02.28.07
Weird…
Well, maybe not so weird, but definitely a lesson in bankroll management. As has become my (almost) daily habit, I was googling poker news on Monday evening and came across this insane post. Although the connection to this particular blog is perhaps a little tenuous, nonetheless, there is a strong poker theme to this story and a lesson to be learned.
In the news on Monday was the story of a teenage girl from south Pakistan whose father gambled her off in a poker game. The girl’s father lost her in a poker game when she was two years old and she’s in the news because she has been asking authorities in Pakistan to prevent her from being handed over to the middle-aged relative who apparently won her.
The girl’s mother said her husband amassed debts of 10,000 rupees to the family relative, Lal Haider, by playing poker.
“My husband didn’t have money to pay, and instead he told Lal Haider that he could take Rasheeda when she grows up,” she said.
Despite receiving the money he was owed last year, the mother also said Haider still insisted the girl should be given to him because of tribal customs.
Ok, so what lessons can we learn from this?
Well, um, let’s see. Don’t ever gamble more than you can afford to lose. And that includes not only the apparently obvious monetary items…savings, retirement funds, college funds for your kids, etc. It also includes your kids, your wife, your immediate relatives, friends, family pets, cars, house, and wardrobe.
Don’t ever put on the table something you can’t afford to lose, and if you think that you can afford to lose any of those items we’ve just mentioned, put down the cards or walk away from the computer. Seek out professional counseling and avoid playing poker or gambling in any other way, shape, or form until you have resolved what most definitely is a gambling problem.
Lucky for this particular gambler, his wife and daughter had the presence of mind to contact the police. After ten men tried to pressure them into following through with the deal made so many years ago, police have both the mother and daughter in protection.
Apparently the winner of the fateful poker game, Lal Haider, was intending to marry the 17-year old girl to his eldest son. Both were among the ten men who are now being sought by police.
Look, we’ve all thought about it…gambling our spouse/significant other…definitely our children…but at the end of the day, it only leads to trouble. Practice proper bankroll management and save yourself additional headaches!
Tags: Fund Managment, Gambling Tilt, Poker Game, Poker News, Uncategorized