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$50K a year from gambling vs $50K flat wage

Posted By: Green Baize Vampire
Date: 6 Dec 01, 5:23 am

In Response To: Any one LIVE off of BJ? (Charles)

I believe winnings from gambling are tax-free so if one were to make $50K a year.. that'd be a lot of money! Does anybody lead this type of life?

$50K a year from gambling is not enough to sustain yourself as a practical matter. The reason being that an average 50K a year from gambling is not mathematically equivalent to being paid a salary of 50K, in addition to the major "draining" effects on your capital of expenses and taxation.
Imagine going into the office on monday morning and the boss says to you that you will no longer be paid a flat wage on a regular basis. He may not decide to pay you this week, this month, or possibly this year. Indeed, he may take money out of your account. He promises you that on average, over the next few decades, your payments will probably approximate what you were being paid as a flat wage. It is a maddening, Kafka-esque scenario, nobody would accept.

This is approximately the same situation facing a professional gambler. You will become a financial leper because your earnings are so volatile-you will find that your bank is distinctly less friendly, even if you are winning, because of this volatility. You will experience serial cash-flow problems. You will experience major life-shortening stress.
Overall, earnings from blackjack have to be considerably greater than a flat wage to compensate for the variance, if the enterprise is to be justified in purely monetary terms.

This is one of the reasons why I recommend high-EV, low-risk methods over low-EV, high-risk methods such as card-counting. Playing blackjack online for example, very closely approximates a regular salary because the fluctuations are very mild. I've never had a losing session lasting more than a week online-I've had losing years at terrestrial blackjack.

Messages In This Thread

• Any one LIVE off of BJ? -- Charles -- 6 Dec 01, 1:21 am
  • Not Me, But -- MathProf -- 6 Dec 01, 3:50 am
    • BJ FOR A LIVING -- BJFAN4 -- 6 Dec 01, 6:44 am
      • Pardon my ignorance... -- Wannabe Canuck -- 6 Dec 01, 7:09 am
        • instead of marrying a state employee... -- all_in -- 6 Dec 01, 7:32 am
        • Not really. (nt) -- BJFAN4 -- 7 Dec 01, 4:06 am
      • Canadian Tax Laws -- MathProf -- 6 Dec 01, 8:21 am
        • Canadian Tax Laws -- BJFAN4 -- 7 Dec 01, 4:11 am
          • Not true (nt) -- Scarce -- 7 Dec 01, 4:54 am
    • Somewhat naive -- Francis Salmon -- 7 Dec 01, 4:30 pm
  • $50K a year from gambling vs $50K flat wage -- Green Baize Vampire -- 6 Dec 01, 5:23 am
    • I do -- Anonymouse -- 6 Dec 01, 6:02 am
      • Message to Vampire -- Countjack -- 6 Dec 01, 6:15 am
        • I meant messasge to Anonymouse (nt) -- Countjack -- 6 Dec 01, 6:17 am
      • Nailed -- Scarce -- 6 Dec 01, 8:19 am
      • (Message Deleted by Poster) -- alienated -- 6 Dec 01, 8:32 am
        • but winnings don't come from the casino -- expectant winner -- 7 Dec 01, 2:43 am
      • Good post; comments -- Parker -- 6 Dec 01, 8:46 am
        • Go back to college -- Maverick -- 7 Dec 01, 4:20 pm
      • curious -- punter -- 6 Dec 01, 8:54 am
      • mouse,where do you -- pat -- 6 Dec 01, 11:15 am
        • Recently switched providers...but I think it's Blue Cross/Blue Shield (nt) -- Anonymouse -- 6 Dec 01, 7:17 pm
    • You obviously have never been in sales working straight commission! (nt) -- Compador -- 6 Dec 01, 7:47 pm
    • Gloomy picture -- Francis Salmon -- 7 Dec 01, 5:05 pm
  • Authors -- Free the Iceman -- 6 Dec 01, 7:20 am
  • If it were that easy....long -- all_in -- 6 Dec 01, 7:48 am
  • Comments -- Parker -- 6 Dec 01, 9:05 am
    • I don't get it.... -- all_in -- 6 Dec 01, 9:56 am
      • very simple answer -- pat -- 6 Dec 01, 11:36 am
        • it doesn't answer my reply... -- all_in -- 6 Dec 01, 11:49 am
          • That's right, how can they stop the authors!? -- NA -- 6 Dec 01, 12:03 pm
          • parker meant -- pat -- 6 Dec 01, 12:32 pm
            • Exactly -- Parker -- 6 Dec 01, 6:54 pm
              • Often Wong but never in doubt... -- Wheelchair -- 6 Dec 01, 7:30 pm
                • Agree with Wheelchair -- Anonymouse -- 7 Dec 01, 5:00 am
                  • Strong post Anonymouse... -- Wheelchair -- 7 Dec 01, 5:26 am
                  • No argument here -- Parker -- 7 Dec 01, 9:00 am
                    • Contradiction -- Wheelchair -- 7 Dec 01, 3:21 pm
    • 50K is a lot of money after you retire -- expectant winner -- 7 Dec 01, 2:55 am

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