| Some of you may believe in it and some of you | | | | what we had, then she did not want to be with |
| may not. The majority of poker players know | | | | a moron like me. She also let me know that |
| that poker is a game of skill, not luck. Luck | | | | she would be packed and gone by the time I |
| is what keeps the bad players coming back to | | | | came back. Trying to explain that I was doing |
| the table. Then there are the even smaller | | | | all of this for the both of us was useless |
| amounts of us that believe in the poker Gods. | | | | and headed out. |
| I am one of them and if you play your cards | | | | |
| right, no pun intended, they will smile down | | | | The kinds of players in the game were mostly |
| on you. | | | | people with money to burn, and lacking in |
| | | | poker skill. I had played my best game and |
| As many of my friends know, my on-again | | | | managed to make it to the final table. The |
| off-again girlfriend has driven me to all new | | | | pay out was for the top 5 players. Having an |
| levels of insanity. My addiction to poker was | | | | average chip stack I decided to ride it out |
| one of the reasons for the many ultimatums | | | | and let the short stacks battle it out and |
| she handed down to me. It was not so much | | | | hopefully push me into the money. The Poker |
| that she disliked my gambling; it was more so | | | | Gods smiled and it worked. I had been knocked |
| that she disliked my losing. She was always | | | | out in 5th place when my pair of tens got |
| there for me to spend my extra winnings. | | | | beat by a set of 8's on the river. I did not |
| | | | complain though, as I walked away with $800, |
| I had just gotten paid and found that we were | | | | more than enough to cover the rent and other |
| short $300. As the end of the month inched | | | | bills. |
| ever so near and the prospect of being | | | | |
| evicted loomed, I felt there was something I | | | | When I walked into the front door, there she |
| needed to do. I was too proud to call my | | | | was with her bags packed. "So?" she asked. |
| parents for cash, so I thought I could parlay | | | | Obviously her leaving depended on how well or |
| my poker skill into some much needed cash. | | | | badly I did. "$800," I said with a smile. |
| | | | Running up to me to hug me, she told me about |
| I decided to buy in to a no-limit $100 buy-in | | | | the vacation we could go on with the money, |
| tournament structure game. I am normally a | | | | that she needed to get her nails done and |
| cool and collected person, but you know the | | | | needed some new clothes. |
| saying - desperate times call for desperate | | | | |
| measures. When you are first out of college | | | | I slowly counted out enough money for the |
| and the best job you can get pays $10 per | | | | rent and bills and left it on the table. |
| hour, you need to do some hustling to make | | | | Walking out the door I said to her "This |
| the rent and pay the bills. | | | | moron is going to buy some new tires for his |
| | | | truck with the extra money. I could care less |
| The last thing she said as I walked out the | | | | if you are still here when I get back," and |
| door was if I was stupid enough to gamble | | | | walked out the door with a smirk on my face. |