Mobius sat back in his chair, smoke filling the room. As a few people glanced sideways, the sweat started to roll down each players' temples. The small beads formed and fell, only because Mobius had the temperature in the back room turned up. Mobius held a full house on the flop, and placed his final bet. Sure of his victory, he lavishly slapped all of the chips down and went all in. Opposite of him was Yang. All others had folded out. Yang seemed shy the entire game, but had called Mobius every single time. Mobius was sure that he would fold this time, but to his surprise, Yang called.
Mobius confidently laid all of his cards down and reached for the pot. But Yang had four aces. Yang had won all of Mobius' money for the entire night. It didn't matter if he had lost forty hands prior, they were small ones, mainly meant to make Mobius think he was a better player than he actually was. Yang took his earnings back home with him to his uncle. His uncle was a ruthless financial trader that they called, "Chicken Little." (He dubbed himself as being able to make the sky fall.) While Mobius went home dejectedly, Yang and Chicken Little planned out how to con him out of the rest of his fortune. They couldn't do poker again, he would be too freshly remembering his losses. There was no game within a casino that pitted players against each other like poker. But then, Yang, being the "quant" that he was, had a brilliant idea: make side bets on normal games. This would, in effect, double Mobius' exposure per game. But they both knew that in Mobius' mind, it would really double his potential winnings.
The night rolled around, and Yang headed to the casino. Being a master of numbers, he knew Roulette was his best option. Yang saw Mobius placing mad stacks on stacks on stacks down on different numbers, trying to find the best way to recoup his losses. Yang found someone that seemed gullible, and instructed them to bet against Mobius at 32:1 odds. Throughout the night, Yang watched Mobius lose money until he was at zero. But this time, instead of letting Mobius leave, he walked up to him and taunted him. Yang acted as if he had just arrived and told Mobius that if he could beat him in one game of roulette, he could have all of the money he lost the previous night back. But he needed to wager a similar amount.
Mobius did not have the money, but offered his car as collateral. Predictably, Yang had hold of Mobius' emotions, and throughout the games, Mobius lost his car, home, 401k, wife, and his children until he had nothing else. Yang had bested him.
Author's Note:
I named the character Mobius because I was talking to my roommate about naming a Yacht Mobius. This story is adapted from the Mahabharata where Duryodhana taunts King Yudhishthira into gambling away his wife, family, and money. I kept the same main story line, but decreased Mobius' gambling problem down to money, rather than purely for gambling. I also named Duryodhana, Yang, after the quantitative analyst in the movie "The Big Short."
Story can be found:
Yudhishthira's Gambling, by C. A. Kincaid
Mobius confidently laid all of his cards down and reached for the pot. But Yang had four aces. Yang had won all of Mobius' money for the entire night. It didn't matter if he had lost forty hands prior, they were small ones, mainly meant to make Mobius think he was a better player than he actually was. Yang took his earnings back home with him to his uncle. His uncle was a ruthless financial trader that they called, "Chicken Little." (He dubbed himself as being able to make the sky fall.) While Mobius went home dejectedly, Yang and Chicken Little planned out how to con him out of the rest of his fortune. They couldn't do poker again, he would be too freshly remembering his losses. There was no game within a casino that pitted players against each other like poker. But then, Yang, being the "quant" that he was, had a brilliant idea: make side bets on normal games. This would, in effect, double Mobius' exposure per game. But they both knew that in Mobius' mind, it would really double his potential winnings.
The night rolled around, and Yang headed to the casino. Being a master of numbers, he knew Roulette was his best option. Yang saw Mobius placing mad stacks on stacks on stacks down on different numbers, trying to find the best way to recoup his losses. Yang found someone that seemed gullible, and instructed them to bet against Mobius at 32:1 odds. Throughout the night, Yang watched Mobius lose money until he was at zero. But this time, instead of letting Mobius leave, he walked up to him and taunted him. Yang acted as if he had just arrived and told Mobius that if he could beat him in one game of roulette, he could have all of the money he lost the previous night back. But he needed to wager a similar amount.
Mobius did not have the money, but offered his car as collateral. Predictably, Yang had hold of Mobius' emotions, and throughout the games, Mobius lost his car, home, 401k, wife, and his children until he had nothing else. Yang had bested him.
Gambling ends up being the down fall of King Yudhishthira. Source: Wikimedia Commons
Author's Note:
I named the character Mobius because I was talking to my roommate about naming a Yacht Mobius. This story is adapted from the Mahabharata where Duryodhana taunts King Yudhishthira into gambling away his wife, family, and money. I kept the same main story line, but decreased Mobius' gambling problem down to money, rather than purely for gambling. I also named Duryodhana, Yang, after the quantitative analyst in the movie "The Big Short."
Story can be found:
Yudhishthira's Gambling, by C. A. Kincaid
I Sean! Your week 9 story is amazing. It was awesome that you chose to write about the Yudhishthira's Gambling, by C. A. Kincaid! It was so creative and even the thoughts you’ve put into. It was awesome that you converted the original story to a scene of gambling! Overall, I just wanted to keep it simple and say that you’ve done a wonderful job, Sean. Keep up the great work!
ReplyDeleteHey Sean! I liked how you set the story up! Gambling is a dangerous game and people think they can just keep playing and eventually get their money back. I was slightly confused at how players can compete in roulette. I don't know too much about the game, but I thought the players were all betting against the house. Either way, good story and keep it up!
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