I dunno…going on a shopping spree with the casino’s money feels pretty darn good lol
We had several friends who played a lot of online poker and some were incredibly successful. We just assumed that he either had money online or came from a family with money or something. I personally had friends win hundreds of thousands in online tournaments…it didn’t seem quite as completely preposterous at the time that he might have a bunch of money somehow…Where in the hell do college kids get that kind of disposable income?? Trust funds, or what?
Student loans!Where in the hell do college kids get that kind of disposable income?? Trust funds, or what?
You better be sorry, now my goddamned daydream is wrong now. I gotta start from the beginning.Edited the story above, I realized that I won the 10k in Vegas, not at Greektown as I originally stated. The 30k at Greektown and the 145k at MGM both were accurate, but after posting, I realized that I misspoke about how I got the 10k originally. Sorry!!
This story is the definition of "off the rails"Story Six: The first time and last time a game ever really got out of hand
This story sucks. I feel icky, naive, dumb, and a bunch of other negative adjectives just thinking about it, and especially reliving it and writing it out. But it was part of my journey and a truly pivotal lesson in my gambling backstory.
I had played poker all my life, and up through high school, it was almost exclusively cash games where you’d pay as you bought chips. (This was before PayPal or Venmo was the norm.) Ran out of money? A friend may loan you a little, but there was no book or anything. Basically most times if you ran out of cash, you retired for the night.
In college, when we were playing with the same players every few days, we were ok carrying small balances here and there. We were mostly playing $1/$2 in dorms and at guys’ houses, and could win or lose a few hundred bucks. Never anything super crazy, but still a lot of money, especially to a bunch of relatively broke college students.
As games have a tendency to do over time, our game crept up. We sometimes would play $1/$2/$3 blinds, or even $2/$2/$5 occasionally with the right lineup. Balances were getting into the thousands, but we never had a worry since we all were friends and no one ever welched on a debt.
The summer between my sophomore and junior year, some of the regular players went back home to wherever they came from, and we found other players (friends from high school mostly) who’d fill in. We’d play a couple times a week, and never had a problem.
But the games were getting bigger, and one week in particular, things got crazy.
It was early August when I hosted a small game at my parents’ house (they were out of town, so having the house to myself, I figured cards were a great way to spend a night). One of my high school friends (we’ll call him “S”) played in several of our games, and brought a guest (we’ll call the guest “R”). I had known S for over ten years and he was always good for his debts, so when he vouched for R, we figured all was good.
S ended up winning a little, R ended up losing a little, players got paid out at end of the night, and R ended up owing S a couple hundred bucks or so. OK, nothing out of the ordinary so far.
Except R really wanted to play again, and soon. I made some calls and we got a game going the next night. Pretty much the same lineup but we added in another player or two. Again, nothing out of the ordinary.
But as we started to play, the game was bigger. Preflop raises weren’t 3-4x anymore, they were 10-15x. We had all-ins seemingly every other hand. And due to the speed of how fast chips were needed, we stopped collecting cash and just starting writing down who owes what. R was pushing the action hard. Stacks were getting deep, and I decided I was going to buy in larger. I was already in for about two grand when I lost an all-in, and decided to pull out a thousand in chips. Guys were giving me crap, starting to call it “monopoly money,” but I assured them I could pay every cent I’d owe at the end of the night (which still at this point was true).
Luckily within a few orbits I was not only even, I was back up a little. I tightened up a bit, figuring the game would break soon since it was later in the night.
We played for about an hour more, but the game felt different. It felt as if some of these guys didn’t believe they’d ever need to actually pay for the chips they had bought.
S and R were both in for a few thousand when the game broke. They protested adamantly, but the other players, including myself, called it quits.
S and R didn’t have enough on them to pay, but assured the table they’d bring cash to square things up. One guy (we’ll call him “J”) who also went to high school with S, ended up being owed the full outstanding balance. He was a little uneasy but mostly just excited about how much he had won, and was confident he’d be made whole.
We went to bed around 2 or 3am, and sure enough, next morning I’m getting calls from S and R that they want to play some more. I told them that I wasn’t sure I could get a game since they owed so much already.
Both guys told me that if we could get a game together, they’d bring cash to square up their debts. So again, I start calling around, get a group of about 7 of us, including J (who was eager to collect his winnings from the previous night).
*I feel like it’s important to clarify a couple things. This was a pass the deal game with no rake or anything. Sure the game was at my house and I played the role of banker for these nights, but the game often rotated, and we all believed were all gatekeepers of the game. I never felt it was my duty to cut a player off as I wasn’t intimately aware of their financial situations, so we trusted players to cut themselves off, and traditionally the table would speak up if we felt truly uncomfortable with someone getting more chips.
So now we begin night three. S and R show up with cash. But not enough. I don’t remember the exact amount they owed, but it was something like $8k collectively, and they showed up with $2k.
In hindsight we should have stopped right there. But they wanted to play, swore they had more money, and J was happy to collect the couple thousand these guys had on them and float the rest of what he was owed. Some of the other players were uneasy with the situation, but since we were already all together, we figured we’d play.
I’m sure you know where this is going…it was a train wreck. The game was playing huge right from the rip. Within an hour or two, I was in for around $10k (which admittedly I COULDN’T cover in full that night), as was S. But we both were up a bit. Several of the other players quit, realizing this game was off the rails.
R was in deep. Over $30k.
And he had just went bust, wanting to rebuy for another $10k, swearing that he had the money.
I pulled J aside and told him that I was ready to quit until R made good on what he owed currently. J agreed. I vocalized my stance and started racking up my chips.
S spoke up, doubling down on vouching for R. After a little back and forth, J felt like that was good enough for him to keep playing. So I sat back down, as did one other player (he’s irrelevant to the story other than just the detail that it was 5 handed). I told everyone at the table that I’m uncomfortable with what’s going on, but if they want to keep playing, I’d sit back down, but I’m washing my hands of any financial responsibility other than my own. At that point I basically checked out of the game and folded almost every hand pre.
R went in deeper and deeper. I hadn’t seen anything like it. Miraculously he ended up making some small comebacks and almost got back to even in an absolutely insane hand where J had pocket J’s and R had AsQs. The board came out Ks, Js, 10s, and the turn was another jack (if I didn’t deal it personally, I would have sworn it was a set up).
But none of it mattered. R punted it all back. By the end of the night, R was in a couple hundred thousand. His speech changed from “I have the money” to talking about how he’s going to have to sell his house to pay this off. He was dejected and on the verge of tears. As the dust settled, we realized this guy had just ruined his life, and we all started feeling guilty that we played a part in it.
When all was said and done, S won around $50k, I lost a couple thousand, and J won the rest. Around $200k or something insane.
Again, in hindsight I know this was clearly extremely stupid. But when it’s your first time dealing with something like this and you trust your friends, you can’t fathom a situation where a friend would screw you or where they’d act in such destructive ways. I was raised that if you owe someone something, you make good on it. Or at least do your best to rectify the situation so that all involved are content. And up to this point, the guys I played with seemed to believe the same thing.
The game broke around 8am when some of the players had to go to work. S and R said they’d give me a call in a day or so after getting some sleep.
Funny enough, S was in touch soon after, but only to try to collect the couple thousand that I had lost. I was flabbergasted. I told him I was giving my losses to J, and that he could collect from R. I also told him that since he vouched for R, it was his obligation to make sure J got made whole first before he got paid. He tried to back out of vouching for R, but I told him that was simply unacceptable. R never responded to me. Never answered my calls. Several of us left voicemails and gave messages for S to pass along. We even tried offering a deal where he’d just need to pay 10% of his losses (J was obviously disappointed, but still happy to be getting over $20k)….R still never responded. S eventually went dark too.
In the end, I gave J about $10k out of my own pocket over the next couple of years. J and I are still friends now, but I’ll never forget this experience.
Gambling is weird. I’ve met some really great, standup people because of gambling. I’ve also experienced some of the scummiest filth ever. I don’t think R was/is a bad guy (not even sure if he’s alive anymore). But he was blinded by the dollar signs in his eyes, and none of us stepped in to stop him. Had he been one of the regulars or a close friend, I don’t think I would have hesitated to speak up. But it doesn’t matter now. It took me years to realize my role and responsibility in this story. Not just to my friends/players around the table, but to R and to myself.
Less than a year later, there was one other night where things started to go off the rails, but I stopped the game almost immediately. It sucks cutting people off when everyone is having a seemingly good time, and especially when you think you can make a lot of money in a given night. But I wasn’t going to let it happen again.
Since then, I’ve seen guys get hurt gambling and destroy their lives. I’ve seen them do illegal things to make good on debts, and then to just keep gambling.
I know there’s people out there who can keep it healthy, but unfortunately the destructive ones blend in pretty easily. And without knowing each others’ limits, it’s hard to differentiate who’s who.
Thanks for letting me relive this one. Luckily it didn’t end in violence or anything truly long lasting, but it’s still a powerful lesson. And one I’ll never forget.
Till next time…
Fuck I’m jealous ! Congrats on the heater . I hope story #8 you didn’t give it up lolEdited the story above, I realized that I won the 10k in Vegas, not at Greektown as I originally stated. The 30k at Greektown and the 145k at MGM both were accurate, but after posting, I realized that I misspoke about how I got the 10k originally. Sorry!!
Standard Greektown.I ask the dealer, and he dismisses me and assures me it’s right. I explain to him that I started the hand with over $2,500 and my opponent had me covered. I should have over $5k. Again, dealer tells me I’m wrong.
I call the floor over. They don’t care. I beg them to watch the tapes and stop the guy before he cashes out. They don’t. They never checked the tapes, they never stopped the guy. Dealer just kept dealing as if I wasn’t talking at all.
Man I had the same experienceWatches. I already wrote about winning a Rolex (Sea Dweller) from Planet Hollywood
Couldn't have said it any better.it sure is fun shopping with won money.
Excuse me, It's spelled bettor......I’m engaged now myself and grounded I guess you can say ! I do miss the days of being single and gambling and going to the casino with the boys!!! But I also tell you I don’t miss losing which happened more often than none. I do gamble but not as much before and tell you the truth…ITS FOR THE BETTER!!!
When you're strong, act weak. You should know this.Brian starts back peddling a little, saying things like how he hasn’t played in a while
At 25 I didn’t know much…When you're strong, act weak. You should know this.
It's okay. I'm 53 and don't know much.At 25 I didn’t know much…
Damn… seems like one of those big fish small pond kind of things.Story nine: betting $10k on a game of Tecmo Super Bowl
I honestly forgot about it until my buddies and I were talking about it yesterday.
Roughly from the age of like 9 to the age of 20, I played a lot of Tecmo Super Bowl. I would the play solo season mode and win without any trouble. I’d purposely pick the worst teams or put in back ups to challenge myself but overall was still winning. I could beat my friends fairly easily and in general, thought I was a really good player.
In college I still played occasionally, but not as often. Instead I traded my love of video game consoles for my love of gaming PCs, poker, and my girlfriend (now wife). But one night, I was playing poker with some new friends, and got onto the topic of Tecmo Super Bowl, and one of my new college buddies, Tom, says we should play…he wasn’t overly cocky or rude, but pretty confident, and me being a young male and exuding ego felt like it would be fun to put a little wager on the game.
I honestly don’t remember how much we bet. It was like $20 or something.
I don’t think I had ever lost as badly at anything in my life as I just lost this game.
Not only did I not score, I don’t think I even got to Tom’s side of the field. He was playing the game on such an incomprehensible level that I was just awestruck. He knew what plays I picked by the way my offense lined up. He knew which defenders to pick based on speed or what would most disrupt the play. It was embarrassing to feel so incredibly powerless playing a game I considered myself very good at.
It was a great lesson in false confidence and humility. And a phenomenal lesson in breaking glass ceilings of thinking/working/playing to get to higher levels that were previously inconceivable.
Fast forward about 5 years and I’m playing poker in some private games, chatting with these guys about various things, when the topic of Tecmo Super Bowl comes up. One guy at the table, Brian, who is a well known BSer, makes some comment about how he’s so good at the game and won some tournaments in high school or whatever. I think to myself, “this dude is so full of sh!t, I bet he ain’t seen anything like my other buddy”….
I gently say “oh, you’re really good, eh? My other buddy is really good too, we should get a game between you two and make some bets on the game!”
Brian starts back peddling a little, saying things like how he hasn’t played in a while, and I think I’ve lost him, when he says, “but yeah, I’d play him and I’ll bet whatever”….
Almost out of jest and before my brain could process what I was saying, I blurt out, “I’d bet like $10k my buddy would win” and just like that, it was booked. I still was sure Tom would win, so there was no problem…I mean, if I was so good at the game and lost, maybe my new buddy Brian lived in the same little delusional world that I once lived in before he met TOM THE TECMO SUPER BOWL TITAN!!
I won’t waste more of your time with build up. I called up Tom, now living in Cinci, we picked a time and place, and got the game going before one of our card games up here in Cleveland. The contenders picked their teams, picked their playbooks, and we just did a one game match that had several side bets riding on it, as well as my $10k wager with Brian.
From the first drive, it looked like this was going to be a battle. Two masters engaged in a battle on the digital, pixelated field.
But before by the end of the first quarter, it was evident that Brian was outplaying Tom. And as the second quarter went on, Brian was somehow getting better. Both these guys were playing on a level that I couldn’t conceive of. And they were sharing notes and discussing strategy mid-game with all the respect and joy of two phenoms of the craft. It was really a fun, awesome experience……
except I was losing $10k.
I don’t think Tom scored a touchdown in the second half. It was brutal. Tom felt horrible that he lost $10k for me, but I told him it was my fault. I’m the idiot who made the bet, I’m the one who put my money where my mouth was, and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.
I handled the loss with grace, but inside I was upset with myself and could only laugh. For the second time in a few years, this game taught me hugely valuable lessons and am incredibly grateful for it.
I just wish I had bet like $2k lol
Halo 1 came out right around my freshman year in college I think. I didn’t pay much attention to it because I was playing Counter Strike mostly. Eventually Halo 2 is what got me back into consoles, and eventually I did Gears and others as well. (My bachelor party was just a few of my closest friends playing Halo 2 over a LAN)…Lucky for me I knew I wasn’t very good these shooters…I could get hot, but I didn’t spend enough time to really know the maps, the weapons, etc. I just enjoyed the camaraderie and sh!t talking lolDamn… seems like one of those big fish small pond kind of things.
Reminds me of Halo (1) I thought I was really good, only know of one guy who could beat me and it was more like a 6-7/10 thing… I would probably bet he could beat most people (but not $10 k) lol
Also Gears of War (1), I used to dominate and was pretty confident I could out strafe most anyone until I met these professionals on game battles… the strategies and level of thinking/play was something I couldn’t conceive either ( I still had a better strafe though )
If any of you guys used to play, I’d love to know your gamer tag in case we’ve played together
Were any of you guys into Tribes? Grandaddy of most of those games I think.Halo 1 came out right around my freshman year in college I think. I didn’t pay much attention to it because I was playing Counter Strike mostly. Eventually Halo 2 is what got me back into consoles, and eventually I did Gears and others as well. (My bachelor party was just a few of my closest friends playing Halo 2 over a LAN)…Lucky for me I knew I wasn’t very good these shooters…I could get hot, but I didn’t spend enough time to really know the maps, the weapons, etc. I just enjoyed the camaraderie and sh!t talking lol
Surprise surprise, my gamertag is “TheJestyr”…I’ll message you and maybe we can get a game going sometime!!