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Earlier quoted context omitted.
NFL isn't far behind NFL Network, ESPN, Prime, Peacock, YouTube...
A large portion of NFL games can be viewed on network TV. The same cannot be said for the NBA.
The number of games you can watch on network TV is decreasing slowly but steadily.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I mean, one could write something like "I cannot imagine why people actually like ski resorts" - 100% likelihood you lose money - the point of the game is fly down a mountain and not hit any trees (about 45 more deaths per year than poker in the US) - you're stuck sitting in a lift or a line and following rules for hours - there are no victory conditions
Skiing is downright sisyphean. I'm only sort of joking - I live in Switzerland and since I started ski-touring, where you climb up the mountain and then ski down it, this feeling is even stronger. But I think Sisyphus must have gotten at least some satisfaction for almost reaching the top.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
It’s not so much the absolute amount as the comparative one. Just extorting Chauncey Billips seems like a better ROI than the whole caper if you’ve got some hold on him.
Extortion risks exposing you in a way that quietly taking their money through cheating at cards does not. It’s also strikes me as a far more serious crime but I could be wrong.
All this potential jail time and reputation lost for $7 mil stolen over multiple years total??? And how many criminals split those winnings?? So the take home pay for an NBA HOF was like under $1 mil? Billups just signed an extension as an NBA head coach making well over that amount EVERY YEAR. Just sad imo
This can be done with no tech at legit casinos. Just have a group of people with a predetermined “tell” system so that only the best hand in the group competes against the fish. In a 4 player game, with 3 teamplayers and 1 fish, thats 75% of games you’ll win. With zero tech.
1) Most card rooms these days are 8 or 9 players, so your team would need to be at least 3, maybe 4 to really swing the odds in your favor.
2) You need a subtle but effective way to signal to your team the relative strength of your hand. Think baseball signals, but way more low key. "If I touch my watch, I have an Ace" etc. You'll probably want to mix these up across the hours or days of play.
3) Seats typically do open one at a time, and you want to trickle in your team to avoid suspicion. Higher stakes games, like $5-10, where there are thousands of dollars in front of most players are your goal, and good news is that these are typically more rare so there may be only one table running. Your teammates will have to wait it out, but once at the table, they can stay for hours.
4) You'll never know exactly what your targets are holding, but knowing that your teammates folded a flush draw for example can help you narrow your opponents cards to a smaller range of possibilities. You'll want to position your teammates around the table to create "squeeze" situations where two of the team can trap a target in between.
It takes some creative subtlety, but it can be very hard to impossible to detect collusion in live games.
This appears to be the / a source for the devices in question. It's worth reading over the technical details of how it all works. It's both terrifying and impressive. Cards can be identified using a barcode encoded on their thin edge from meters away.
This is probably a very HN comment, but I cannot imagine why people actually like gambling and poker: - high likelihood you lose money - the point of the game is to lie to friends and strangers - you're stuck sitting at a table and following rules for hours - the only victory condition is that you take money from other people
Poker doesn't require lying or table talk. Bluffing is rule-legal strategic deception expressed through betting. More like a feint in sports than cheating.
If "sitting at a table following rules" is the issue, that's true of most games. And formats vary: many are short and cash games are leave-anytime.
If these folks had used this level of creativity and determination to make something useful…I bet their results would’ve been fantastic.
This is a common fallacy. Criminals often turn to crime because they're not very good at honest endeavors. Having failed to succeed on a fair playing field (hard), they victimize the weak and take advantage of others' naivety and trust (easy). Almost nothing about crime is indicative of an intelligent mind that could be put to good use. It's a lot of lowlife midwits who are bitter they have no chance to compete or as…
This is probably a very HN comment, but I cannot imagine why people actually like gambling and poker: - high likelihood you lose money - the point of the game is to lie to friends and strangers - you're stuck sitting at a table and following rules for hours - the only victory condition is that you take money from other people
Why do people smoke? Reason is rarely our motive.
(Reason can be how you get from a motive to a chosen action to fulfill that motive, though.)
Earlier: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45684548