Hmm, again, not claiming to really get these non-poker lawsuits, but sounds like it could all be as inconsequential as Crispin Leyser vs. Jamie Gold. Possibly truly scandalous, maybe not, but either way, don’t these guys understand real gamblers have a lot pending on gambling matters these days … and we don’t need douchebag pro athletes screwing things up for us by making gambling look “shady” or “bad”!

Jeesh … if you’re gonna bet against a friend, colleague, or client — especially with potential match fixing perceptions in play — you gotta at least tweet about it. Friggin’ non-poker amateurs.

At least they didn’t do whatever they did online.

Still, before golf officially decided to go the degen route — or perhaps in preparation for it? — Golf Magazine ran a feature in their November issue about Phil Hellmuth, Layne Flack, Erick Lindgren, and Gavin Smith hitting the Las Vegas links, apparently foreshadowing the concept of risking big-big bucks on every hole:

Golf Magazine feature on High Stakes Poker Players Golfing

Evidently, there is a televised golf game today. I know this because the TV screen that typically shows chip counts was just showing golf. Not only that, but there was a massive crowd gathered around the screen. More people were watching golf than gathered to watch the NBA Lakers/Celtic game the other night.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, cheers erupted throughout the Amazon Room. Evidently, Tiger Woods made a putt. And though half of the crowd dissipated after the big whoop-tee-doo, many stayed behind to watch the replay of the ball inching toward the hole and sinking. One of the tournament directors even came over the loudspeaker to announce that Tiger advanced to the next round of something-or-other.

I knew golf was popular – and gaining popularity with poker players – but this was an interesting scene to watch.

Hi Dan,

I have an idea for a sports bet and since you are my connection to the world of gambling I thought you could give me some help on who and how to place it.

I want to place a $500 bet on Tiger Woods breaking the record for the most majors won. He currently has 13 and needs 6 more to break the record. I want to bet $500 on him breaking the record within the next 8 and 10 majors. Who could I contact to get the odds and place the bet with. Please let me know what you can find out or where I can go to make the bet. Thanks

GoodChuck

Chuck, thanks for writing in. I’m not much of a sports-bettor, so I don’t know this stuff intimately. However, I have walked through a lot of sports books recently, and they definitely are offering pages of just Tiger Woods-related bets. BTW, I think if you send me an email, wire me some money via PayPal, and I make the bet, that’s a crime. Not positive … nor sure where the crime would be committed if I happened to relay some information about your betting options, and then I happened to make a bet in the amount of, say, $500, and then next time we saw each other you gave me a “gift” of $500 … but at least one Las Vegas policeman didn’t buy my “Sorry-sorry, I’m from out of town” explanation when I ran through a red no-turn light a couple weeks ago.

I did notice that at Mandalay Bay, where they definitely had Tiger Woods-specific betting lines, they apparently take mail-in bets. I also know that the Las Vegas Hilton (which also has pay-by-mail) and the Palms have two of the more creative bookmakers in town. So those two places are probably good for lookin’-up, too.

I have a few questions for you:

How many books do you think a lawyer reads about law before becoming a professional? How about an accountant? Pick a doctor to perform back surgery on you. Do you want the guy who hasn’t read anything since med school or the guy that has read 15 books in that time? The answer is clear for me. That’s why doctors, lawyers, accountants, etc. are required to go to continuing education to keep their license.

Besides, why wouldn’t you read virtually every book that might help you make money in your chosen profession? Why should poker players take their job less seriously than other professions? There are times when I have read a book and picked up some tips and thought what a dumbass. If I had read that book 6 months ago I would have made an extra $20,000 over that time by using that strategy.

One of the most ridiculous excuses I hear for not putting in proper study time is from people who claim to be “running good” and not wanting to screw up their play. How stupid are you? For those who don’t think they are capable of ignoring bad advice, don’t read the following: Chocolate ice cream is the best way to lose weight.

Are all books great? Of course not, but after you read several books you will start to become your own expert. You will be able to decide what is worthwhile and what is BS. You might even develop some of your own strategies that no one else has thought of. Then it becomes real fun.

For instance, I have done that in 2-7 triple draw and Badugi. These games have little if no information available on them. This is why you need to become your own expert. Every once in a while at Fort McDowell casino we would have a game where we could play whatever we wanted. We invented new games, Holdugi, Omadugi, Shenanigans, Scottsdaledugi and some we didn’t even have names for. Which players do you think had the edge when we had to figure out how to play these games?

Think about this. Let’s say that you are at work and you’re an accountant. You and two other accountants are in a meeting making a decision on the best accounting treatment for a particular situation. You say to yourself, “I’ll let these guys figure it out and let me know what they think, cuz I really don’t know.” Who do you think is paid the most in this situation?

Thus my point.

Just because you play poker and you don’t have a boss hovering over you doesn’t mean you should treat your job any less responsibly than a dentist. In fact, education in poker is more directly related to how much you take home that night than any other profession I can think of.

Just today I heard that Kobe shot 100,000 jump shots in the off-season. Here’s a guy who could take a little break from working hard, but doesn’t. I like his chances for having another fantastic year. Oh and Tiger is one of the hardest working guys on the tour. One of my favorite stories about Tiger is that during the British Open, some younger, reasonably well known player was having a brew with a few of the locals after his first round. While he was drinking at the pub he saw Tiger walk by the window wearing shorts and carrying a gym bag to go work out. I like his chances too.