Poker in prison....AMA
So I have been playing online since the party poker days and played professionally for a few years before black Friday.
does a certain gang or ethnicity run the poker tables or is it more like anyone can start a table and begin raking pots and if so, do you have to pay tax and to whom?
Here in Texas some gangs wont allow certain people to play with other certain people (racism). Is it like that where you are?
FWIW it's really not racism. not saying that doesn't exist inside, but when tables get split up by race its a respect issue and a safety issue for everyone playing that is being considered. because here's the thing, if i'm running with whatever whiteboy stg there is, and some other guy is (insert any other group of a different skin color) and we get into it, depending on the circumstance, one side could very easily be REQUIRED to ride for their homie. even if my buddy is 100% in the wrong, and deserves to get smashed, if it's not a pre-planned in the house heads up fade, and maybe the other guys buddy jumps in, now its on. I can't let my dude get 2 on 1'd without coming to his aid, and if I did fail to get involved then I'M gonna get x'd out and smashed for not having heart. So one way to make sure that all the different grooups don't wind up setting off stupid ass riots is by not gambling with each other. if a white boy ****s up on a white boy table, we deal with it. in houise, no other grroups even need to know, its our business and we handled it.
and the other primary reason you don't want to let mixed tables, especially in a fed joint where people have legit hustles and are making, no ****, $200k+/yr, is that if a riot over 5 bags of coffee cracks off, and we all go on ****ing lockdown for 6 days or whatever, you're efffectively ****ing with other peoples money. if i can make 4k a week selling k2, and you got us locked down for a week, then i can make a really convincing argument that you owe me 4k. now what? problems on problems. easiest and safest for everyone to just stick to your own. and if youi're in a joint where that isnt the norm, then gambling there might not be great anyway. lame's are going to eventually create issues and put you in a spot where now you gotta handle it.
I curious to ask your case seems very outside the norm. Most players who start playing live at low stakes struggle getting past those stakes. How long were you playing for while still working before you made the switch? I used to work in the fraud department at PayPal before I quit to start playing full time. I feel like the fact I was playing online and had the advantages
i know this post is older, but you mentioned you use to work fraud prevention at paypal. If you couid shoot me a pm I would really aprreciate it. I've got a situation that i'm dealing with and theyre involved. I'm getting the proverbial short end of the stick in a major way. tia
any super high roller MTTs played In jail? do you play jail series of poker? any jobs in jail as a dealer? not a coke dealer a poker dealer?
No sadly no super high rollers although the hedge fund guys did decide to start their own table with lower rake. Sadly many like to play draw and stud games but it's pretty juicy.
No the guards are very polarized. You have some who just treat it like a paycheck and let you have your phone and do whatever you want as long as it's not violent. Then you have cops who likely had it rough in high school and take it out on inmates when they need a dog to kick. Random searches one time they took the poker tables ledger and we had to start all over again which sucked as I was up 4 figs that week. The good thing about paying the ridiculous 10% rake is if a losing player cannot pay the owner of the table will cover it. Yeah rounders is not very accurate in terms of poker in prison. I think he was also in the feds.
No the guards are very polarized. You have some who just treat it like a paycheck and let you have your phone and do whatever you want as long as it's not violent. Then you have cops who likely had it rough in high school and take it out on inmates when they need a dog to kick. Random searches one time they took the poker tables ledger and we had to start all over again whic
any blackjack in prison?
Thank you! **** you! Come again. I hate my life. Huh! Wrrah!
Been trying to heal from this **** for twenty ****ing years and it just feels like I'm chipping away at a mountain with a ****ing spoon.
I think I speak for a lot iof people when I say I have never been convicted of a crime and couldn’t possibly imagine being in prison.
What would you say to someone like that, and what are your plans to improve your image when you get out?
I think I speak for a lot iof people when I say I have never been convicted of a crime and couldn’t possibly imagine being in prison.
Never be so sure. A lot of people who could never imagine that happening to them find themselves in jails or prisons.
1) You had a couple of drinks at a work event and on a drive home a kid jumps out in front of your car before you get a chance to stop.
2) You have a dispute with your wife/domestic partner and she self-inflicts bruises and calls 911.
3) Your business cuts corners and your partners decide to throw you under the bus.
Not saying the scenarios are likely, but better not to have a holier-than-thou attitude about stuff like this.
8% of all adult americans are convicted felons
it's hard to believe, but it's true, look it up if you are skeptical
any baracarat in jail?
what is baracarat?
Baracarat is a high-stakes game from Monte Carlo. It is so called because you can only wager gold bars or diamonds at least one carat big. I doubt they'd allow it in prisons, given the issues discussed about blackjack above, as its an even quicker trip to bustoville. Even in Monte Carlo, no one can play it on credit. You must have the physical gold bars or big diamonds on you.
OP, did you get out?
Also someone who could not see myself incarcerated for any amount of money (would rather be homeless and free if it came to that). Not poker related but was there any merit to the concept (not really the practice) of scared straight. Is fear a deterrent for already troubled youth?
He may have gotten the phone taken and forgot the password lol.
Do you like your librarian?
Did you ever consider playing poker full time when you get out? Great money to be made if you get good at it and have a steady stream of games to play in.
Obligatory reference, he can always play in the sheriff's game when he gets out.
Very interesting thread, thanks, OP, I hope you're doing well.
Got some questions:
1. In usual home games, if you're too good and too aggressive, you might stop getting invited, especially if it's like a "friendly nice game". How is it in prison?
2. You mentioned that people hate getting bluffed for some reason. I guess you value like crazy and almost never bluff beyond a flop c-bet? Any other adjustments?
3. Are people there actually trying to get better (read books, watch educational YouTube content, etc.) or not really? If so, would you envision becoming a coach for other prisoners?
