Authors David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth
Synopsis of Gambling For a Living
Edward Raymond Miller (born August 10, 1979) is a professional poker player and an author of books about poker. He wrote Small Stakes Hold 'em: Winning Big With Expert Play with David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth in 2004. The Sklansky Groups This table comes from the book Hold'em Poker for Advanced Players by David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth.The Sklansky and Malmuth starting hands table groups together certain hands in Texas Hold'em based on their strength.
Is there really such a thing as a professional gambler? The answer is an unequivocal yes! The authors of this book are but two examples. The truth is that there are many thousands of people around the country who make a good living exclusively from gambling. It is not easy, but it can be done. The key idea is to understand which games are beatable and how to beat them. David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth have both spent many years writing about the finer points of poker, blackjack, and other beatable games. (As you will see in the book those other 'games' are horses, sports, progressive slots and video poker, casino tournaments, and special promotions.
They don't include craps, roulette, keno, or baccarat for reasons explained therein.) This book, however, was written for the not quite as experienced aspiring gambler. It shows you everything you need to learn and do if you want to gamble for a living both from the practical and the technical standpoint. The rest is up to you. (305 pages; ISBN 1-880685-16-7)
Excerpt from the Book Gambling For a Living: Half-Time Bets
Another opportunity for making money at sports involves what isknown as half-time bets. These are bets on the outcome of thesecond half only. They have become very popular in recent years,especially in the sports books of Nevada. They work like this:The bookie will put a line on most TV games as soon as the firsthalf ends. So you have about twenty minutes to make a decision.
There are two reasons why half-time lines can be easy to beatif you know your sports. The first is that the bookies have tomake the line on the spur of the moment. They don't have accessto the normal amount of research, and while they do have expertscoming up with that line, you may have noticed something whilewatching the game that those experts didn't.
The second reason why the half-time line could be profitablehas to do with the fact that, as usual, the bookies are out tobalance their books and thus normally try to put out a numberthat they think will get equal action. There will be many timeswhen the bookie will not put up what he thinks is the properline. He will put up the line that he thinks will split theaction. And for half-time bets that line could be far differentfrom the true line. This is the case because there areprospective hedgers out there who have made a bet on the game andnow want to guarantee a profit on the bet.
To understand, let's look at an example. Suppose Team A is a10-point favorite over Team B and at the half the score is B 10and A 3. The people who have bet on B are in great shape, butthey still could conceivably lose. At this point the book mightpost a half-time line making Team A somewhere around a 7-pointfavorite (for the second half only). There are a few reasons forthis. Presumably Team A is still the better team. If the 10-pointline is right it would seem that the half-time line should beabout 5. The fact that team A needs to win the second half bymore than 5 to win the game could be a justification for makingthe line higher. But the biggest reason the half-time number is 7could well be because the books know that they will get action onTeam A from those who bet on Team B at the beginning of the game!This is because some players will think that it is smart to'hedge.' By betting the opposite way at the half they can cutdown their loss to almost nothing regardless of the outcome. Atthe same time they will win both bets if Team A wins the secondhalf by more than 7 and less than 17.
The above scenario might indicate a profitable bet for youbecause there are times when Team A deserves to be nowhere near a7-point favorite. After all, they were outplayed in the firsthalf. An astute game watcher should be able to tell when this isthe case.
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Sklansky Malmuth Hand Groups
So what do you do? The answer should be obvious. You seriouslyconsider betting Team B. The bookie puts up a number knowing thateven though the number may be wrong he's going to get a lot ofpeople hedging to ensure a profit. You bet the opposite way ofthe hedgers because the number is inflated to charge the hedgersa maximum amount.*
Sklansky And Malmuth Starting Hands
*Needless to say you should never make bets justto hedge a previous bet. The side you bet on a half-time betshould never have any relation to where you stand on previousbets on the game. If you spot a good half-time bet you make itregardless if you're betting the same way as before the game ornot.
Sklansky Malmuth
From Gambling for a Living, by David Sklansky and MasonMalmuth. ©1997