Going Pro: The Other Side

[Python49]

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OK, lets review....

"Do a search for the last name "Kim" first name "Edwin"."
--nice, give a guys full name and what jail you can find him in. That's what friends are for, right?

"I paid for his entire weekend at a cost of $200. That night when we get back to Seattle, he tries to play me heads up for the money he owes me. This is when I realize what a bad player he actually is (going all in many times on inside straight draws, or just with Ace high), and also how degenerate of a gambler he has become. "

-wow what a great, great friend....

"The only reason I'm posting this now, is because after another 10 months he is calling me again. "

-great friend indeed

"I know, petty crimes, but he was never "connected" to do other criminal-money making activities, so I think this is the best he came up with.

As for me, I graduated last year, played poker part time the whole way through (and still do today) and now use poker to supplement my income."

-this is the equivalent of stepping on your "friends" neck while showing everyone your big muscles at the same time. You call him an idiot and yourself a genius in one fell swoop. Well done.


So, there you go.

Unctuous: Having the quality or characteristics of oil or ointment; slippery.

And I don't get the 'sour grapes' tie-in. Why would I be sour because he pats his own back the entire post while ridiculing his 'friend' at the same time?

Maybe he should go SEE his 'friend' in jail. Oh right, they haven't spoken in a year now.

Maybe a Christmas card will be more appropriate....

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just stfu idiot... theres always someone trying to find something to flame about.

[SheetWise]

I read it same way as 27offsuit.

What was the OPs point?

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The only reason he's in this position is because of poker and how he thought he could consistently beat the game and survive.

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That's a weird conclusion. It could have been alcohol, drugs, girls, or any number of other issues he was dealing with -- how he dealt with it revealed his character. Poker had little or nothing to do with where he ended up -- if not poker, it would have been something else.

If he was a friend, he would simply take the call. But he's not a friend. He's here posting names and hearsay.

[beekeeper]

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Unctuous: Having the quality or characteristics of oil or ointment; slippery.

And I don't get the 'sour grapes' tie-in. Why would I be sour because he pats his own back the entire post while ridiculing his 'friend' at the same time?



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wow...wow

I'll try not to be so flip this time. I think you were too hard on the poster. I think you didn't put his comments into context with regard to his intent. He was addressing his comments to all the recent posts about "wondering whether to go pro." I agree with you that it was not good for him to give his friend's name, but otherwise, I think you can read everything else he said as directed towards others considering going pro, and in that sense it is thougthful.

You do know the definition of "unctuous," but I would argue that you don't know how to use it appropriately. "Unctuous" refers to a manner of presentation, not to content (think of a salesman); it's not appropriate usage to characterize what someone says, but how he says it.

By "sour grapes" I was trying to imply that maybe you were one of the people who wanted to go pro and didn't like the truth of what the poster had to say.

In retrospect, I wish I hadn't been personal in my remarks, but you were so aggressively personal against the poster, that I ripped off a petty reply. Two wrongs don't make a right, so sorry for my personal attack.

[Supersetoy]

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Your post reads as smug, smarmy, unctuous and self-important. I can't believe no one has mentioned that yet.

You should post bail, you deserve it.

Good DAYSIR!

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This is ridiculous. Also, you obviously don't know what unctuous means. Get a dictionary and a clue. His post was thoughtful and well-intentioned. Yours sounds like sour grapes.

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OK, lets review....

"Do a search for the last name "Kim" first name "Edwin"."
--nice, give a guys full name and what jail you can find him in. That's what friends are for, right?

"I paid for his entire weekend at a cost of $200. That night when we get back to Seattle, he tries to play me heads up for the money he owes me. This is when I realize what a bad player he actually is (going all in many times on inside straight draws, or just with Ace high), and also how degenerate of a gambler he has become. "

-wow what a great, great friend....

"The only reason I'm posting this now, is because after another 10 months he is calling me again. "

-great friend indeed

"I know, petty crimes, but he was never "connected" to do other criminal-money making activities, so I think this is the best he came up with.

As for me, I graduated last year, played poker part time the whole way through (and still do today) and now use poker to supplement my income."

-this is the equivalent of stepping on your "friends" neck while showing everyone your big muscles at the same time. You call him an idiot and yourself a genius in one fell swoop. Well done.


So, there you go.

Unctuous: Having the quality or characteristics of oil or ointment; slippery.

And I don't get the 'sour grapes' tie-in. Why would I be sour because he pats his own back the entire post while ridiculing his 'friend' at the same time?

Maybe he should go SEE his 'friend' in jail. Oh right, they haven't spoken in a year now.

Maybe a Christmas card will be more appropriate....

[/ QUOTE ]

He's an idiot. I still consider him my friend because we KNEW each other. We parted ways, went down separate paths, and now he's asking for my help (and a few of my friends). His bail is $5500. There's no way we're posting that for him.

I wasn't the one who offered up the heads up play. Obviously we're both big in to poker, and I can spare $200 to lose to him heads up. I know where the money went anyway. I was giving him the chance to play for his trip for free against me with my own money.

You can look at it this way: I knew him for about 4 years. Over the past year and a half we lost touch. He wasn't even able to afford a cell phone, let alone transportation. Let me ask you this: How do you keep in touch with someone that has no permanent residence, is avoiding you because they owe you and your friends money, and has no way of reaching you other than walking over to your place and hoping you're home? Could you remain "friends" with this person? Last I recall, to be "friends" with someone takes a concerted effort by BOTH parties. But let me guess, you let your friends walk all over you by lending them money and posting thousands of dollars of bail for them correct?

I guess I should've written "We were friends, he's no longer my friend, but is now calling me for help." Does that make you feel better?

My whole point of the story was to show what CAN happen (although EXTREMELY rare) if you drop out of college and decide to go pro. I included his name and the jail search in my post for the disbelievers. (I've noticed there are plenty of skeptics on this board, and have found myself questioning whether or not certain posters are lying).

And yes, great, I step on his neck and flex my muscles at the same time. Woohoo for me. Here's the latest update: The next time we can see him (my ex-roomate and I who were his "closest friends" throughout college) is on Sunday. I don't know of ONE other person in this WORLD who would go see him or talk to him. Not even his parents. But I apologize if writing that he is my "friend" is so offensive to you.

We're not going to post his bail, but hopefully we can talk to him...maybe get through to him. We will see.

[Supersetoy]

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If he was a friend, he would simply take the call. But he's not a friend. He's here posting names and hearsay.

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Refer to the post above ^^, and just as I stated before, how much have your "friends" cost you in bail?

Maybe I should go back and change "friend" to "acquaintance" in my original post. Christ.

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The only reason he's in this position is because of poker and how he thought he could consistently beat the game and survive.

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That's a weird conclusion.

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That's a completely wrong conclusion - but I suspect it's the conclusion that makes for the cleanest closure.

[SNOWBALL138]

I doubt that most people would respond this way to going broke. However, thats not to say that there isn't a good message to the story you posted. Next time, you should probably keep your friend's last name confidential. I certainly wouldn't appreciate getting talked about in a public forum.

[Klepton]

bike joke.

[Al Schoonmaker]

I have never heard of an inpatient program for gambling addiction. If anyone knows of one, I would appreciate a PM.

This story is extreme, but less extreme versions of it occur frequently. I am very troubled by the number of young people who want to drop out of college or actually do it to play poker. If you want to take a shot at being a pro, get your degree first so that you have something to fall back on if it does not work out.

I tend to agree with the people who say his problem is more gambling addiction than poker. If he plays as badly as the OP described, he shouldn't play at all, much less as a pro.

I agree with the person who said that the OP should not post his bail. Doing so would be what is called "enabling." An enabler helps an addict (of any type) to escape from some of the consequences of his addiction. Enablers are NOT doing the addicts a favor. On the contrary, they are preventing them from getting the help they need.

I am not qualified to suggest a treatment program, but I do encourage the OP to contact GA and/or specialists in pathological gambling.

This young man has damaged his life, but he is still young. Many young people get back on track with the right kind of help. I hope he makes it.

Thanks to all of you for contributing to this very important thread.

Regards,

Al

[pzhon]

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All they ever talk about is how great the poker boom is for everybody, when in reality it only benefits casinos and an extremely small precent of the poker playing population.

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Poker is also tremendously entertaining for most losing players.