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? It's what I'd like to eventually do but need proof that it can be done.
Shouldn't authors such as S. Wong, Don S., etc.. be millionaires due to their BJ playing profits?
I don't live off of black-jack. It is really a small part of my overall income. But there are people who do. Of course, they tend to post about their exploits on the Red pages too much.
There is a big myth in what you say: "I believe winnings from gambling are tax-free so if one were to make $50K a year� that'd be a lot of money!"
In the US, winnings from gambling are taxable. There may be part-time players who simply chose to non-comply with the tax laws, but for many of us this is simply not an option. In addition to the obvious ethical/patriotic reasons to pay taxes, there are simple pragmatics. You simply can't have cash income year after year and not file a tax return. You WILL go to jail. In my case, I am a well-known BJ expert; it simply isn't credible for me to claim I did not gamble last year.
All of the professional BJ players I know pay taxes.
In fact, the tax treatment of gambling income in the US is very bad. One of the biggest problems is that losses cannot be carried forward. There are other down-sides as well. This is one reason why playing full-time is not a viable economic strategy for some of us.
The other reason is health-care. I don't know if you have looked into it, but the card-counters group health plan is just awful. If you can't belong to a group, then the cost for health coverage are really exorbitant. Young people aren't worried about that, but for guys my age this is a big concern.
I know of professional gamblers who make more cash income than I do, but have no health coverage. They can't go to a doctor when they get sick.
An alterative way of getting health coverage is on your spouse's policy. When people ask me what they should do before turning pro, my first recommendation is "Marry a state employee."
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.
My sole source of income and major source of outgo is 'gambling' (not just blackjack though). My current partner in crime in many of my casino exploits hasn't had a job for over 20 years...so, it can be done. I manage to pay all of my bills and I'm even planning on going to graduate school with the money I make. Of course, I 'work' about 60-80 hours a week and I have absolutely no social life to speak of. While others were enjoying a delicious Thanksgiving feast, I was sitting at a blackjack table in a near-empty casino. At least they comped me a turkey club. And yes, I have found myself, on a few occasions, without a dime to my name...but bankrolls can be acquired. Having no cash on hand at the moment is not necessarily the end of the world, but it can be quite trying.
I also find it very depressing being the only person in a casino who is winning money (long term). Sometimes I want to lean over to one of the many hapless victims of the house edge and whisper 'the count is highly positive, don't hit that 16 against the dealer's ten up' or 'take insurance, he has a ten down, I saw it as it went under'...but to do such would be suicidal, professionally speaking. You do occasionally meet some nice people in casinos and it can be hard to watch them lose when you could help them. I also find it depressing watching the dealers, cogs in the machine, mindlessly and automatically plying their nefarious and repititious trade, no doubt weary of struggling for a toke while seeing the streams of player losses pour into the chip rack day after day and week after week. The constant paranoia can also be draining...sometimes I wonder if the eye in the sky can see me in my apartment while I logon to the bj21 website. The countless systems and theories overheard, the ever-diminishing comps, the smoke, the ADDICTS who CANNOT QUIT, the sounds of the slot machines, the aging cocktail waitresses, the pit bosses who glare and smile simultaneously, the lights, the drunks who descend from bliss to a penniless stupor, the unforgiving corporate automation and order, the never-ending heat and the washed up lounge bands are all elements of a supposedly 'fun' environment which, in hours-long daily doses, tears at the very fabric of your soul, leaving you a pariah looking in on the world from the fringe of society.
But it beats backstabbing coworkers and incompetent bosses. Whether it's 9-5 or a 1% edge, it's all a grind.
I pay $70 a month for health insurance. I don't see what the big deal with that is. Whether or not to pay taxes is a personal matter but, be advised, that failing to report your income is illegal (at least in the United States for United States citizens).
Congratulations on your success at BJ. With your writing style you should also consider writing a book some day so save your notes & experiences. Bonne Chance.
A skilled BJ player who is really serious about earning a full-time living as a gambler should consider becoming a Canadian citizen.
The tax treatment for US BJ winnings for non-resident aliens is very favorable, health care is not an issue and the favorable conversion rate of US dollars into Canadian funds (160%) provides tremendous leverage, if you win. There is no tax on gambling in Canada for a Canadian citizen, whether the income was earned in the US or in Canada.
The trick, off course, is to be a winning player. It can be done, but in my 25 years of experience as a gambler (mostly BJ), not by many.
The fluctuations are wild and you must be properly bankrolled. Playing with one or more partners that you trust and that are equally skilled lessens the swings of bad fortune.
but isn't it extremely difficult to become a Canadian citizen?
Shouldn't authors such as S. Wong, Don S., etc.. be millionaires due to their BJ playing profits?
Cheering from the sidelines doesn't count. One would actually have to play to make any money at BJ. Then again, Don is so rich he doesn't need the money.
marry a canadian women, or better yet marry a full status native person who has a band membership and live tax free with the added bonus of being able to work both sides of the 49th.
My notes are in front of me and in less than a week while sitting on a less than comfortable chair i was able to move my virtual bankroll from 2500 to 6545...i did this in my spare time..after having worked my 40 hours at 11$ an hour...every hand is logged and i know exactly why i won...i never put down more than 60$ and never played anything but bj..
Then why am i not playing for real money?
Paranoia,fear,lack of capital,...these are but some of the reason.
Doesn't mean that i'll never play...just means that i'm not ready.
Beauty of it is that 50isto500$ what 4000 is to 40000.
Ps...
The gambling writer in my opinion as the option...play or teach.
If i could market a credible system and earn enough to retire early then i certainly would do so and go fishing instead of working in a casino...
Your post aptly sums up this "lifestyle". While many people wish to romanticise gambling for profit, like James Bond or even Kenny Uston/Ian Andersen,etc, the reality is usually much different. "Grind" is the keyword.
On another note, why are you paying $70/month for healthcare? Does your plan include full dental and accident insurance? I'm only paying around $40, but some of the things are more like 75/25 or 50/50. (The practicalities are also important for anyone considering this kind of work.)
I don' think that is quite right about Canadian tax laws. This subject has come up on Green Chip, and this is what I learned from a Canadian player.
In Canada, winnings from recreational gambling are not subject to tax. However, if someone is a professional who is in the business of gambling, then they have to file just like any other business. Thus that in Canada, the tax treatment for professional gamblers is worse that that for other gamblers. This is the opposite of the situation in the US. Here, professionals qualify to file schedule C, which usually more favorable than just filing 1040-Otrher Income and Schedule A.
I actually believe that the Canadian system is more rational. It makes sense to require professionals to pay income tax. But it doesn't make sense to tax the average Joe who does Negative Expectation Betting as a past-time. In the US, these players basically just don't comply with the tax laws. Casinos would go out of business if half of the American gamblers did comply. Thus we have the awful situation of having laws and just winking who violate them.
My understanding of Canadian law is second-hand. But my source was a Green Chipper whom I respect.
Your post does an excellent job of summing up the reality vs the fantasy of advantage play. (We should have gotten together somewhere for Thanksgiving Dinner. :-))
You sound like you could use a break. Take a week off and go somewhere where they don't have casinos. I recommend Maui.
Few things are certain in life but here is one: When you are my age you won't be paying $70/month for health insurance. :-)
I would be interested in finding health care for $70/mo. Mine runs fifteen times that amount. Who is your insurer?
1. Gambling winnings are taxable income like any other income, at least in the USA. Actually worse, since losses cannot be carried from one year to another.
2. There is a sort of "catch-22" inherent in advantage play. In order to be a successful advantage player, one must have an adequate bankroll. If you have managed to acquire that bankroll, you undoubtedly have found an easier way to make money than advantage play.
3. $50K/year is not a lot of money, at least not in the USA and most certainly not in southern California!
4. Nobody, author or otherwise, becomes a millionaire playing blackjack. The casinos simply will not let you.
you say author or otherwise...
how do you figure that one...
sounds like you may be talking about some illegal response from the casino...how can they stop an author?
back at ya
get insurance for 70 bucks,and what is the number?
to become a millionare you have to make large bets and casinos bar large bettors.when i started betting red i was only 86ed from dumps like slots of fun.when i graduated to a 100 dollar max only 2 sd casinos allowed my action.when i decided to bet higher than 100 i was left with one sd house.moral of the story:the more you bet the more they watch.the best place to bet 400 or 500 max is the mirage properties.its easier to blend in when the table next to you is betting 5000 a hand.i cant imagine placing 1000.00 wagers w/o being barred in record time.btw i dont play shoes.im sure you can play longer,but what a grind the shoe game is.i rather stay home.
