What better way to gamble? Are you better off playing poker or could you make more money by betting on sports? It is an interesting question with many factors.
Some people are better at playing poker than they will ever be at betting football, for example. The purpose of this post is to compare both types of gambling and draw some conclusions about which one might suit you better.
The Biggest Deal
The biggest similarity between sports betting and poker is that you can do it professionally. On the other hand, playing online slots or roulette is not professional. Everyone knows that a percentage of poker players earn their living with it. This also applies to sports gamblers.
The percentage of poker players who actually play profitably is less than you might think. Somewhere between 85% and 95% of all poker players lose money over time. That makes the percentage of players that real poker professionals are quite small.
Another Deal
The other big deal is that if you’re going to take advantage of both activities in the long run, you need a bankroll big enough to withstand bad luck. Both the outcomes of poker and sports betting can be arbitrary. So you need enough money to avoid going bankrupt in the short term.
Anytime you’re dealing with a mathematical benefit in gambling, it’s a long-term expectation. Anything can happen in the short term.
When playing poker, you should never buy more than 5% of your bankroll. This means that if you are going to buy in at a table for $100, you must have at least $2000 in your total poker bankroll.
When betting on sports, you should never bet more than 1% of your bankroll on one game. If you are really aggressive and confident you risk 2% of your bankroll on a single sports bet.
This means that if you want to wager $100 per game, you must have a bankroll of $10,000. A bankroll is money that you have set aside for gambling. It should be money that you don’t need for any other purpose.
If you are bad at poker but good at sports betting, it is clear what type of gambling to bet on at an online sportsbook or online casino.