Hi Rolly,
Sorry to hear about your recent loss of employment. I work full time and have played poker at a semi-pro level for 7 years. If you really want to make money gambling you will have to develope skill in one of these 4 games. Poker, Blackjack, sports, or horse racing.
To be honest no one plays roulette, craps, or any other casino game (except blackjack) professionally because of the house edge. Gambling is best done for recreation. If you really want to make money, stock trading has a shorter learning curve.
I know many professional poker players, 2 professional sports players but I don’t know any pro blackjack players or handycappers. Blackjack is more difficult than it used to be and it can’t be played profitably online because the deck is shuffled every hand. Horseracing requires an understanding of horses and odds. Professional handycappers will bet on very few races because the payouts will often not justifiy the risk. Most tracks take 13 dollars for every hundred bet on a horse to win so a person needs a high win ratio to overcome such a disadvantage. If you know a lot about one sport you can try to make money using that knowledge.
Poker is easily accessable online and live. Almost everyone who plays it thinks that they are good but few people understand the importance of money management and record keeping. If you don’t already know how to play, then play for free online before commiting any money. Your local library will have many books on the subject - read them all (and then reread them). Most poker pros make the majority of their money from new players, they will be waiting for you. Playing tournaments online gives you a reasonably good chance to make a large sum of money in a short period of time. Many new players start this way.
You may want to maintain a part time job until you develop your skills.
You can learn alot more at my site
Craps Forum
