~snip~
Being realistic will help you avoiding those self-claimed experts, but yeah I like that idea that after discussing things with a person who have that same interest will move you to follow what he thinks that the outcome will be, that shared knowledge can develop better overview of the possibilities,
though in gambling knowledge gives you an edge but it's more on luck that permits you to win, as even how huge the chances of winning of a certain heavy favorite but once the underdog outperformed them the outcome always gives decent to huge amount of benefits to those who entrust their fate with the underdog.
Though all the better, expert counsel is only one piece of the jigsaw. You have to question it, fight with it, toss it into the furnace and watch what survives. You arrive at the naked, unvarnished truth this way. Consider gambling. Although some claim it's all luck, come on; there is more involved than that. It's about man, human nature, the excitement of the unknown, the underdog battling the odds. That's the kind of things that make life worthwhile: the ambiguity, the anarchy. It's about the trip, the narrative, not about winning or losing.