Research: Can We Make Money From Gambling?

So here I am, broke, need more money, like billions of other people. Most (sane) everyone wants to make more money. Some of them have side jobs. Some of them steal and corrupt. Some of them can just ask for more. Some of them get a promotion and raise. Some of them gamble.

Straight to my question. Can we make money from gambling? Technically, if we always bet on the stronger teams, and just follow the odds, why can’t we win? Of course there are no such certain thing about winning or losing. But what are the chances that all the strong teams losing?

World Cup Football is coming. My colleague introduced me to this website paddypower.com. I registered, then I put £30 £40 (update: I put £10 more…am I in trouble?) there from my PayPal account.

The angle of this research is to bet on the odds. Just follow the betting tips, and put money on the stronger teams. I will not put my money in just one basket, instead I will spread it around several games per day. The sports that I am betting on is Football and Baseball. The chance to win in Baseball is a bit bigger than Football, because unlike football, there is no draw in baseball. Only two probabilities, win or lose.

Basically, I will put my bet based on reading some articles, betting tips, and see the league tables. If I can make my money grow just by following the odds, then gambling does work. Only thing is, I won’t put much money on it cause I don’t have that much to spare anyway :p.

Betting Statistic

Capital = £40

Current Balance = £77.12

Status = Up by £37.12

Profit = 92.8%

Pre World Cup / Warm Up

I have never bet online before, so this is the period to learn about the online gambling system. I will try to pick up some good winning formula, what works and what does not work.

Date	Team	Bet	Odds	Result
29 May	Millwall VS Swindon	£5 Swindon to Win	12/5	Lost £5
30 May	Dagenham & Red VS Rotherham	£5 (+£5bonus) Dagenham to win	7/4	Won £12.5
30 May	Atletico Goianiense VS Goias	£5 Atletico to win	5/4	Lost £5
30 May	Botafogo VS Vasco Da Gama	£5 Botafogo to win	5/6	Lost £5
31 May	Chicago Fire VS AC Milan	£11 AC Milan to win	8/11	Won £8
31 May	Rays VS Blue Jays	£5.5 Rays to win	8/11	Lost £5.5
31 May	Mets VS Padres	£5 Padres to win	4/5	Won £4
31 May	Twins VS Mariners	£5 Twins to win	4/5	Won £4
31 May	Diamondbacks VS Dodgers	£6 Dodgers to win	1/2	Won £3
1 Jun	Orioles VS Yankees	£10 Yankees to win	2/5	Won £4
1 Jun	Indians VS Tigers	£7 Tigers to win	8/13	Lost £7
1 Jun	Brewers VS Marlins	£7 Marlins to win	8/13	Won £4.31
1 Jun	Mets VS Padres	£5.5 Padres to win	10/11	Lost £5.5
1 Jun	Diamondbacks VS Dodgers	£5 Dodgers to win	4/5	Won £4
2 Jun	Red Sox VS Athletics	£7 Red Sox to win	4/7	Won £4
2 Jun	Tigers VS Indians	£6 Tigers to win	4/6	Won £4
2 Jun	Mets VS Padres	£5.5 Padres to win	10/11	Won £5
2 Jun	Diamondbacks VS Dodgers	£7 Dodgers to win	8/13	Won £4.31
2 Jun	Braves VS Phillies	£6 Braves to win	4/6	Won £4

Conclusion

After spending 5 days learning about the online gambling system, I can take conclusion that you CAN actually make money from gambling. The key is not to bet blindly, but to do safe bets constantly. Win little by little, day by day. Now, is there such thing as a safe bet?

1. Avoid blind betting (50-50 chance). Do smart and safe bets constantly. Win little by little.

Imagine this in football, if Brazil is playing versus USA, would you put all your money on Brazil winning the game? Would you? Cause I won’t. Because as much promising end result as this may have, there is a slight probability that you may lose all your money. I can’t say that this is a smart betting. You can double your money, but what if it’s a draw game, or even USA is winning?

2. Spread the bets. Don’t put everything in one basket. Play by the numbers.

Now imagine the second scenario. There are 6 games on the same day that have similar situation. Strong teams versus weak teams. What are the odds of all the strong team losing? Or even 3 strong teams losing? It’s very unlikely. From my previous experiences of spreading the bet to several “safe bets”, the chances are: lose a little, even, win a little, or win big (see the date 2nd June on the table above, where all my 5 bets are winning).

3. Qualification round is the golden moment.

Now this system only works on qualifying rounds, such as World Cup Group Qualifications, where there are strong teams and weak teams playing against each other. As it gets to the quarter finals, semi finals, and so forth, the chances are getting smaller and smaller to win. I would not put my money on a game such as Germany versus Italy, because this is what I call blind bet.

4. Know when to stop.

Having said all of the above, gamblers need to know when to stop. It’s good that I am doing this for a research, so I’am not putting that much money. And by the time my money has doubled, I know it’s time to stop.

I am taking one week of holiday, before the World Cup 2010 starts. I am going to do another research for the World Cup, doing bets with combinations and accumulators. Follow the research here: Trying to Beat the System of Gambling.

Cheers.