One essential idea that professional gamblers use to beat the bookies is the idea of ‘Utility’.

The basis of this idea is that money is worth different things to different people.  For example, $100 is worth a lot more to a beggar than to a billionaire.

To most people a penny is not worth much, so there’s not much point playing for pennies. Why would put in many hours to make almost nothing?  On the other hand if you bet for stakes that are too high you could easily bankrupt yourself.

They key is to bet as much as you can, but with an eye on risk management; there is always a way to bet optimum sizes to maximise your chances of winning and eliminating the chances of going bankrupt.

Bankroll management is key, something that we’ll be coming back to.