RADIO
My entrance into the writing industry is different than most.
Life can be comical in that aspect because 21-year-old me, who was playing poker and sports betting professionally to pay my way through college at UNLV, would never have envisioned that life as I knew it would end up in the arena of someone writing about golf betting for a living.
Now, I don't think the trajectory shift into the writing world is an unexpected return since I did find myself minoring in Journalism at UNLV while majoring in Gaming Management. However, the exact way things occurred, such as my repositioning into a golf-centric role at RotoBaller, Action Network, and various other locations, is the twist to the story that I could have never projected in any model of mine.
My Friendship With Chip Reese
Born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, I grew up with the great David "Chip" Reese as a mentor. Many in the poker world consider Chip the greatest cash-game player in history because of his ability to play his A-game when any amount of money was on the line.
I got close to Chip and his family because my dad was his personal trainer. Trips to Montana with our families, baseball outings with top coaches throughout the country that Chip would take me on with his son Casey to improve our skills and other life-changing adventures became a way of life for me at a young age.
There are three Chip stories that ring in my head from time to time when I reflect on my experiences with him.
- I'll never forget how he used to call me "good ol' number 13" during each passing moment over the years when we would reconnect. In retrospect, it was a weird number for a gambler to give one of his star players. Still, I have always considered it an endearing answer since not even an "unlucky" number could stop me from performing.
- The first bet I ever placed was against his son Casey, who tragically passed away in 2009. Casey made a wager that I couldn't eat an entire plate of marshmallows at their cabin in Montana. One thing led to the next (most notably me puking in the backwoods at the age of six), although a winning bet was made on my part that night when 50-pound me devoured the entire plate and caused Casey to run to Chip to retrieve 20 dollars. I can't say I fully grasped the impact of going on trips that would include Doyle Brunson, Huck Seed and other poker legends, but who else can say they won their first bet and got paid out by the greatest poker player of all time?
- Fast forward to eighth grade. I was a student aide for the front office. Most of my time was spent playing blackjack or poker since the gambling bug hit me at a very young age. Some of my relationship with Chip had drifted at that time since I didn't see him quite as frequently as I once did. However, I got a tap on my shoulder one day during class, turned around to see Chip's imposing figure, and heard, "Good ol' number 13! Are you winning?" Presumably, this is not a great question to ask a middle schooler who is gambling during class. I can't say that with factual-based reasoning because I have never run into a middle school kid in the midst of facing a bet on the river. That said, very few would say Vegas has ever provided the expected outcome that you get in other cities. Chip sat there for a few minutes, teaching me some deeper nuances of Texas Hold'em, before eventually leaving with his frequent tagline, "See you around, 13."
Unfortunately, Chip's life was cut short in December of 2007, right before my 18th birthday.
It is one of those things that didn't make sense at the time (and still doesn't 17 years later), but the lessons I took away from my time with him over the years molded me into the gambler I am today. For that, I am forever indebted to Chip's beautiful mind and kind heart.
Life As A Professional Gambler
I spent most of my years between 18 and 27 modeling for sports betting or playing poker. You learn so many life lessons at a young age when you decide to make an industry like that your primary source of income.
I've always said that those with a deep poker background are some of the best critical thinkers in the world. Not only do you have to try to problem-solve and fine-tune your strategy along the way, but there is also a particular form of adaptability and flexibility that poker instills for everyday life situations.
Black Friday on April 15th, 2011, was a challenging moment for me since it made online gambling illegal throughout the United States and greatly affected my expected value in poker. I never loved playing face-to-face and watching people lose money they needed for everyday life. It was one thing when faces and real-life stories were behind a computer screen, shown as a Full Tilt dog avatar as your only point of reference; it was another when people would leave visibly distraught and unable to pay for their next meal because of a gambling addiction.
America's commercial casinos won $66.5 billion from gamblers in 2023. That dollar amount won't stem primarily from sports betting, but it was another opportunity to blend my lifelong love of math, numbers, and strategy into one all-encompassing perspective since who wouldn't want to beat those who live in the high-rise buildings over the alternative of taking money from the ones who pay for the structures.
In my opinion, you need a combination of several things to be a good sports bettor.
- An understanding of numbers and how to create statistical models to attack those edges. There is a genuine science in long-term data and how it can be used to extrapolate information into future results.
- Connections with people you trust. I had always considered myself someone who specialized in NCAA basketball, boxing, NFL, and tennis. I did have an edge in MLB and NBA because of relationships I formed with people who modeled those sports far better than I ever could, but those relations can take you a long way when trying to find every little edge possible.
- This is perhaps the most critical aspect because I have seen quality gamblers go broke in all walks of life by not adhering to this answer, but you need a firm grasp of bankroll management and an ability to not chase losses when things go south. That was one of the concepts I learned from Chip at a young age. He once told me that what separated him from all other gamblers was how he never played worse than his A-game. No matter how much money he was up or down, every decision was formed with a concrete and critical-thinking strategy. Some players may have been better with the top-end level of their game, but the range of performance would adjust far too wide between a losing session and a winning one, giving Chip the ultimate edge in those moments.
Getting Into The Writing Industry
I got lucky to sign up for Twitter at the beginning of 2018 and stumbled across a post from Pat Mayo within the first few days, who was talking about the fantastic opportunity to land a gig at a premier business like RotoBaller for their start-up golf company that would be starting during the Masters in April.
To be honest, I didn't know anything about RotoBaller. I didn't have a sample article to submit when I applied for the site. Hell, I was more of a college basketball or NFL person than someone who wanted to land in an area covering the PGA Tour.
Golf was a sport I had modeled successfully over the years. It certainly wasn't my number one interest in where I wanted to land as a writer, but getting in the door was a way to propel myself into the hard-hitting NFL world, which had just started to pique my curiosity when it came to writing about it from a data-driven perspective.
I quickly put together some research for that week's golf tournament from my betting model. Compiled an article that felt award-winning when it was written and then submitted it to RotoBaller, assuming I would quickly hear back that I had received the job.
Unfortunately, that is not always how life always works. RotoBaller hired five people for the team, including our current captain, Joe Nicely, but my name was missing from the original list of newly hired writers.
I've never gotten the full story of what happened or who pulled out of the job to re-open the door for me. Nonetheless, somewhere between that initial job denial and the week before the Masters was going to start, I got a second message from RotoBaller that they had one of their five team members quit and could use me as the replacement to start this grand undertaking for their first week of covering content.
The rest is now history.
Perseverance In The Industry
I have always lived under the belief that the butterfly effect massively alters our trajectory without us even knowing it. Something small and inconsequential at the time has a non-linear impact on our lives.
Despite the highest of highs while covering golf over the past seven years, it hasn't always been sunshine and rainbows. Nights of writing are long. Relationships are hard to maintain. It is a tough industry to move from point A to point B when everyone is vying for the same outcome.
I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to know who left RotoBaller seven years ago to open up my job and the reason behind their departure because it is unlikely I would have ended up in the golf sector without that outcome. Then again, some stories in this world are better left untold when that one lucky break ends up landing you in a position to do your dream job, even when you don't realize it at the time.
As a gambler, you never question the aftermath of the moments you run above expected value.
*** If you have ever wanted to get into the space, I am more than happy to help! You can reach out to me on Twitter @TeeOffSports
