Although the term professional gambler is somewhat of a stretch, there are actual people who do make a decent living gambling. Unlike most who are just looking to have some fun and potentially get lucky, these people know what games are their best options and under what circumstances these games can be profitable.
Professional gamblers have been around almost as long as gambling itself. In the early days, you wouldn’t have many options available to you as a pro player as you were pretty much forced to play at a live casino or potentially in a private game of some sort. These days, however, professionals have access to a whole new world of opportunities created by online casinos – and they seem to love it.
For most professional players, online casinos trump live venues by a fair margin. There are quite a few reasons as to why this happens to be the case and in this article we’ll look into some of the biggest and most important one
Improved Safety
Many professional players are used to playing for high stakes and carrying around large sums of money. This represents a substantial risk as having thousands on your person does make you an appealing mark for the criminals.
With online casinos, this concern is removed completely. You never have to move any cash as all transactions happen through electronic means. While this way of moving money around does come with certain risks as well, these are much easier to anticipate and protect against than a random person deciding to mug you at a dark parking lot at 2 AM.
Better Selection of Games & Stakes
Not everyone has access to large, Vegas-style casinos filled with hundreds of slots machines and dozens of tables. Most local casinos are quite limited in terms of what they can actually offer and quite frequently, some of the games where players can find an actual edge aren’t available.
Online casinos usually don’t have these limitations. Many of the top casino sites feature every game you can imagine and these days you can even play live games over the internet. On top of this, online casinos usually offer much versatility in terms of stakes and will let you place much bigger bets than many brick and mortar establishments.
More Valuable Bonuses
Live casinos are mostly geared towards providing players with fun stuff – drinks, meals, show tickets, etc. While this is all good and nice, that’s not what professional gamblers are interested in. They prefer cash bonuses that can boost their chances of winning. Online casinos, since they can’t provide any of the tangible perks, are thus a much better option as many of them offer sizeable cash bonuses, cashbacks, etc.
Better Accessibility
You can play at an online casino whenever you feel like it. In this day and age, almost all gambling sites are available via computers, mobile phones, tablets, and other electronic devices. So, you’re not restricted in terms of when you can play and there is no potentially long trip to and back from the casino.
Online casinos also operate around the clock without any slowing down. Many brick and mortar venues will only pick up action during evening hours and might even close down for the day at a certain point. For a professional player who has a certain strategy to work with, all of these factors can be quite inconvenient, so online casinos represent a much better alternative.
Avoiding Crowds & Staying Focused
Once again, casual players look to have fun, so they don’t mind all the laughing and shouting happening around them in a live casino. In fact, they might even enjoy it. However, professional players prefer to stay focused on the task at hand and avoid all distractions. Online casinos offer such an environment as they can play on their own and completely focus on the games.
Better Odds & RTP
Online casinos and betting sites tend to offer much better odds and lines overall. Land based establishments have to deal with many costs that force them to make their games “tighter”. Online venues can run their operations without many of those costs, which gives them more wiggle room to improve payouts on their slots, offer better odds for their bets, etc.
Easier Money Management
Even professional players can get carried away in a casino, that’s just the human nature. Losing more money than you wanted does happen when you gamble. Online casinos provide better systems for money management, including self-enacted restrictions on deposits and losses. This is very important for professional players as it helps them keep their bankroll healthy enough to come back the next day and do their thing.