Enhance Your Edge

I left out a killer story about Spades, but it takes place during the summer of 2010 — currently 2 years ahead from the present timeline. I was going to leave this one out, but I gave it some thought — it’s just too critical of a story, and it speaks volumes to why there are very few clubs that...

With my car nowhere in sight, I rapidly fell into a state of confusion. I took a look around, completing a full 360 — nothing. My keys were already in my hand, so I held down the panic button while raising the key fob towards the sky — still, nothing. Had my car been stolen? I highly doubt that an...

It was August of 2008, and I had just started my first semester of college at St. John’s University in Queens, NY. I was attending on a scholarship, but my family wasn’t wealthy — thankfully, I had locked up a dealing spot in Sal’s game on Bell Blvd, which ran three times per week. This meant that...

The summer of 2007 was coming to a close, and I would soon be starting my senior year of high school. I was all set to attend St. John’s University in Queens, on a scholarship to major in computer science, and I had just recently experienced my first police raid. You could definitely say I ran...

About a year or so ago when I first met Andy, one of the first things I learned from him was that running an underground poker club was illegal. At the time, I simply wasn't aware of that fact. He had told me what to do if I was to ever find myself in a police raid. This was one of those times....

I had just woken up minutes ago, still not yet home from my first trip to Turning Stone. I had just received an unexpected text from Andy — he said that he wouldn’t be playing at Spades any longer, and to call him as soon as possible. I immediately texted him back. “What happened? Is everything...

What is the difference between responsible gambling and degenerate gambling? Simply put, the responsible gambler will only gamble money that they can afford to lose, in addition to adhering to responsible bankroll management principles. The degenerate gambler will essentially do the complete...

Walking into a casino, for the first time, can be quite an overwhelming experience. There’s so much going on — all of the flashing lights, various sounds, the diverse amount of people flowing throughout, the list goes on. No matter where you look, there’s always something going on that can...

Junior year of high school is by far the hardest year for a student. There is so much that goes on — SAT’s, finals, college applications, entrance essays, recommendation letters, and relationships, among other things. All of your effort gets spent raising your GPA as high as you possibly can, so...

The Summer of 2007 was nearly here, and I was almost finished with my junior year of high school. Nearly a year had passed since I had first been brought into the underground poker world. I had spent the months playing at Fox’s on the weekends, reading any worthwhile poker literature I could find,...

Do you know what it feels like to be the last man standing in a live tournament? Sure, scooping a 600 big blind pot in a cash game will probably give you an adrenaline rush, but the experience isn’t quite the same as outlasting an entire field of players. I wanted to experience that feeling for...

One of the many things that fascinates me about poker is the clear distinction between tournament players and cash players. Anyone who’s played enough live poker, both cash and tournaments, knows how different the experiences can be. In general, tournament players are more social and laid back....

In the underground poker world, it’s only a matter of time before you will eventually deal with the police. In one way or another, if you are running either a home game or a commercial club, they will eventually come knocking on — or breaching through — your door. The cops almost always don’t care...

Every poker player knows that feeling—when you get the itch to play. I had just made $200 for dealing the bar poker league tournament. My girlfriend, Jennifer, was surely sleeping, and here I had Gary telling me to come down to play with $100 bonus. Surely, this had to be +EV. I was about to...

Fast forward to 2007 — I was 17, I had gotten my driver’s license and purchased a used Mazda 6. It was silver in color, with a hatchback trunk. I loved that car. It had a Bose sound system with a 9-inch sub that packed a tight punch. It was quick too, sporting 220 horsepower, if I remember...

A bit of some background about me -- I basically grew up in the poker world. My grandmother was a player/dealer decades ago (her boyfriend ran a large club in Queens, NY) and she started teaching me 7 Stud, 5-Card Draw Hi, and NL Hold'Em starting when I was 6 years old. We would play with a cheap...