A Gambler's Word

What is a gambler's word worth these days?

Apparently not very much at Talking Stick Casino, Scottsdale, AZ.

Most poker players are familiar with the phrase '10 percent save.' It's used by players when the bad beat jackpot gets big. A player you know will come by your table and say, 'Ten percent save?'

If you agree to the proposition, it means that you have committed yourself to giving the other player 10 percent of what you win if your table hits the jackpot. If the other player's table hits the jackpot, you are entitled to 10 percent of what that player collects.

Simple and basic, right? No lawyers or contracts needed. Just a smile and a handshake.

Well, that isn't what happened the other night to my friend Alice at Talking Stick Casino.

The bad beat jackpot was up to nearly $40,000. Alice is a chatty type who loves people. She's a bit eccentric like most poker players. She also makes a habit of going around the room to various tables where she will find a player she knows and ask them if they are interested in a 10 percent save. She has done it with me and I hardly ever refuse her request.

Look, the chances of a table hitting the bad beat jackpot, which usually requires four of a kind to be beat by a better hand are extremely slim. Anyhow, I had gone to Talking Stick Casino to play my favorite poker mixed poker game, $6-12 Omaha High-Low and seven-card stud with a kill. Alice was already seated at the table with her chips. She had a very glum look on her face.

'What's the matter, Alice?,' I joked. 'Did the dog die?'

'Worse than that,' she said. 'Somebody cheated me out of $800.'

She explained that she had made a deal with three players the previous evening on the 10 percent kill proposition. One player that she was slightly acquainted with nodded in agreement and said, 'No problem. I accept.'

Two hours later, lightning struck. The player was involved in hitting the bad beat j. His share of the jackpot was $8,000.

And he refused to honor his promise to Alice.

The other players at the table were stuned. They had all heard of him agreeing to the proposition, and that included the dealer. They tried to pressure the new player into honoring his commitment. Nothing doing. He was going to keep all the money. He was going to stiff Alice.

Now I don't know about you, but I know something about real gamblers. The real gamblers have a phrase, 'High Style.' It has to do with a lot of things -- how you react when you win or lose a big pot, how you treat somebody who is on a terrible losng streak, but mostly how you keep your word.

I wanted to know the name of the poker player who stiffed Alice. So did my friends.

Alice would not divulge the man's name.

'It's okay,' she said. 'What goes around comes around. He'll get his.'

While I know some big-time poker players in Las Vegas and Atlantic City who might have done the same thing -- believe me, they are rare -- most would be appalled at this 'gambler's failure to keep his word. I know what we would have done in some poker circles to such an individual. He would have been ostracized from the game and nobody would have wanted to play with him until he did the proper thing and paid Alice.

Legally, I guess, Alice doesn't have a leg to stand on. But I cannot remember a person failing to keep his word on a 10 percent save. It may have happened, but never in my presence.

I am going to continue pressing Alice on giving me this dude's name. If she ever does, watch out. The game is on.

Author: Geno Lawrenzi Jr.

(Geno Lawrenzi Jr. is an international journalist, magazine author and ghostwriter. If you have a unique gambling story to share with him, you may qualify for a cash award. Send your story with all the details to glawrenzi@gmail.com ).