Degen Stories....
11-17-2018
, 06:43 PM
11-21-2018
, 08:08 AM
Flushed
It was a grayish autumn Sunday afternoon in the poker boom days. Probably around 2006 or so. And for some reason (most likely alcoholism) me and a friend had decided to meet up at a central bar to drink wine. After all, alcoholism on a Sunday is a whole lot easier to justify when you are sipping on quite expensive wine at a fancy place instead of sitting at some local dive bar surrounded by slots and alconauts.
Anyway, we were sitting there, chatting and drinking. My friend had a strong degen gene in him during this time, he wasn´t a raging alcoholic like me, but the degen was quite strong in him anyway and he liked to drink and gamble. Not too such excess as I, but still. So, one bottle turned into two, and before you know it, we were three bottles deep.
"So, maybe we should head down to the poker club?", he suggested.
"I´d love to, man, but I´m out of cash. I have like 20 EUR to my name after we pay the bill", I answered, since one and a half bottle of wine at that time wasn´t enough to trigger Full Degen.
"I can lend you a buy-in ir two", he suggested, so we called a cab (because **** public transportation, even it it doesn´t save you any time).
---
"Come on, give me another buy-in, man", I was asking him after busting my second or third bullet.
"I´m starting to run out of cash", he answered. "Maybe just call it a night? I´ll buy you a drink."
"No, I am not that drunk, just give me one more chance to run it up again, be a sport!"
---
I am sitting on a stack of around 800 EUR. The game has nominal blinds of 0.5/0.5, however in reality it is usally at least double-straddled, and as the evening has moved on the stacks have gotten increasingly deep. I am quite drunk, though not too bad, after some rungood I have cut back on the pace of drinks. I could just cash out now, repay my friend and leave a 400 EUR winner - which would be quite nice considering I have 20-and-change in my wallet.
But no. How can I leave when I am winning? When the stacks are deep and the game is loose? I thrive on these games. They - together with a steady stream of delusional thought processes and alcoholic beverages - are what drag me through the swamp that is everyday life.
---
The Villain - two to my right, a guy in his 30´s, Middle Eastern look, awful player, gives off small-time gangster vibes - makes it something like 10 to go with a huge stack. I look down at 8
4 on the button and make it 35. Some random calls, as does Villain.
Flop comes down a beautiful J 4
2
and after it gets checked to me, I bet out 80 EUR with my pair. Only Villain calls. Turn is another spade, so now the board reads J 4 2 T. Villain checks, and now I bet 200 EUR. He thinks for a while before calling.
I am feeling a bit uneasy now, I was expecting him to fold... and off to the river we go. It is the ****ing A. I am seeing visions of the Vegas and the ****ing mirage, and to make it all better, Villain announces "All-in!"
I snap-call and table my 84 in a jubilant mood. **** yeah, I knew I shouldn´t quite when the rungood started! But then I see the Villain smiling. Why the **** does he smile? He just punted 600ish EUR on the river to me!
And then I see it.
92
Nine-of-****ing-spades, two-of-****ing-spades for a higher flush. I was ****ing ahead all the ****ing time. I watch the pot of around 1700 EUR being pushed to Villain as I get up in total disbelief.
"Man, I´m so sorry for you", says my friend sincerely as I take a final look at the chips in the middle and Villain´s hand.
---
As I walk towards the subway, dejected and deflated, I just want to cry. If I win that pot, I am out of my financial hole, at least for now. And I can go back tomorrow after work and keep playing. And...
...the lights of the shop next to the subway signal that it still is open. And I have some cash still left. So I pick up some food and a sixpack. The beer is warm and tastes ****ty but at least it lets me get through the 20 minute ride home without suffering a complete breakdown.
I step out onto the square and start my walk home. Light up a cigarette. The local pub hasn´t closed yet, there still are some old degens pissing away their life. Well, I am a young degen pissing away my life, so I walk inside, order a beer and put my last 5 EUR bill into the slot machine.
Maybe I can manage a come-back, this one time only, come on...
It was a grayish autumn Sunday afternoon in the poker boom days. Probably around 2006 or so. And for some reason (most likely alcoholism) me and a friend had decided to meet up at a central bar to drink wine. After all, alcoholism on a Sunday is a whole lot easier to justify when you are sipping on quite expensive wine at a fancy place instead of sitting at some local dive bar surrounded by slots and alconauts.
Anyway, we were sitting there, chatting and drinking. My friend had a strong degen gene in him during this time, he wasn´t a raging alcoholic like me, but the degen was quite strong in him anyway and he liked to drink and gamble. Not too such excess as I, but still. So, one bottle turned into two, and before you know it, we were three bottles deep.
"So, maybe we should head down to the poker club?", he suggested.
"I´d love to, man, but I´m out of cash. I have like 20 EUR to my name after we pay the bill", I answered, since one and a half bottle of wine at that time wasn´t enough to trigger Full Degen.
"I can lend you a buy-in ir two", he suggested, so we called a cab (because **** public transportation, even it it doesn´t save you any time).
---
"Come on, give me another buy-in, man", I was asking him after busting my second or third bullet.
"I´m starting to run out of cash", he answered. "Maybe just call it a night? I´ll buy you a drink."
"No, I am not that drunk, just give me one more chance to run it up again, be a sport!"
---
I am sitting on a stack of around 800 EUR. The game has nominal blinds of 0.5/0.5, however in reality it is usally at least double-straddled, and as the evening has moved on the stacks have gotten increasingly deep. I am quite drunk, though not too bad, after some rungood I have cut back on the pace of drinks. I could just cash out now, repay my friend and leave a 400 EUR winner - which would be quite nice considering I have 20-and-change in my wallet.
But no. How can I leave when I am winning? When the stacks are deep and the game is loose? I thrive on these games. They - together with a steady stream of delusional thought processes and alcoholic beverages - are what drag me through the swamp that is everyday life.
---
The Villain - two to my right, a guy in his 30´s, Middle Eastern look, awful player, gives off small-time gangster vibes - makes it something like 10 to go with a huge stack. I look down at 8
4 on the button and make it 35. Some random calls, as does Villain.Flop comes down a beautiful J
4 2 and after it gets checked to me, I bet out 80 EUR with my pair. Only Villain calls. Turn is another spade, so now the board reads J 4 2 T. Villain checks, and now I bet 200 EUR. He thinks for a while before calling.I am feeling a bit uneasy now, I was expecting him to fold... and off to the river we go. It is the ****ing A
. I am seeing visions of the Vegas and the ****ing mirage, and to make it all better, Villain announces "All-in!"I snap-call and table my 8
4 in a jubilant mood. **** yeah, I knew I shouldn´t quite when the rungood started! But then I see the Villain smiling. Why the **** does he smile? He just punted 600ish EUR on the river to me! And then I see it.
9
2Nine-of-****ing-spades, two-of-****ing-spades for a higher flush. I was ****ing ahead all the ****ing time. I watch the pot of around 1700 EUR being pushed to Villain as I get up in total disbelief.
"Man, I´m so sorry for you", says my friend sincerely as I take a final look at the chips in the middle and Villain´s hand.
---
As I walk towards the subway, dejected and deflated, I just want to cry. If I win that pot, I am out of my financial hole, at least for now. And I can go back tomorrow after work and keep playing. And...
...the lights of the shop next to the subway signal that it still is open. And I have some cash still left. So I pick up some food and a sixpack. The beer is warm and tastes ****ty but at least it lets me get through the 20 minute ride home without suffering a complete breakdown.
I step out onto the square and start my walk home. Light up a cigarette. The local pub hasn´t closed yet, there still are some old degens pissing away their life. Well, I am a young degen pissing away my life, so I walk inside, order a beer and put my last 5 EUR bill into the slot machine.
Maybe I can manage a come-back, this one time only, come on...
11-26-2018
, 08:13 PM
12-31-2018
, 06:49 AM
