Alex Pagulayan Flip Coin for $10k. What was that about?

was Alex a little under the influence?
That's one morning hangover where you go for your wallet and think "I thought this was a little thicker the last time I remember putting it in my pocket. Hmmmm."
 
Wasn't an impulse. Wasn't alcohol driven. There was a plan. Didn't work out. Alex et al lost 5k on the flip. Everyone moved on.
 
Straightpool_99 said:
Gambling addiction, it's real and no joke. What a silly way to throw away hard earned money. It's his to do with as he please, but personally I'd rather waste my money differently. In a few decades we'll all be dead, anyway. Gotta live the life you want.
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What makes you think it was hard earned money? Maybe he just won the $5k in a previous flip?
 
sjm said:
If Alex was willing to bet 10K giving up 19-3, that means he thought it better than a coin flip that he'll win. That makes a coin flip for 10K irrational, but that said, it is his money and he can do with it as he pleases.
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Could it be a game is on the table for which Alex thinks he has an advantage but opponent is not biting.

Alex flips a coin for a large sum

(1) That signals--strategically--Alex is not looking for an advantage and supports the proposition the pool game is pretty even...

(2) If Alex wins the flip, he is up a large sum with no other commitment.

(3) If Alex loses the flip, he is down a large sum, but the opponent is now more compelled to accept the pool game as structured.

With this scenario, Alex's expected gain from the flip is positive.
 
Straightpool_99 said:
Well, they don't exactly hand out prize Money willy nilly at the US Open, you know. If that's not hard earned, I don't know what is.
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I believe you only needed to win one match to get paid. So at Alex's skill level, you can make an argument that they were handing out money.
 
This wasn't a huge flip in the grand scheme. It was nice seeing people in action without requiring a background investigation of every match they ever played.

When I was 17, one of the Pro Events came through an area local to me...I don't want to give out too many details-- this is early 90s. One guy, who apparently was a professional gambler (Golf, Pool, Everything) was sitting in the stands next to his "security" man (bodyguard) when a young man came up to him and said, "I've found someone to flip with you!" I happened to be sitting next to him and his partner. An older guy, in blue jean coveralls came over and pulled a knot of hundreds out of his chest pocket that would choke a horse. "$1000 a flip?" he asked. "Sure!" replied Pro Gambler. Coveralls beat gambler out of a QUICK $15,000 (something around that range...this was 25 years ago or so), which was all Gambler had in his pocket at that moment. Gambler, in good spirits, sent his bodyguard on and said aloud, "I'm sending him to get $100K more." I never saw them flipping again, but I did see the Gambler in various action matches throughout the remainder of the event.
 
I think DD won 10K+ on roulette at the casino.
 

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JessEm said:
That's great and all, but isn't that stack like $160, and another $20 in his hand? A long way off from 10K! lol
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Could be $25 chips. $5K total. Looks like he is peeling off 4 chips on 29. Max bet anyway to a number at the Rio is $200, so a $100 bet is within reason. When you bet that big at roulette the wins come in yellow $1K chips, which are promptly put in your pocket. I'd say the picture paints a possible $10K story.
 
T-dog said:
wise a player up and I wont say nuttin. PM preferred. :)
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Nah. He's done me favors.

Anyone who bets on coins, cards or dice without knowing how they are "worked" really ought to read the biographies of Titanic Thompson. I know just enough to know that I don't know anything. Although three-card-Monty is usually pretty legit.:groucho:
 
no big deal you flip for big amounts you get to gamble with gamblers for big amounts.

those that sit on the side and criticize dont have a pot to piss in usually and never will.
 
:(

Gambling addiction is no joke. I've got a sports betting addiction that I've been trying to kick for almost 5 years. I won't say how much I've lost in those 4.5 years, all I'll say is its a lot of folks yearly salary. I'd like to say since I haven't placed a wager in a few months I'm done but I know better. I consider myself lucky, I've gone to meetings and guys have lost houses, gone into massive debt, lost their wives, kids, cars. My heart kind of goes out to Alex because deep down hes probably hurting with his addiction. Just like I would lose 5 grand and go to work the next day the same outgoing high-energy person I always am
 
He is ' loaning' the guy 5k. Alex will get it back eventually as the regular accepts weaker weight.
 
one stroke said:
That's nothing new I've seen them and Roy flip coins in lew of a set plenty , not 5 k but hundreds and 1k + or other stuff like pitch quarters closest to the spot , they truly are gamblers


1
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Pitching quarters to the spot has a lot of skill to it, unlike flipping coins. That said, there are those who master the art of flipping a coin. They have practiced hours for days on end to get some level of control by the way they flip it. Enough to get them maybe a 5-10% edge, and that's enough to win the money.

There is a guy who used to hang around the pool halls in Los Angeles that I never saw lose flipping quarters on a pool table. One flip maybe he lost but if he got in a long flipping battle he never lost! Made me curious what he was doing and I began to watch him closely. He always flipped using his thumb to propel the coin upward and it usually went up about the same height off the table. It reminded me of all those expert Pachinko game players I saw winning money in Japan years before. It was all done with the simple flip of their thumbs but some were noticeably better at it then others.

Then there was Archie Karas who is the only person I ever knew who was barred from playing Craps at the major casinos in Vegas. He could beat them playing with their dice! Archie also practiced for months to learn the art of controlling the dice. He was good enough to gain a small advantage (again maybe 5%) and that was enough to win millions of dollars!
 
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