Gambling has been around for ages and is continuing to grow each and every day. The gambling industry has seen growth year after year with casinos forming all over the country as more and more profits are realized. The truth is, the house usually always wins because the house always has mathematical advantages over its players. Individuals continue to bring money to the casino with hopes of winning because they see other people win money and they believe they too can also be a winner; this is what draws people to the casino. But while casinos always have an advantage over the masses certain individuals are winners because they stick to a strict set of rules and do not fall into the trap of the bright lights and the loud sounds of a casino. These players, known as professional casino players, are able to come out on top.

The number one thing that professional casino players do that separates them from all the other people that walk into a casino is that the professionals do not have any emotion involved. These professionals are those who walk away when they are losing and stay while they are hot. These professionals know the odds of winning and losing and do not fall into any traps. Professionals walk away from a day at the casino pleased every day because they know they stuck to their rules and did not let emotion take over, thus a winning day or a losing day has the same feeling.

The truth is the house always has the advantage, so when playing casino games it is important to never lose too much. This is where the professional casino players place what they call "stop losses" on every game they play. Let's look at blackjack as an example. The professional casino player realizes that the house always has roughly a 2%-3% advantage. He/she then decides how much money they are willing to wager and sets a ratio accordingly. Most professionals allow themselves a ratio of gain to loss and for this example the professional is allowing a 3 to 1 ratio. So for example, the player is wagering $100 and will allow a $30 gain and a $10 loss; this way the emotion is taken out of it. According to the house advantage, the player should win roughly 47% of the time so he will win slightly less than half the time. With a strict ration and stop loss in place the player will leave when the ranges are hit. With this strategy, if a player loses 7 out of 10 times on this ratio he/she is still a winner. If the casino player loses 7 out of 10 times he/she is still up 2%.

Online casino gambling has become very popular in recent years. Online casino gambling offers users access to online poker, casino games, and sports betting in real time. It is estimated that roughly 500,000 Americans participate in online poker each year with the number increasing rapidly. Online poker is a great way to gamble because the user is not playing again the house, rather he/she is gambling against other people. Good players and professional gamblers will certainty profit over the long term in online poker. Sports betting has also seen an increase in popularity and is growing at a 10% rate each year. Professional gamblers take a team strait up in sports better rather than by the points. The payout is less but the odds of winning are much greater.