Anyone who gambles, whether casually or professionally, has definitely toyed with the idea of being rich. But is the idea of getting rich from gambling remotely possible? What does it take to make this so-called fantasy a reality? Let us find out.
Is It Possible to Get Rich from Gambling?
“If other gamblers have struck it lucky from gambling, then I stand a chance too!” is a turn of phrase that many have said and believed. But as we all know, the shots are realistically few and far between.
However, it is not impossible. While men have gained a significant profit through more conventional means (e.g., doing an honest 9 to 5 and saving up diligently), there have been a few examples of players achieving success by getting lucky and hitting progressive jackpots or a lottery.
We will discuss a few things about the possibility of striking gold from gambling, beginning with the element of chance and skill.
Luck or Skill?
Many have argued that gambling is predominantly a game of chance. Yet, some have managed to succeed and break into the upper echelon of gambling—professional players such as World Series Of Poker players whose stakes are far greater than an average person can afford.
In a study conducted by Randal Heeb in 2012 as a response to dismiss the motion to outlaw poker due to the notion that poker is only a game of chance and therefore falls under illegal gambling, he collected and presented data from millions of online poker games.
The study showed that top-ranked players won pretty consistently despite a few bad days. In contrast, the worst players consistently lost throughout the year. This is evidence that if some people could make a living from poker, some skill is needed.
Economist, David DeRosa, who was an expert witness for the prosecution, used a computer simulation to simulate the outcome of what might happen if a thousand people each tossed a coin 10,000 times with the assumption that a certain outcome—such as tails—equals a win, and that the number of times any one person won the toss was random.
The result appeared similar, where a handful of people seemed to win the toss consistently, with another group losing a large number of times.
This means regardless of skill, unlikely events will always happen if the group is large enough. However, Brian Heeb, a professional poker player, argued that skill is involved in a game such as poker because players can control the events that unfold, unlike slots or roulette, where everything is left to chance.
DeRosa then argues that the element of chance is still highly present across several hands—each hand is susceptible to chance. But what they can both agree on is that skill will eventually outweigh the effect of chance when given enough time.
House Edge
Regardless of what games you choose to play, the odds of the casino winning money are greater than the odds of a player winning the casino’s money—house edge being the odds advantage in its favour.
And it is that way because if the house can be easily beaten, they would not be in business for a long time. As casino games are all designed to provide the house with an inherent edge to diminish the chances and sizes of the potential payout.
If we look at a Roulette wheel that is numbered from one to 36, which puts the odds at 36 to one. However, some roulette wheels have a single, double, or even triple zero, making the odds sometimes 37, 38, or 39 to one rather than the traditional 36.
House edge also represents the average gross profit that the casino can reliably expect to make from each game. Looking at games with the lowest house edge, a casino may make from 0.5 per cent to 2 per cent of gross profit. While other games may give a gross profit margin anywhere from 15 to 40 per cent.
Also, bear in mind that the longer you play, the higher the chances of the house edge recapturing any profits you made in the beginning, leaving you back to where you started or even at a loss.
So what does the extent of house edge really mean for the player?
Casinos will always be highly profitable, which means that not many players can win consistently. In fact, only 13.5% have successfully achieved that, according to the Wall Street Journal in 2013.
In essence, although the laws of probability will always be in the house’s favour, the edge varies significantly among the various casino games. Games with the lowest advantage include Blackjack—0.5 per cent and even 0.28 per cent at some very liberal casinos. This is followed by craps with an edge of 0.8 per cent, then baccarat at 1.06%
The smallest edges are only helpful if the player plays the odds perfectly, which few ever do, and the house edge only increases when the player bets less expertly. In terms of games with the highest house edge, American Roulette holds an edge of 5.26 per cent, with slots going as high as 15 per cent and Keno a massive 40 per cent.
While it is a tall order to make a profit from the methods mentioned above, there are also other games that give players an opportunity to make some huge profits.
Jackpot
In October 2021, a Malaysian man struck gold when he won the lottery worth over RM23 million by winning the local Magnum 4D lottery jackpot.
After more than three decades of visiting his lottery provider, he witnessed the numbers he purchased being drawn up by Magnum’s mobile app.
And earlier in March, a Malaysian retiree from Puchong won over RM22 million again from Magnum’s jackpot. Much like the example above, the retiree has been an avid Magnum customer since 2009.
But one of the more high-profile cases was in 2019 when a Sabah housewife won RM41 million from the lottery out of her interest in mixing and matching numbers.
If it is not sitting at an online casino table, then the other option is to head to your local lottery and hope that maybe one day after going time and time again, luck turns in your favour.
While going to the lottery is as easy as buying the number you want for a certain price, the odds are insanely stacked against you—1 in 292 million. Plus, there really is not much you can do as most things are out of your control.
On the other hand, you may encounter various house edges when trying your luck at your favourite game on an online casino. Although with this method, it might be hard for you to achieve an outright amount of winnings that the lottery provides, it is a surefire way to accrue consistent winnings over some time.
Get Rich Gambling in Malaysia
It may seem like an oxymoron to mention the idea of gambling in Malaysia. But as the spirit of online betting goes, there is no stopping the avid player. Since then, there have been many legitimate online gambling sites with various promotions and prizes that have appeared to satisfy the appetite for online betting.
Therefore, searching for a legitimate betting site with a credible reputation is one of the first steps in your journey to looking for that elusive profit.
Legitimate online betting sites such as i8 offer plenty of promotions such as new member promotions, welcome bonuses, etc., that you can take advantage of. Other than the variety of games available, one of the most important aspects of choosing a legitimate website is the fairness and safety it provides—there is no point winning big if the online casino withholds your winnings unfairly.
Can it Really Be Done?
The numbers suggest that to get anywhere near being rich, players would be required to play impeccably well, and that is assuming that every hand and every game goes their way.
Not only that, there are some players who, despite being aware of the house edge, fail to grasp the implication that it has to their bankroll. I.e., they believe that even with a 5% house edge at a Roulette table, their losses will be minimal—losing only RM5 from their bankroll of RM100 after a few hours—failing to understand that the house edge applies to the total betting amount rather than their starting bankroll.
For other players who do not really have the time to invest to learn about the technicalities of online betting, the lottery is a simpler way to see some returns. Although, aiming to hit it big by the lottery admittedly does take a fair bit of luck to achieve.
In short, if you are looking for small but consistent returns, then taking the time—which really does involve a lot of time— to learn about the nuances and technicalities of finding the most profitable betting strategy will be well worth the effort for the amount of time you have invested.
But if you prefer a simpler life and are willing to leave things to lady luck, then the lottery will be more suited to your gambling style.
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