I have been a professional gambler for the last 6 years. My gambling consists of blackjack, sports betting, sports trading, stock and forex trading and online poker. December was full of online poker just like November but other than that, I did not risk my money either in any financial markets or in any betting market. Still, December was my best month ever in my gambling career. Online poker was indeed quite profitable for me this month and I think it will continue to be in 2010.

As a professional gambler for more than 5 years I have realized that you need a well organized and full of space working office. You need a reliable computer setup, a well positioned monitor setup, useful peripherals and a comfortable chair. The working office will help you make more money than a simple desk, a monitor and a hard chair, simply because a professional gambler needs to sit in front of the computer screen for many hours during the day and needs a welcome office. The multi-monitor setup will also help to arrange many windows as it is necessary for profitable online trading, playing online poker or writing articles in blogs, just like this one!

It is Tetris' birthday today and I spent some time reading about the video game in the Wikipedia page. It appears that this popular video game is responsible for the Tetris effect. This effect is about dreaming Tetris shapes when drifting off to sleep, or seeing images of falling Tetris shapes at the edges of the players' visual fields or when they close their eyes. When I read that, I immediately compared the Tetris effect with the effect I have as a professional gambler, dreaming of playing cards and decks when I used to play blackjack in the casinos, dreaming of poker tables after long online poker sessions and seeing images of blue and purple squares after extensive trading in Betfair. I believe many online gamblers have witnessed some of those effects at some point in their lives. People can be easily obsessed with their work or hobby but I don't think it is actually a disadvantage. In all honesty, I believe it is a gift.

It is bragging time! If you have read the about me page, you should know that online gambling in the form of Betfair trading has already bought me a Mercedes SLK back in 2005. 4 years later online poker is buying me a new BMW X6! Can online gambling become profitable, given that you take it seriously? I guess it can.

Professional gambling is a stressful occupation that needs some time off. Vacations though is an unknown word for most of the professional gamblers. They rarely do go on holidays and when they do, they usually combine their traveling with some sort of gambling, such as a casino resort. Not being a gambling addict I decided to stop gambling for a week and visited Skyros island in Greece, entirely neglecting my gambling duties!

Being a professional gambler for the past 5 years, I have played both blackjack and online poker to make a living. Both card games require mathematical knowledge and strict discipline in order to make money in the long run. Although both blackjack and online poker are beatable, many professional gamblers are playing online poker nowadays without even leaving home and without worrying about having problems when they win!

Commentator Joe Saumarez-Smith of Bloomberg recently published an article in which he calls for a legalized online sports betting industry. There have been several arguments made for internet gambling that its tax revenue would help flourish the economy. Saumarez-Smith, however, has argued that the "National Football League is missing out on the Super Bowl."

DailyDonkey.com wanted some interviews of professional gamblers for their blog. That's why the former Marketing Director of Betdaq, Mark McGuinness, contacted me back in July '08 and interviewed me but the interview was never published. I decided to post it today in my gambling blog thinking my blog readers would find it interesting.

The million dollar question for every professional gambler: How much has he made this year? Professional gambling means nothing if we don't talk about wins and losses, profit and damage. On the other hand, professional gambling is more than making money, more than making a living. It's about dealing with decisions every day, handling the pressure and discovering yourself.

Yes, you can make a living either from online betting, trading, playing blackjack or poker. At least those are my fields of expertise and I am sure they are profitable. But don’t just take my word for it. There are proof all over internet that successful professional gamblers do exist and prosper. You may find stories of success in gambling in forums, blogs or personal sites and most of their authors are willing to help you in your first steps into successful gambling.