54603
X is never going to start a journal of his own, and I don’t feel like posting. I have two emails that he wrote to me about gambling sometime over the course of our email wooing and courtship. I thought it would explain some things, and make us sound less kooky. Although there’s something to be said about being percieved as kooky.
Here’s the first one.
Sometime during my senior year at (University of Illinois) Urbana, a friend suggested that a weekly poker game would be fun. Five or six of us played $1 limit every week and pretty soon I was making enough to pay rent. I went to the riverboat casinos a couple of times to play at a bigger limit. I also studied up on the game a bit. By the time I graduated I was really disillusioned with environmental engineering as a career. My friend Robbie, her boyfriend, and my friend Kirsten were living in a two-bedroom apartment in Boulder, CO at the time. I found out that Colorado had casinos and poker, so I decided to make a go of being a professional poker player. I came to Boulder with $500 and a Ford Tempo and moved in with Robbie et al. Predictably, my car broke down and I went broke. I can’t remember if I told you anything about those living arrangements, but it was mostly a nightmarish time.
I got a job helping a nice couple who were escaping Corporate America to
open a chain of Mail Boxes Etc. It was an alright job. Most of the time I
was alone in the store, which was walking distance from the apartment. I
saved some money, read everything I could about poker, and played at the
casinos after work. After 6-7 months at Mail Boxes Etc., I quit and
started playing poker full time. I played poker exclusively for about five
years. Like most poker players, I was pretty closed minded and believed
that poker was the only decent way to make money in a casino. I was aware
that some money could be made at higher limit blackjack and in certain
video poker games, but I didn’t consider those worthwhile pursuits.
Sometime about five years ago, I noticed the dealers practicing a new table
game (those games other than blackjack located in the blackjack pit) that
would be opening in a few days. Out of curiosity, I took a look. I
couldn’t believe what I saw. It was obvious after just a glance that the
player, not the casino, would have a sizable edge even with a simple
strategy. I went home not believing that they would actually open this
game up, but wanting to be prepared if they did. I wrote a program to
simulate the game and produce a perfect strategy table. When I showed up
on that Monday, much to my amazement, they opened the game. I made almost
$10,000 in the nine days they left it open. It was a freak occurrence, to
be sure, but it opened my mind. I started looking at everything with a
fresh outlook, and opportunities were everywhere.
Another interesting thing happened. Word got around about what I did, and
one day the inventor of that game called me at home. He knew that I had
programmed a simulator and he wanted to hire me to fix his game. We also
ended up working on a couple of other games. By word of mouth I got some
other consulting jobs from two game inventors and one company. The money
was good, but it was starting to feel too much like a real job. It was
also a little too much sitting in front of the computer. I stopped
pursuing those jobs.
Over the last five years, I found three more table games that were
seriously flawed. One was even more valuable than the first. There are a
couple right now that I know are beatable, but they require much effort,
and I’m not sure if they’re worth it. So, when not exploiting a flawed
table game, I’m usually playing a lot of video poker at or above 100%
during promotions that allow me to win many drawings. Sometimes I play
video poker with large progressive jackpots. Sometimes blackjack. There
are some slot machines with bonus features that build up before they hit
and carry over from player to player. These can be pretty profitable,
too. I’m sure I will go back to poker from time to time. Especially on
the road. It’s a good constant to fall back on, but I much prefer to win
money from casino corporations than random strangers.
Wow, I bet this was way more than you needed to know about my gambling.
Tags: