Similarities/Differences between Poker/Sports betting

PatsFan1283 · Apr 24, 2011

I know most of you on this forum do both and I just wanted to hear some comparing and contrasting on the two.

btw happy easter to all you easter loves out there...

HacheMan · Apr 24, 2011

Poker takes a much more patient, laid-back player, which would be the main difference in my opinion.

Both poker and sports-betting are based on numbers, which is a similarity.

Many more comparisons others will come up with...

Fishhead · Apr 24, 2011

Both require tremendous discipline of which the vast majority that participate in these activities cannot produce on a consistant basis.....................

VegasVic · Apr 24, 2011

Getting correct odds. +EV, appropriate return on investment, or however you want to put it into words. You must get correct pot odds, (or implied), for long term success in poker. Accordingly, you must get value in the line to have long term success in sports betting.

doubledeuce22 · Apr 24, 2011

it seems to me that 'value' is more perception (often someone justifying a bet) in sports, and 'pot odds' is more of a mathematical fact.

FairWarning · Apr 24, 2011

Fishhead said:
Both require tremendous discipline of which the vast majority that participate in these activities cannot produce on a consistant basis.....................

Very true. Most of the people who beat the books do not possess the discipline with money.

PatsFan1283 · Apr 24, 2011

1 big difference I see is that sports you are at the mercy of the schedule. If you are a legit bettor obviously you are picking your spots and can only bet so much and the seasons are only so long for the sport(s) you specialize in. Whereas in poker you can pretty much play whenever if you want and as long as you have an Ev it basically just matters how much time you put in.

Say you bet 60 NFL games and go 25-35 even though you are a longterm 54% bettor. Well, no more bets for 8 months....

oldmanTED · Apr 24, 2011

One major difference. In sports betting, you are handicapping what others may do and you have no control. In poker, you not only have control of your own play but you are using that against other players and their level of ability.

PatsFan1283 · Apr 24, 2011

Obviously both are -Ev in nature (-110 and rake having to be overcome) which must be beat just to get even.

If it did became fed regulated in US i could see the rakeback they give going up based on legit competition. Those online poker rooms have huge profit margins regardless...

Kettch · Apr 25, 2011

oldmanTED said:
One major difference. In sports betting, you are handicapping what others may do and you have no control. In poker, you not only have control of your own play but you are using that against other players and their level of ability.

But on the other hand, you do not control what cards get dealt in poker (at least on the Omaha/Texas/Draw varieties).