Betting To My Balls

I like poker for a lot of the same reasons I like investing; if you make wise risk vs. return decisions, you are paid off in the long run. If you are the first one to notice a good opportunity in the stock market, there is minimal risk to being early; it's like betting a great draw on the flop. But you do have to look at it over the long haul.

My dalliance with sports betting is obviously short-term, relegated to the occasional cheap bet when I'm in Vegas. This week I suffered a slight case of short-term remorse. My bet in Vegas last week was on Matt Kenseth to win the Coca Cola 600. This week Kenseth prevailed at Dover. I'm not exactly prophetic as Kenseth is having a great year. I just suspected that he was better than his odds, which will undoubtedly and unfortunately start reflecting what I knew last week.

I say I only had a slight case of short term remorse. It's because I just finished reading The Odds: One Season, Three Gamblers and the Death of Their Las Vegas. This is a great book that chronicles a sports betting season from three perspectives: the guys setting the line at the Stardust, a newbie, and a professional. The reason why I got it in the first place is that the professional is poker player Alan Boston.

I remember the first time I noticed Alan Boston. I was walking through the crowded tournament room during the 2005 WSOP when I heard someone say, "This is going to be hard for me. I'm doing this without Percocet and Red Bull today." When I turned around to see who said it, there was Alan Boston, shooting me a mischievous grin. For the remainder of the WSOP, I usually got a song from Boston when I passed.

I actually was stressed reading the book. As Boston would lay out upwards of 70K on a day's worth of games day after day, I started to sweat. I laughed at myself. I was worried about the outcome of bets placed more than five years ago.

I like making risky bets with a good probability of high returns. I can back my research with money. I have that passion. But my frugal nature prevents me from betting to my balls; that and the lack of balls. I wonder sometimes how my fiscal conservatism impacts my ability as a poker player. On the professional circuit I have certainly seen a prevalence for betting to the balls among top players; whether on a poker felt, the craps and black jack tables, or the sports book. Reading Otis' post reminded me of that this week. It is a common enough trait among players that I wonder sometimes if it is a necessary trait. You must play without fear. I get that. I rationalize that playing without fear of losing your buy-in is different than playing without the fear of losing your entire bankroll. I can't do the latter...and maybe that means I'm really fooling myself about the former. Or maybe the pros do the former so well that the latter becomes meaningless. There are a few nits like me among the pros, but admittedly few. Although I'm fairly certain the Chris Ferguson has never put so much as a nickel in a slot machine or a dime on a game. I suspect he maintains tighter controls on his bankroll than the Federal Reserve.


I am cheap. One of my first articles for Woman Poker Player Magazine was entitled, "I'm Cheap and I'm Proud." In it I claimed that when I died, my tombstone would read "She Got Good Value." My recent underwear purchase will serve as a good example. I normally buy underwear twice a year in quantity at an outlet mall forty-five miles from my house. A few weeks ago, my jockeys were telling me it was time. But things had changed since my last visit; gas prices. I actually worked out on a spreadsheet that for the quantity of underwear I was purchasing, factoring in the gas, it was cheaper for me to drive ten miles to the mall to a department store offering a 25% sale than driving the forty-five miles for the outlet's standard 35% off. The fact that I also found a clearance rack with a few pairs my size for an additional 15% off was icing on the cake. I would go through the same exercise when I was making six figures in high tech. It's almost more philosophical than financial.

I relish betting in poker when I'm getting good value, but I don't think I'll ever be able to bet to my balls. Is this just practical, a leak, or both?

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