I'm a physician and that's all we do (spoiler alert, we are all gamblers in the medical game - first we try not to hurt someone, and then we take our best guess as to what will do the most good while minimizing the downside), it's just in a different form. 

Surely all CA investors are gamblers betting on appreciation, since there is no such thing as cash flow over here. 

There is an option to purchase further education to the tune of 5 digits but for that they say ProSource has bought 70 million of tax liens from the secondary market just this year (hedge fund gamblers u loading before redemption period expires?)

You have to keep in mind most of the people that lost investment properties in the last downturn were risk takers and gamblers who lost that bet, Some blame the banks who gave them risky loans that they actually asked for, others had no idea what they were doing and shouldn't have been investing but did because it was the trendy thing to do.We all see several post on BP every day with captions like "I have a deal under contract/or purchased, Is this a good deal?".

Getting a real estate license to be an investor is like becoming a casino dealer in hopes of becoming a better gambler.

If the property has zero equity, likely due to some senior lien holder like a mortgage, then putting the repairs into the property to only receive say $1,000 in rent each month is a pretty high gamble.  Rent

One of the biggest things to remember about any of these forums is that dealing with investors is a lot like talking to gamblers....they all with talk about their "big" wins but you don't hear much about all of the losses.  

I know a lot of people beat up on Detroit here, but having friends in Royal Oak and spending time there and other places near Detroit, you won't hear any of that from me.It is fascinating that you were a pro online gambler.

Like any lever, it can exert force in two directions, upending the investor/gambler’s best-laid schemes.

And I am a huge gambler so you should probably run.....