If the house is favored in the long run how do pro gamblers make money?
In: Mathematics
They play games of much more skill, specifically poker and blackjack.
Starting with blackjack, if you are good at counting cards and in a group, you can turn the ~0.5% house edge into a ~0.5% edge for the player. You can then exploit that edge using multiple people to avoid detection. Note non of this is illegal, just casinos hate it.
Poker is a simpler ordeal, a casino will host a game and you have to pay to enter and then whoever wins get payouts. The payouts for a majority of people is less than the pay in, but the winners make a profit. You just have to be better than everyone else. My father plays online poker, and for the $12 entry games, and about 4000 participants, you will get paid a few thousand for winning, and rewards quickly drop off. You really have to be in the top 20 or so to make any real money.
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