Singing Pig

Does anyone gamble on a semi-pro basis?

I play poker online quite a lot BTLK, though for quite small stakes. I do gradually increase my capital but I don't keep a book on it, I know how much I paid in off my debit card and I know what my balance is currently standing at and thats enough for me to know I'm well ahead.

But like I say, its relatively small fry, I wouldn't risk large sums of money at the poker table thats for sure. Unless the money isn't mine, which I consider my winnings not to be, therefore as I accumulate more in winnings I gradually increase the stakes I play for, if that makes sense. Always try and walk away with your original stake money is my motto with any kind of gambling.

Though tbh, I play more fun than any belief its going to make me rich.

Do you feel that these online games are rigged (more than the reality tables) wtc?

I can't help thinking that just like fruit machines now, your odds are less when the proceedings are computer controlled?

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The engine's good but the bodywork's nackered ;->

Not on the poker tables where I play, I can see you point on more casino oriented games(roulette etc.) though and I wouldn't play those for that reason(along with the fact your odds of winning even it it were straight up aren't good).

On the Party Poker tables and similar sites you have to remember that all the ppl you are playing against are other humans, the house has nothing to gain by stacking the odds in any one players favour(unless that player worked for the company that provided the game but thats getting into the realms of JFK conspiricy theories :P). The way the tournaments I play in work is that its a 10 player game, each player pays in a fixed stake at the start of the game(and this varies on how high stakes you want to play for...ranges from $5 to $250 and possibly more). So take this stake and * 10, for a $5 game thats $50 and for a $250 its $2500. Each player then gets 800 chips, you play against each other and when you lose all your chips you are out. Payout is to the players who finish 1st, 2nd and 3rd, 3rd gets 20% of the pot, 2nd gets 30% and 1st gets 50%. So in a 5$ game with a total pot of $50, finish 3rd for $10, 2nd for $15 and 1st for $25....

The house gets its money from an additional payment you make for joining the table and this varies depending on the stakes of the table. So in the $5 game you also pay $1 to the house for a total of $6 down, so $6 from each player for $50 in the pot and $10 to the house. In the $250 tables its $25 payment to the house, so $275 from each player, $2500 in the pot and $250 to the house. I play this style of game because you know how much you can lose from the start, I can only lose my original stake and get to play many hands for that.

When you see how many of these tables are running at any given time and this is just the poker secion of Party Gaming you realise why when the company floated on the stockmarket the other week it was assigned a value greater than most high street shops.

^ sounds good, and I reckon that co. would be worth a punt for shares? Is that the name of the company, Party Gaming wtc?

I think the idea of only losing what you've put in up front is very good, means you know when you're on to a loser and hopefully can't go any further out of pocket!

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The engine's good but the bodywork's nackered ;->

Yes thats its name on the LSE BTLK, I think its symbol is PRTY or similar.

Heres a chart from the LSE(sorry for long link and if it doesn't work)

http://www.londonstockexchange.com/LSECWS/Templates/I1.aspx?NRMODE=Published&NRORIGINALURL=%2fen-gb%2fpricesnews%2fprices%2fsystem%2fdetailedprices%2ehtm%3fsym%3dGB0008347048GBGBXSTMM0834704SPX&NRNODEGUID=%7b1B713125-A605-46EB-9DFB-901FFF03010C%7d&NRCACHEHINT=Guest&sym=GI000A0ERMF2GBGBXSET3B0B3SV4PRTY

Since it floated the price has been going up quite dramatically until the end of today where it shed 2%. I have some money in it but I bought several days ago and its beginning to look a little bubble like tbh. Also bear in mind, the majorty of customers to this site are from the US(75% or so) and that in the US online gambling is actually against the law. The company running the site are not based in the US and have no holdings there so they aren't breaking the law, but should the US government try and enforce the online gambling laws and ban US ppl from playing there then it will have a severe impact on the companies profits(and thus the share price.)

And yeah, only being able to lose your starting stake is a good way to play, its also the cheapest way to play more hands and thus have more entertainment. You can make more money on the fixed cash tables but you can also lose a lot as well. I play through the Coral portal, check it out if you're interested.

http://www.coralpoker.com/pok.go?page=homeos&sid=20&lang=20&ms=MS

 

 

 

 

in 2000 I set up a system financed with £ 1000.00 to bet on top european teams on football betting on a win only basis.

After about 1 year I was up to £4500.00 and then lost big time and went down to £1000 before picking up once again to about £ 6000.00

To cut a long story short I kept getting hut with surprise losses which would wipe out large amounts of cash and I just got fed up with the whole thing

Basically the risks were stacked over a period of time on the bookies favour and that accounts for most gambling situations in my opinion

I do bet on a daily basis, and use a system that was written and developed by myself a year ago.

I have created a system to score the UK horse racing. It is based on form and statistics and has consistently returned a decent profit.

The system doubles my money every 14 days, although I don't get greedy, and am quite happy to stop once I have my days wages. Although it could be like the "rice across a chess board" scenario, I originally started with £40, but a bank of £2,000 could provide a daily income of £100 to £200 per day.

I am registered with Inland Revenue as a Professional Gambler as it is my sole source of income. The best part is that gambling is exempt from tax in the UK, if they didn't do that then I would be able to claim back my losses!!