Gambling for profit is not a hopeless cause, as many might believe or debate, but it does have one simple requirement – gaining the advantage.  Casinos and gambling houses gain and maintain this advantage through the games they offer, the odds they pay, and/or the cost to play each game.  Professional gamblers gain this advantage over time with practice, observation, skill, and strategy.  So how does the average gambler gain the advantage when he/she can neither manipulate the house rules nor has the experience of a professional?  Any player, in any contest, can increase his/her advantage simply by minimizing the advantage of their opponent.  Depending on the contest, and/or your opponent, you may never gain a complete advantage; this is especially true in gambling.  However, minimizing your opponent's advantage (whether your opponent is the casino or another player) is always your best tactic and gives you the best chance when you are gambling for profit.

Gaining the advantage is the simple theory behind gambling for profit, but it is not an effortless task to accomplish.  In its simplest terms, every form of gambling requires a combination of skill and luck, whether you are betting on the flip of a coin or playing in the richest poker tournament in the world.  The percentage or combination of skill versus luck may be different in each case, but both aspects of gambling are constantly present.  Obviously, there isn't much a gambler can do about the "luck factor" in any game they play (that is, after all, why they call it gambling).  However, the skill factor is the part of the game a gambler can control.  The two most basic areas in which any gambler can improve his/her skills in any game are these:

1) Education, knowledge, and complete understanding of all the rules of the game at hand.
2) Developing sound game strategies for his/her skill level.

Any type of gambling without a solid foundation of these two concepts can cause a player to go from being successful to becoming "dead money" (money easily taken by the other players).  In the poker culture, this player is known as a "fish" (i.e. in a barrel).  There's a saying – after playing at a poker table for thirty minutes, if you haven't figured out who the "fish" is yet, you're it.

Gambling for profit is what casinos and gambling houses do every time they open their doors.  Otherwise, they could not and would not stay open.  Professional gamblers enter every game they play with the idea of gambling for profit.  This is how they pay their bills and feed their families.  However, even if you're not a casino owner like Donald Trump or Steve Wynn, or make your livelihood at the tables like Doyle Brunson or Phil Hellmuth, your goal in whatever game you play should be gambling for profit.

I've been gambling for profit for over 20 years.  I'm not a professional and I don't own any casinos.  I'm simply an avid gambler who gambles as often as possible, in a wide variety of games, formats, and venues; but only when my other responsibilities and priorities allow.  I do not consider myself an EXPERT gambler (I'm not even sure that term truly exists), but I do consider myself a VERY EXPERIENCED, EDUCATED, and RESPONSIBLE gambler.  I built this site to help other gamblers build the two basic areas (mentioned above) needed to gain the advantage and increase their potential for success when gambling for profit.