"The Downswings of Property and Poker"

[Eso Kral]

one of the nice guys in poker, sat with Rich at the dtd deepstack a couple of times and railed me on day 2 for a min cash, not been dtd much, work commitments, death in the family but got some property from it, will speak on advice on where i go in privvy next time i see you, playin Goliath for fun and charity, and playin Megastack flight 1 on Sat 20th Aug, glad ur Family is ok, Petra missing me on fb? Take care see ya soon.......... Top Lad

Yeah feel free to grab me anytime for a chat m8   cu soon  and thx

[Eso Kral]

Whilst working at the leisure centre it was probably where my Degen life started as for the first time since i was 16 i was earning more than 100 per week and like most it started with a win. Whilst playing football i had bet on the football and even though i was only 16-17 i looked older (in before "you still do") and had no problems getting served at clubs or in the bookies and had had some small wins, however on receipt of my first full months money from the leisure centre i decided i would go and join the "old stanley casino" in Walsall town centre only to be told i had to wait 48 hours before i could go in.

So 48 hours later back i went in my suit shirt and tie as im sure in the James Bond movies this is what you wear to get in only to forget that this is Walsall and people only wear suits for funerals weddings and more commonly court appearances, obviously the tie came off pretty sharpish and for those who know or remember the old casino it had a tiny bar at the top end then some poker tables and slots with a small area leading to gaming floor so i thought lets have a drink first and ordered a budweiser before casually trying to walk to the gaming area only to be told that no alcoholic drinks were allowed on the floor.

I finished my drink and ventured to the gaming floor watching all the games like a kid in a sweet shop not knowing what or how to play any of them but sure i would be sat playing in a short while, i bottled it at first and played Blackjack behind another player who seemed to know what he was doing and i went infront (easy game) before a seat came available on the last box sooff i went.

All of a sudden people were tutting at me and shaking their heads as i drew cards on 13/14/15/16 against the dealers 2/3/4/5 etc until an asian guy called Masood said look let me tell you how to play!!  Fairly quickly i recovered my losses and by kicking out time at 4am i was losing £30 having had a few drinks, a few spins on roulette and tipped the valets not bad i thought for a nights entertainment if only over the next 10 years it only cost me £30 for the same fun.....

[pleno1]

popcorn is out.

[Eso Kral]

I  returned the next night and i actually came out level after drinks etc and on my 3rd consecutive night bumped into a old schoolfriend whom we shall call Paul who was playing the Blackjack and we caught up over a few hours and each shoe seemed profitable and we ended the night to the "last 3 spins" playing £150 on 2 of the 3 dozens on roulette winning all 3spins and waiting in the queue i knew it had been a profitable night but was surprised to find that having walked in with £150 i was cashing up £2500 and i left with a smile on my face a wedge in my pocket and a knowing glance from the pit bosses and managers.

I was at work the next day coaching kids soccer on the astro turf at the leisure centre in Sutton Coldfield and could not wait to finish as i knew that the casino opened at 2pm and i finished my shift at 12noon having opened up the centre at 6am (lack of sleep ftw) so a quick workout and shower and off to Walsall we went only this time there was hardly anyone in except old boys drinking copius ammounts of free tea and coffee with their sandwich for lunch thrown in.

7 hours later and my recently loaned by the casino £2500 was down to £200 and i couldnt understand how the dealer could pull 21 so many times when last night they bust and despite covering half the wheel on roulette it always came in the opposite half so i took a break from the tables to go to the cash point and went back to reclaim my money alas it was not meant to be and at 8.30 i left the casino sweaty with a sick feeling in my stomach. If only then i learnt you cant beat the house games it would have saved me a lot of money and even more hurt to members of my family who had no idea how deep i would eventually get in..

[celtic]

Beginning to think petra doesn't actually exist.

[Eso Kral]

Beginning to think petra doesn't actually exist.

look after your lack of help on the photo front i had to resort to others and hopefully there will be some images to please the masses 10 people who read this diary later

[leethefish]

Beginning to think petra doesn't actually exist.

+1

great read tho so far

[zerofive]

Excellent read so far Rich. Please use the occasional comma, though? The voice in my head is out of breath.

[redarmi]

+1 really interesting.  

[Eso Kral]

Excellent read so far Rich. Please use the occasional comma, though? The voice in my head is out of breath.

Thx for all the +feedback so far
@Zero,  which bit of i was a footballer, and didnt really try at school, did you not get,   

[dik9]

I remember the Royal casino quite well, and was always down Wyndley (if that is the leisure centre you worked at?). Enjoying the diary!
Google Poker Refugees and get the Europe market lol.

[Eso Kral]

I remember the Royal casino quite well, and was always down Wyndley (if that is the leisure centre you worked at?). Enjoying the diary!
Google Poker Refugees and get the Europe market lol.

TYTY  just grinding a few mtts at moment then need to try and work out this photo lark and then poss next installment tonight or morning.
Ps you were right about both locations Richard   

[geordieneil]

Beginning to think petra doesn't actually exist.

great read, but starting to think this too

[Claw75]

surprised vinny hasn't asked this yet.....

top 5 players in luton pls.

Hey claw, obv i dont play there that mcuh but it would be something like this

1 Claw
2 RU Holding
3 Holdy
4 Sicilian
5 British Gas
If yoou said top 50 my occasional dinner partner would get a listing..

bit harsh including michelle in your otherwise comedy line up imo - she's actually pretty good and she's gonna take down the main event this weekend innit

[Eso Kral]

Still no photos but thats cos i finished playing to late to try and get them on but im not playing tonight so i promise there will be some up later.

Anyway over the next few weeks i carried on donating to the casino taking out £200 per time which was a decent amount of money in the early 90s and i was reloading when required, and i was slowly starting to get addicted with the buzz and not even the winning or losing actually mattering.

Work was ok i was now working in the refurbished Gym and was doing a qualification to be a personal trainer so i could set up my own business for all the rich Sutton Coldfield housewives with nothing to do during the day except me  when i met the first possible future Mrs Eso who was an 18yr old blonde singer by the name of Sarah (all names changed obv) we starting going out and being 21 with my very own Citroen AX GT in white ofc i was quite a catch. She was a real looker and very talented and in the end was very unlucky not to make it big in the charts, Sarah didnt really know where i went 3-4nights per week and as it was early days probably didnt care but i was starting to become dodgy and had taken my first credit card and maxed it out and followed it up with another followed by a loan to pay off the credit cards ..... rinse repeat and i was never able to win like i had that first night. Yeah ofc i had wins but mostly losses and i was starting to spiral out of control.

One day at the casino the owner a big tall hulking guy called Phil asked me to go and have a chat in his office and i soon found out that he wanted a personal trainer, so we embarked on a 1year journey where i trained him 3hour long sessions per week at £20 per hour and then 4 days per week i gave him some business worth approx 500 per day so effectively i paid him to train but he showed me a different side of the business as he was so well known and due to the clientel that frequented the royal casino he could pretty much walk into most of the restaurants in town and eat and drink for free 7 days and nights per week which was obviously the catalyst to his weight problem.

One Friday afternoon i was already losing £200 and was sat at the bar when about 30 people suddenly sat by the bar at these kidney shaped tables and started to play a game that i didnt understand (in before " you still dont " thx Vinny) but my friend Paul was playing and he said to come and sit behind him and watch and he showed me his cards from time to time explaining what was going on and that next time i should play....