Despite state law banning casinos and card rooms, Texas is a poker state. Old-timers like Doyle Brunson traveled the state in the "50s and "60s seeking out action –occasionally finding themselves looking down the barrel of a gun. In the last decade, a new kind of poker frontier opened, and Fort Worth was part of the Wild West of online poker.
As online poker rose in popularity, a small group of teenagers began taking advantage of math in single-table tournaments called "sit and gos." Utilizing each other's data and experience through online forums, many of these poker brainiacs ditched college for life on the Internet poker felt. Barely able to drive, the "Ship It Holla Ballas" (as their crew became known) began playing high stakes online, mathematically managing as many as 12 tables at once. Much of the action centers on Raptor (the authors use the players" online names), an Arlington kid who drops out of TCU. Fort Worth would eventually become home to several of the crew as they bet virtual poker chips for hours.
Describing the half-million-dollar house Raptor and a friend buy in Fort Worth, the authors note: "… the poker magazine Bluff dispatches a reporter to check it out. He writes about the two 73-inch plasma TVs mounted side by side in the living room, the six Xbox 360s scattered throughout the house, the full-time personal assistant who makes sure the dishes get washed and the bills get paid, the young poker players" habit of tipping visiting laborers and deliverymen with crisp $100 bills and $200 bottles of Johnny Walker Blue."
With cash to burn, the Holla Ballas travel the world playing for high-stakes combined with women, alcohol, fast cars, and lots of online poker. The irony is that while these teenagers seek out thrilling lifestyles, guilt sets in when not playing online. The money lost by just going to a movie causes mental anguish, so most of their time involves sitting in a house or hotel playing online. That luxurious lifestyle proves elusive, and the added mental stress of major downswings becomes too much for some.
The authors combine exotic locales, rags-to-riches stories, and the harsh reality of life as a professional gambler. Ship It is a fantastic read for poker fans and non-fans alike.
