Oct 17 2008
My First Time: To Lose My Shirt
My First Time to Lose My Shirt is, as you may have guessed, about GAMBLING.
I was introduced to Blackjack, or “21″ when I was just six years old. It was a terrific way to learn addition; plus, I learned about odds. Very strange for a six-year-old, I admit.
The next thing I would like to point out is that all my spending money during high school came from poker. I was introduced to the game by my Father, who hosted a Friday Night Game in our basement. When I was twelve, he and his friends allowed my to play. The game was always “Dealer’s Choice” but was limited to standard games of poker: Jacks-or-better draw, 5-card stud, 7-card stud, and low-ball. Texas Hold’em wasn’t so established back then. We played a dime ante and a dollar limit, with a three-raise limit. My Father and his friends drank beer during the game. I played very conservatively until I was older. I also found out how alcohol affected their games, and used that to my advantage in the later hours of the game. I did very well. I won money almost every week.
Once in a while, one of the other players would host a game. I had never heard of “home-court advantage.” Even today, I don’t understand how it could apply to a poker game. On the night I “lost my shirt” I was at another player’s home. I couldn’t just “bow out” and go to my room to sleep. I remember that I played for almost six hours and only won TWO HANDS! I had never had such a night! I was rarely even in the hand for the draw. I folded my stud hands after one card most of the time. I had heard about players who ante’d away their entire stake but had never seen it happen. 
I played VERY conservatively that night because I was behind, and had no confidence that I was ever going to draw a hand. I kept re-buying chips. All night. Cleaned out my wallet. Thankfully, I never took more to a game than I was willing to invest. For a 15-year-old kid in 1960, losing $40 was a butt-kicking.
Luck was not a Lady that night.
I started playing blackjack around the same age. I was good too.
We played as a family and one night my grandparents were in from Kentucky. My grandpa didn’t believe I knew how to play. We played for pennies, but when you are in second or third grade, that is a lot of money at the end of the night.
I ended up taking all of their money (ended up being about $15) and I will never forget how his eyes bugged out.
I also played for Oreos in 7th & 8th grade during lunch. I went to a catholic school and they thought it was amusing…most people expected them to scold us. They were ok with me teaching the other kids to gamble.
~Kelly
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