make money at sports betting. I don’t care what your math mark is. Sports betting destroys the lives of thousands of people who think they can make money at it. I assure you that you cannot; the number of people who can make a living doing this is tiny (and 99 out of 100 people who tell you they make money at it are lying to you, themselves, or both) and they usually work in teams and work INCREDIBLY hard at this. The few that have done well are sometimes famous, like Bob Voulgaris, but the very fact you asked this question shown you’re years and years behind. You do not have anywhere near the knowledge or resources to know more about the probabilities than do the bookies. And as Sam Stone points out, EVEN IF you could beat the bookies, your margin is maybe 2-3 percent - so unless you have a huge bankroll, you could go broke anyway. Bankroll management is as important as knowing sports. Maybe more so. If you wanted to make an actual living, you need a bankroll in six figures. You are as far from being a break even sports better as you are from being an Olympic shot put champion. If you want to toss around a few $20 bets for fun, go ahead. Do not rely on this as a living. Please. ---
**Author:** ![Cugel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cugel/32/1199_2.png) [@Cugel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cugel)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2024, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-a-living-from-sport-betting/997440/113 "2024-02-18T05:48:52Z")
Furthermore, according to conventional wisdom, agencies here in OZ will boot you off if win too often, or they subject bettors to other win limiting strategies. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2024, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-a-living-from-sport-betting/997440/114 "2024-02-18T14:18:22Z")
I don’t doubt that “conventional wisdom” believes that. I doubt it’s factually accurate simply because it’s unnecessary. The collective public will lose with mathematically reliable certainty; there’s no need to result to skullduggery to juice that result. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2024, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-a-living-from-sport-betting/997440/115 "2024-02-21T19:17:02Z")
“As the American sports betting industry continues to expand, it has reached a high water mark, posting a record **$10.92 billion in revenue for 2023** , according to the American Gaming Association’s annual report.” > **[Sports betting hits record $11B in 2023 revenue](https://www.espn.com/espn/betting/story/_/id/39563784/sports-betting-industry-posts-record-11b-2023-revenue)** > > The American Gaming Association reported Tuesday a record $10.92 billion in 2023 for the sports betting industry, up 44.5% from 2022. “Sportsbooks bake their cut into the odds on both sides of a bet, and that cut is generally 4.5% and up. For sportsbooks to maximize their cut, bets on any line are as close to 50-50 (percent) as possible. If one side of a bet with 80% of the money on it wins, the sportsbook loses.” Get a job for a sports book, don’t waste your money there. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2024, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-a-living-from-sport-betting/997440/116 "2024-02-21T23:50:03Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > To tell you a story if you can make living at sport betting. > First off: **NO**. You can’t. > > You can get lucky sometimes. > But to have a real life, **Get a job** We all listened to a poker buddy’s stories of betting on pro sports, playing blackjack in Vegas, and when he got to a story about an all-night and all-next-day poker party on a high-roller’s yacht, we did the math… “So, wait, you lost but then you won, and ended the party up four hundred bucks… but, you were playing for twenty-four hours straight, right? So you made about minimum wage. Less than a waitress after tips.” . After that, I’m always dying to ask the sports bettin’, big talkin’ guys at my local saloon how much they make per hour, once they figure in the research they do. They stay up late nights, compare a dozen different web sites, sports blogs, tv and radio shows. Some of them have their own spreadsheets developed (don’t ask about those, unless you need to waste an hour…). I’m thinking easily fifty hours a week to make a thousand dollars… so, $20/hr (and that’s only on a BIG WINNING week). ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2024, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-a-living-from-sport-betting/997440/117 "2024-02-22T00:22:31Z")
It’s not work if you’re having fun. Nor if you’re feeding your obsession. Both those things are subjective. Whether you actually make a profit: now _that’s_ objective. As is your hourly rate if you keep good logbooks. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2024, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-a-living-from-sport-betting/997440/118 "2024-02-22T08:37:06Z")
In other words, gamblers lost $11 billion in 2023. But good luck! ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2024, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-a-living-from-sport-betting/997440/119 "2024-02-22T11:40:29Z")
That’s revenue, though, not profit, right? ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2024, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-a-living-from-sport-betting/997440/120 "2024-02-22T15:46:33Z")
It appears that it is profit, even though they use the word ‘revenue’ in the article. From the source: > [@](#): > > The huge year for the industry represented a 44.5% year-over-year increase from 2022, which previously held the record. A handle of $119.84 billion (a 27.8% year-over-year increase) combined with an increased year-over-year sportsbook win percentage of 9.1% (up from 8.1% in 2022) contributed to the record. So total wagers were $119.84 billion, with the bookies taking 9.1 percent ($10.9 billion) and returning $108.9 billion to winning bettors. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-a-living-from-sport-betting/997440.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-a-living-from-sport-betting/997440.md?page=7)