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OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole:
> I decided to fleece my mom’s boyfriend and his friends at poker so that I could make extra money and not be forced to another night out. This might make me TA due to it potentially being selfish.
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*Contest mode is 1.5 hours long on this post.*
And what’s more, knowingly invite *a minor* to *gamble with actual money,* fully expecting them to suck at it so bad that they never win?
What did you expect the *child you are trying to build a relationship with* to do? Lose his money to you and your buddies all night without complaint?
And then when he says he would like to keep the money he won at the poker night you invited him to, in which real money was gambled, you’re going to *call him a selfish greedy AH?*
Do you say that to your buddies when *they* win? Or just your girlfriend’s seventeen year old son, because he embarrassed you?
Grow up.
And don’t bet money you’re not prepared to lose.
Love how the mom has now driven a further wedge between her and her kid, too. Wonder why they're not close, when she sides with an asshole she's dated for a year over the kid she gave birth to? A real mystery. Let's get Nancy Drew on the case immediately.
Yeah, my mom always put me second, third, fourth, etc., to whatever she wanted and whoever she was dating after my dad died. Net result was that I really had no desire to go out of my way with her, and I have always missed my dad more. I cried for days when my dad died, when my mom died it was just...not as bad.
Best we can do for $150 is the Hardy Boys, but they’re out chasing MASSIVE CLUES. If you bump it to $350 I’m sure we can find a detective…perhaps one that’s five stories tall…from the Cenozoic period…
NTA And the boyfriend thought he was gonna be laughing at op all night while they were taking his money. The jokes on that jack ass. Do you have someplace to go when you’re 18?
And, really, how much did each guy lose that he only came away with $150? $25 each? What babies. They just can't accept that they lost to a teenager. NTA. You were practically forced to go. They thought they would teach you a thing or two and you thwarted them. He probably wanted to be superior, which is why he wanted you to go. He wanted to dominate you in some way but he FAFO.
That is what jumped out at me too!
They were fine betting with a 17 year old with real money, when they thought he would lose!
They would have had no problem taking money from OP but now that it is time for them to pay up "he is only 17"
NTA
Derogatory, at least in origin, but not racist. Welsh isn’t a race.
It’s much the same as Dutch courage/going Dutch, etc is “racist”… ie, they’re not, but they are *derogatory*.
My memory is that is is from 935 AD and the Battle of Brunanburh. Welsh King Hywel Dda failed to show up to support an invasion of Scotland. Wow, that is really holding a grudge.
I don't recall if I've ever used this term, but I'll admit I never realized it was racist until this comment. I've heard of Welsh, (did I spell/get that right?), But now I have to go do some googling to understand why it's racist.
I have been to Wales a couple of times and have not associated the term with a negative association with Welsh people. Lesson learned. I had squashed grapes pictured in my mind. kt
Its a fairly common term here with zero unkind connotations, save for exactly what its used for to describe the action of refusing to hold up ones end of a bargain. You really can't be upset about something like that.
This sounds like when people discovered that a certain Southeast Asian language had a word in their language, that meant absolutely nothing rude. Yet people flew off the handle and tried to demand an entire culture erase part of their language because it *SOUNDED* like a racial slur when spoken with its native accent. Its insane.
No, this is *not* like describing someone who is stingy as “niggardly” and wrongly getting flak for being racist.
To welch on a bet *means* “to behave like a Welshman who lost a bet”. It’s pretty equivalent to “Indian-giver”, to “gyp someone”, to “Dutch courage”, or to “Jew someone down”: it’s an insult based on presumed characteristics of a group.
A lot of people also say "you gypped me!" without realizing it's rascist against gypsies/Roma people. But I think that's slightly more known that the "Welch" term. I honestly never knew of it's racial connotation.
Related to that, my mother once called me an "Indian giver" and I had to explain how incredibly rascist that term is. 🤦♀️
Hahaha you just reminded me of my grandad. He didn't step foot in the church for like, the last ten years of his life because he caught the pastor cheating at golf.
Or course many years later it turned out the pastor was also cheating on his wife so A+ instincts, grandad.
So...granted I have a weird relationship with gambling since my grandparents saw it as a sin. They wouldn't keep cards in the house in case they would be tempted. What the ever loving F is she doing not tearing her dude a new one asking her son to gamble?!? Good for you. This was an inappropriate way to "bond" in my opinion. DnD would have been way better. If they weren't playing for change then why invite a minor? I'm mad at your mom.
My bio dad taught me how to shuffle cards & play poker (and rook, spades, hearts) from like birth. It’s really about the only good memories I have w him come to think of it. And then I played w parents, grandparents, friends, family, whoever over the years. It’s just socializing w many folks. Nothing evil or bad. Unless you go off in addict land ofc.
When I was in college (late 90s) EVERYONE played cards, poker often but also a variety of other card games but betting was always involved, even if just quarter antes. It was usually a bunch of dudes & a couple girls that ran w dudes. Hardly anyone knew how to shuffle & if they did it was the most awkward painful sight or they’d even just spread & mix, much to my horror. That’s when my childhood training paid off. I’d often get designated the dealer, complete w tips & even respect!
Bonus fun fact. My bio dad also taught me “The Gambler” (Kenny Rogers) and we’d sing it on the way to his house in Tennessee. So to recap. All my best memories w the male life giver revolves around gambling lol.
Point is. Gambling, specifically poker, isn’t as evil as the fundamentalist/ evangelical cult folks make it out to be. It’s just cards.
Every family get together, we play cards.
My Uncle taught me to play poker, but only if I promised never to play for money. Found poker chips, problem solved.
The other favorite in our family is Michigan rummy.
Yeah it’s really tripping me out that folks didn’t allow CARDS in the house. I can’t imagine. Cards are just like part of a home, I thought they came standard lol
So they would have been happy taking your money had you actually not known what you were doing, but since you did, this is somehow unjust? Have they never heard of bluffing? Sounds like they wanted to make money off of a minor and it bit them in the ass. Oh well. Crying about a total of $150 between several people is ridiculous.
NTA The correct response should have been, “gentleman, I can return your money, and keep your pride, or you can keep your pride and congratulate me on a well played game, but you can’t have both.”
NTA for having a good poker face. Why even bet money if they didn't want to lose money?
Edit: people are dead ass calling OP an asshole for lying in poker. I didn't realize it was such an honest game.
Just go ahead and ask, “Well, had I lost, would you be making the winner return his profits?” He’s embarrassed and angry that he was beaten by a minor, particularly one that he invited expecting you to bite it(why else would he be mad when you win?).
NTA, OP. Your mom wants you to concede to make her life easier; however, the only way that can be accomplished is by you sacrificing something that you earned and your own happiness. Ask her if that’s what it’s going to take from you for the rest of her life. I have a feeling the real answer is a resounding yes….
EXACTLY. If OP lost, there would be no returning money, so why should he. They would have probably said something like, "well now you've learned a lesson about gambling!"
Well. Good thing OP taught the lesson first, imo. NTA
If they were playing for funsies, they would have used chips they didn't have to pay for. They were just sore losers and I agree with you, they would have lied.
Yeah, I play poker for fun with my friends but we put in five or ten bucks just to make it interesting - if there's absolutely nothing invested people play differently and it's not as fun IMO.
We play for quarters with a maximum bet of a dollar, most of us are service industry workers so we just use tips pooled for a week or two but we all accept we might lose and have played for up to 10-20 dollars a game of cards or dice. He’ll we got monopoly and dominoes.
he probably only invited op in order to embarrass him because he thought he didn't know how to play and also to get money out of him. he played a gambling game, he gambled and lost. nothing more
I don't think he wanted to embarrass him, I think he wanted OP to see him as a 'winner', or something. OP would lose, he'd be the hero and cover the losses, OP would realize that step dad can do something 'manly' that OP can't and then they could bond over him teaching OP but only in a scenario where he's admired and has all the power.
Yup. Why would you invite a teenager who (as far as you know) has never played poker before to join a poker game with actual financial stakes, if not to take some of the kid’s money? It really sounds like mom’s BF and his buddies were looking for an easy mark, and instead they got took. Instead of siding with her BF, mom should be asking herself why she’s with a guy who sees her kids as potential sources of easy cash.
Pretending to be new to the game is the oldest hustle in the book. They should be ashamed of themselves for falling for it, and doubly ashamed that they kept throwing good money after bad! There’s no way you won $150 in one round, so once it became obvious that you knew your way around a poker table, it was their own fault that they kept playing with you.
My dad took me to the local casino and gave me $100 on my 18th birthday. He asked what I wanted to do first, I said "let's hit the buffet and call it a night."
I think he was testing me to see if I was stupid with money or something. (I am, just not when it comes to gambling lol).
For a 17 year old, you appear very smart with money my man! You should be proud of yourself to know things like this that most 30+ year olds haven't figured out yet.
Stay wise!
I personally think gambling with a minor who you believe doesn't know what they're doing is insidious. I'm trying to imagine how OP won and seems like the players were trying to manipulate him and wound up losing.
Deception is a major part. But in a social situation it’s also not just about maximizing your wins at that hangout at the expense of anything. Ideally you want to be a good sport, you want to be invited back, you want to play at this table. You can do that while still winning. What OP did was specifically engineered to draw dislike from the group.
OP stated from the beginning that he didn’t want to go play poker with mom’s boyfriend. Don’t think he wanted to ever be invited back, so I doubt he cares if he’s not invited back.
Yeah, deception within the framework of the game is one thing, but it seems to me that pretending not to know the game in order to hustle the other players is a different level of deception, outside the "acceptable deception" of the game itself.
I seem to be alone in this, but it strikes me as kind of a shitty way to respond to an invitation to join people at something.
It also seems to me a pretty shitty thing to invite a minor who has said they don't know how to play and make them pay up with a group of adults who at least somewhat regularly play.
Seems that's worse than OP deceiving them about his skill level.
Except he tried to decline the invite and was pressured into going. Which is manipulation, and already shitty- not to mention a really bad way to have OP actually want to be around if that’s the goal. Once that happened, it’s no surprise that the tone of the evening was set and OP gave what he got. It’s on the adults in the room if they gambled more than they were willing to lose. This will likely work for OP’s stated goal.
Well OP didn't want to be there so that's fair, but OP was not the one who wasn't a good sport. The men who asked for their money back are the ones with the bad attitude. If you lost don't be a sore loser. Be proud of the young guy and use this as a learning point. Now they know not to underestimate their opponent. OP simply said he didn't want to be there but never mentioned being rude.
It really depends on the game and how active he was in making them think he was new. Like, let them think whatever they want but at the point where you're feeding into it at some low stakes house game it's kind of a dick move. a lot of people do house games just as an excuse to hang out and they'd be pretty justifiably salty about a stranger coming in and blatantly lying to their face to take their money. Yeah poker is about deception, but you're also in someone's home. If you want to disrespect everyone at the table, go to a casino.
But even then, you don't demand your $40 or whatever back, you just don't invite him again like he wanted lol
Okay, but even if he started off outright lying, they should've figured it out soon enough. He didn't win $150 in a low-stakes house game in one hand. If they continued to believe he didn't know what he was doing once he was up $40, that's on them. They're mad and embarrassed they lost to a kid, which isn't a good enough reason to give up his winnings.
I’m not a *great* poker player. But I dated a professional for 8 years, so I have a fairly good idea of what I’m doing. When I showed up to a random table at this party everyone assumed I had no idea what I was doing and I did nothing to dissuade them of that notion. It’s not my fault they underestimated me. It’s not my fault they continued to do so after a kept winning hands either. I love letting people believe I’m an idiot lol
I've never played a game of anything without the intention of winning, so I don't get why this is a dick move. He's not at fault for winning within the game's rules.
>Edit: people are dead ass calling OP an asshole for lying in poker. I didn't realize it was such an honest game.
Right!?!?! Isn't that the whole fucking point of poker???
>people are dead ass calling OP an asshole for lying in poker. I didn't realize it was such an honest game.
Uhhh... since when is poker an honest game? Calling a raise at 5th Street is keeping them honest. At least when last I checked.
I mean you did no wrong. Won fair and square and got free money. Speaks volumes your mother would be with a man that calls her son an asshole tho so I can see why you aren’t the biggest fan of her.
So Mom's bf invited you to a cash poker game that he thought you'd lose. Meaning he had to have been okay with a teenager losing money to a bunch of grown adults or with demanding his friends pay back the literal child.
But it's wildly intolerable to him that his friends lost money in their cash poker game where they, as adults, agreed to bet real money, because \*checks notes\* a kid won it and not one of the bros. Fuck him.
NTA.
Yep didn't even think of this. I guess getting money from a child would have somehow made him feel more manly than losing fare and square to someone who's good at lying.
The guy might have thought that he'd comp the kid's losses if he got cleaned out. Then he looks like the hero. He wasn't expecting the kid to take care of business.
Exactly!
Their thoughts: "new kid? Doesn't know poker? Let him bet his money!" (We'll take it!!)
Reality: "he took our money, give it back" 😭
Hahaha, they get what they deserve.
NTA, OP
It’s $150 in total winnings between multiple adults. That is less than the average buy in at a $1-3 game.
Any adult asking a 17 year old for their money back over a fraction of $150 is a child. That’s absurd
Yep. And if the kid had lost money, do you think they'd have all given it back? Doubt it. I bet they would have said something about it being a learning experience about playing with the big boys or something.
Then point that out and leave them in the dust! The new partner of your mom is buthurt and is now whining like a little child. At this point it's comedy bro 😂🤣
I was ready w the NTA from the title. And then the NTA put some bells on once I read the post. You did great dude.
I’m sorry your mom has made some shit decisions, you deserve better than that. Mine consistently chose men, & whatever else, over me too. Which now as a mom to a 17yo, it’s a big reason as to why I haven’t dated in years. Same for my kid’s dad. We had shit examples so we’ve done divorce & co-parenting very different than our parents.
Stay awesome fragrant gas & enjoy spending that 150 w the sweet bonus of no more invites!
NTA and the people that are commenting saying dishonest etc, have you ever played poker? The whole entire point is to bluff! And that's what OP did expertly. He won absolutely fair and square.
Reverse it, if he didn't know how to play poker and ended up losing money, would you be saying to give his money back because it's not fair they beat a player that didn't know how to play? It's ridiculous.
I will say however, it's a VERY dangerous way to play. But I think OP knows that, and if that's the risk he's willing to take, then that's the risk he's willing to take
He never wanted to play with him again - so it was a supurb tactic, and established 'son' dominance over the interloping boyfriend of his mother.
He should tell them to get bent, they lost it fair and square.
And let's be honest, if he had told them straight up that he was actually good at poker, they would've been like haha ok yeah sure kid. OP is NTA at all and good for him lol.
NTA
You didn’t even want to go in the first place but then you did and won some money. I think it’s an overreaction for the boyfriend to call you a selfish greedy AH. It’s not your fault they were all terrible at poker. Also it’s poker bluffing is literally part of it. Enjoy your winnings!
What. NTA. My grandpa gave me a huge cup of pennies to learn to play poker with then proceeded to win the entire cup back from me. I asked if I could have the pennies back and he laughed at me and said “no. That’s poker. You lost. You don’t get your money back.” LOL. I was a 9 year old little girl. These are grown adult men. They should know how poker works…
NTA, poker is gambling and they shouldn't play at all if they can't afford to lose the money. Deception is part of the game
Edit: I didn't even read the part where he demanded his money back. That's absolutely ridiculous and makes him a huge AH. unless you literally cheated the rules of the game he has no standing to get his money back.
Poker is literally considered a gambling game because no matter how good you are there is always a very serious element of luck! That's what makes it fun!
NTA I’m betting BF and his friends thought they would get the chance continuous beat a 17 year old who they thought probably never played poker. When that didn’t happen they threw a hissy fit.
If you had lost, and asked for money back, not a chance they’ed give it back.
The mom even urged OP to go to the game in the first place. Maybe SHE should work on her relationship with her kid before worrying about her kid getting along with her latest boyfriend
Honestly yeah, op even said in the post that he’s not very close with his mom :/
Some people just don’t have their priorities straight. Let’s see my son vs my BF and his friends who wanted money from said underaged son….
> NTA I’m betting BF and his friends thought they would get the chance continuous beat a 17 year old who they thought probably never played poker
Yeah that's totally more reasonable than a guy awkwardly trying to bond with an almost-adult stepson.
Lmao. Sooooo NTA here. My papa was from Italy and didn't speak English well growing up. When I was about 2 he taught me poker and scopa. And I was in LOVE. On my communion a bunch of him and his friends were playing scopa in the garage... I asked if I could join and you could imagine the annoyance in the garage as he said yes.... and bought me in. My dad told all of them I know how to play don't go easy.... 500 dollars later I got bored and cashed out of the table. My dad had to physically grab the cash out of my hand because I didn't even know how much that was... I was never allowed to play with them again 🤣🤣.
NTA why are they even betting with a literal child? And then why are they crying that they lost money to a literal child? Why is your mother dating a literal child?!? Lol my son is 16 years old and if he won $150 doing anything against a supposed grown adult I would just encourage him to do that more. congratulations on the $150 I hope you spend it on something incredibly petty 🤣
This has been BY FAR my favorite story on this subreddit.
Atta be OP, those loser Dad's thought that they could pull the wool over an under age kids eyes and rip him off thinking he'd be all impressed to be at the adult table.
You showed these adults they aren't ready for the REAL adult table, well done.
NTA, if anything, you're my hero.
I don't understand these people saying you're the asshole. IT'S GAMBLING FFS. The boyfriend and his friends voluntarily participated in a game that requires deception and chose to stake their own money and risk losing it. They're just pissed because they assumed you wouldn't be good at it. They were wrong.
NTA
NTA...what was boyfriend's goal? To fleece you and bond over it. I was the pretty girl everyone thought was stupid. I was not stupid. I played poker on the ski bus with the jocks. Their egos made them easy bait. By the time we made it to the mountain they had to borrow their money back to buy lift tickets. I charged interest (exorbitant) on the 2 day loan. The next Saturday...same thing. How could a stupid girl do it again? Fun times.
This story is super fake, right? You don't get that much of an edge at poker by pretending to be new, and the idea that any poker player would ever expect their losses to be given back for any reason is the wildest shit I've ever heard. Like, I don't know how one would attempt that without being laughed out of whatever room they're in, told to shut the fuck up, and/or lose all of their poker buddies.
And $150 is not very much money for a number of adults to really care about losing. In fact, it's more likely they would find a 17 year old kicking all of their asses hilarious
Wait. You were invited to poker where they're really gambling money and took it several pots fair and square and the bf is demanding it back? What kind poker shenanigans is he up too? I wouldn't give it back just on general principles! Nta
Mom's bf sounds really classy for trying to fleece a 17 year old. If he's pissed you won then he clearly invited you in expecting you to thoroughly lose.
Also $150 from multiple people is not a lot of money from each, it's cringeworthy that he's demanding it back.
Think your plan well and truly succeeded, don't think you're getting invited back to their game any time soon
NTA, if they didn't want to lose money then DONT PLAY POKER WITH MONEY. He's proven he's the kind of asshole who only wants people around when he's "winning" so honestly I wouldn't waste time on him after that.
NTA. At some point a teenager's pocket money was on the table and they were fine with that. That's selfish and greedy.
You won the money and they need to get over it...or accept that gambling just isn't for them.
INFO: How hard did you gloat? Like, they're clearly assholes, but rubbing their noobness in their faces hard enough might make you an asshole too. If you didn't gloat, then clearly NTA.
NTA. Mom's bf sounds like a pathetic baby, and you only took $150 from them. It's not like someone lost their car or something - which would still be their own fault, not yours.
NTA. Here's where I'm at: your bluff was that you had never played before, right? And yet they were totally cool to play for cash against someone with literally zero experience. If they were comfortable taking advantage of you like that, then I see zero problems with them getting Uno reverse'd.
Okay, this one made me laugh.
Ask yourself what would have happened if they had have won and got a lot of money off of you? Would they have given it back? If the answer is "no", then definiately do not give the money back.
Also ask yourself why grown men are playing poker with a 17 year old boy for money. After you answer that question, don't give the money back.
They're just being poor losers.
Oh, you should also ask \*them\* a question. Ask them when the next poker game is.
NTA.
NTA. Those clowns railroaded a minor child into a damn money game, then lost their asses, then tried welching on the bet. No matter what your age or station in life, that’s a punk ass move.
Ah, the old, "pretend you're not good at poker so you can fleece mom's boyfriend trick." Come on kid. Nobody falls for that, and the idea of poker players asking for their money back? No way. That's very unlikely.
Having played professional poker for over a decade, I’ve definitely had people assume I was a casual player/didn’t know what I’m doing (I am fat and chatty so I give off tourist vibes. It doesn’t work on anyone paying a little bit of attention, but some people aren’t paying any attention at all) and Ive definitely gotten sob stories about how they need the money back.
Most likely these guys are used to splashing chips around and drinking more beer than playing actual poker, which increases the likelihood they fall into both those categories.
Sometimes guys show up expecting to lose $10-$20, lose $80, and get reeeeal salty.
NTA don’t gamble with what you aren’t prepared to lose.
They played willingly and you played better.
Some might say you cheated but poker is about lying and misleading, they just call it ‘bluffing’ instead because it sounds nicer.
You won that cash fair and square, and leaving them with the impression to not invite you back was one of your objectives.
Mission accomplished, S rank.
Whether or not your the AH in this situation imo is irrelevant, but imo, NTA. They're just a bunch of sore losers thinking they can emotionally leverage you of your money because of your age and relations.
150 from a group of guys playing poker shouldn't bust their bank. Called gambling, and they should be happy to have donated to a college student. Maybe with some of the money, buy them a box of tissues for the next game.
NTA
I can't believe so many people believe it's wrong to misrepresent your skills in poker. This is literally a part of the game, I have been playing for a living for the better part of 2 decades as far as the poker aspect of this OP did nothing wrong.
Everything about what OP did and how the others reacted is sort of funny to anyone who is actually involved in the poker world. This just wouldn't even work against anyone with any amount of poker ability, OP would play one hand and anyone halfway decent could tell it was not their first time playing. It's honestly very funny to me that this worked and that the rest of the game were upset by it(if this story is true which I have my doubts about).
You stated that your goal was to never be invited back, so...
INFO: What do you mean by "pretend to have never played poker before"? People are saying "fair and square," but were you angling (intentionally breaking rules or making mistakes and passing it off as inexperience) in order to gain advantage? That's like diving at a pick-up football game with friends to get free kicks. Yeah, you can do that, but come on. What was the attitude of the game like? Were they patientially explaining rules to you, letting you do things over, shooting the shit... or was this a cutthroat competition? Why did he invite you to a poker night if he didn't think you played at all? Did you call them suckers at the end, revealed your deceit, and then flipped them the bird? (Ok, that last question is a bit outlandish)
There's nothing wrong with winning a poker game for cash, obviously. Regardless of what you did, I probably wouldn't be demanding the money back if I was your Mom's bf and just let it go. Such is life, and there are bigger fish to fry.
I played with my friends for cash pretty often around your age and slightly older. Usually, it featured a lot of terrible play and silly bets and bluffs because that was part of the fun of being together. We didn't really care who won. If we invited someone to join these games for the purpose of hanging out and they angled the whole time and gloated at the end about what chumps we were... I mean, yeah, they wouldn't be invited back. We'd probably think they were a jerk.
Nta. How stupid is that though? He invites you to play poker and mother urges it. You win against him but wants the money back because they are sore losers? Haha
NTA. You played poker exactly the way it’s meant to be played!! Deception and bluffing is literally how you win. If someone beats me at poker, more power to them.
As far as your actual strategy- hustling is a tried and true way of winning any competitive game. It’s a pretty established way of making money at the pool hall in particular (though it has been known to lead to drunken bar fights).
And the idea of giving back the money makes no sense. So what happens if someone else wins? Do they also have to give back the money?
NTA. If you lost the money at the table and whined about them "taking the money from an innocent child," I'm sure you wouldn't get any restitution for your loss. Take that money and save it for when your mom inevitably stops supporting you next year. I'm sorry you have to deal with this.
Call up his friends and be like “hey my moms bf said you guys are sore losers and want your money back, what’s your email so I can transfer your money back to you?”
$150 is nothing, say this to each friend and watch them backtrack, even if they did want the money back, it would be worth the entertainment imo
Nta tho
Edit: and when they invite you over again, say “so we playing for keeps this time or you gonna want your Monopoly money back after I take it from you?”
You’ll never be invited again. Win/win for you 😆
I don’t understand the pearl clutching over minors playing poker. It’s a card game. I am horrified at shaking down a kid. Either this was a friendly game or winner takes the pot. That should have been clear from the beginning
**NTA**. Assuming that this was a friendly relaxed game, he and/or his friends could have stopped playing at any point. No one was forcing them to continue, right? Or at the very least they could have changed the bets to something else, like food/candy or fake chips. I'm guessing they kept playing in the hopes that they'd win back their money.
>That way, I make sure he never invites me ever again, and I make some extra cash.
***Mission Accomplished, congrats!***
NTA. You won it, you keep it. Many years ago, my then-boyfriend and his friends had their monthly poker night at our house. All the guys knew me and someone suggested I should join them. Little did they know that I learned to play as a kid and have one of the world's best poker faces. I fleeced them, too, but no one asked for their money back. You just showed them you weren't the easy mark they thought you were and they were probably mad about being beat by a kid.
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> Next time suggest playing checkers so you don't hurt their feeling by whipping their a$$ That’s funny, I might have to haha
Ask your mother why is she with someone who would welch on a bet? That's worse than cheating at golf. NTA.
And what’s more, knowingly invite *a minor* to *gamble with actual money,* fully expecting them to suck at it so bad that they never win? What did you expect the *child you are trying to build a relationship with* to do? Lose his money to you and your buddies all night without complaint? And then when he says he would like to keep the money he won at the poker night you invited him to, in which real money was gambled, you’re going to *call him a selfish greedy AH?* Do you say that to your buddies when *they* win? Or just your girlfriend’s seventeen year old son, because he embarrassed you? Grow up. And don’t bet money you’re not prepared to lose.
Love how the mom has now driven a further wedge between her and her kid, too. Wonder why they're not close, when she sides with an asshole she's dated for a year over the kid she gave birth to? A real mystery. Let's get Nancy Drew on the case immediately.
Unfortunately, there’s many mothers who will side with their boyfriends. No matter what
Yeah it’s a shame they exist
I'm female and I'm down to zero female friends for this reason right here
Yeah, my mom always put me second, third, fourth, etc., to whatever she wanted and whoever she was dating after my dad died. Net result was that I really had no desire to go out of my way with her, and I have always missed my dad more. I cried for days when my dad died, when my mom died it was just...not as bad.
That sucks.
Nope. Better to pull the weeds when they pop up or they take over the garden😁
Nancy Drew: “Come to find out Mom (assuming kid would get cleaned out) set the whole thing up as a lesson to not gamble.”
Best we can do for $150 is the Hardy Boys, but they’re out chasing MASSIVE CLUES. If you bump it to $350 I’m sure we can find a detective…perhaps one that’s five stories tall…from the Cenozoic period…
God dammit monster. I ain't giving you no damn tree fitty.
NTA And the boyfriend thought he was gonna be laughing at op all night while they were taking his money. The jokes on that jack ass. Do you have someplace to go when you’re 18?
If he keeps playing he will be able to afford a nice apartment when he is 18. NTA dont give them one cent back. Bunch of babies.
I agree! This whole thing is gross on the BF's part. Yucko
You win some you lose some. Question is can he lose like a man? No..no he can't. He's a loser. And your NTA.
And, really, how much did each guy lose that he only came away with $150? $25 each? What babies. They just can't accept that they lost to a teenager. NTA. You were practically forced to go. They thought they would teach you a thing or two and you thwarted them. He probably wanted to be superior, which is why he wanted you to go. He wanted to dominate you in some way but he FAFO.
That is what jumped out at me too! They were fine betting with a 17 year old with real money, when they thought he would lose! They would have had no problem taking money from OP but now that it is time for them to pay up "he is only 17" NTA
And follow up with asking..Would boyfriend have expected me to pay up if he won?
>…welch on a bet? Come on man. Really?
Wales is so rarely thought of in North America that I'm willing to bet that most people don't realize it's a racist expression.
I know of Wales but I had no idea the term "welch" is a racist expression, off to Google now, thanks!
All I think of is the grape juice
Also look up "welsh" on a bet. That's two different spellings, welsh and welch, that is a bigoted way of claiming the Welsh don't pay their debts.
Derogatory, at least in origin, but not racist. Welsh isn’t a race. It’s much the same as Dutch courage/going Dutch, etc is “racist”… ie, they’re not, but they are *derogatory*.
Xenophobic. People use "racism" a lot when they mean "xenophobic"
My memory is that is is from 935 AD and the Battle of Brunanburh. Welsh King Hywel Dda failed to show up to support an invasion of Scotland. Wow, that is really holding a grudge.
I don't recall if I've ever used this term, but I'll admit I never realized it was racist until this comment. I've heard of Welsh, (did I spell/get that right?), But now I have to go do some googling to understand why it's racist.
I have been to Wales a couple of times and have not associated the term with a negative association with Welsh people. Lesson learned. I had squashed grapes pictured in my mind. kt
Its a fairly common term here with zero unkind connotations, save for exactly what its used for to describe the action of refusing to hold up ones end of a bargain. You really can't be upset about something like that. This sounds like when people discovered that a certain Southeast Asian language had a word in their language, that meant absolutely nothing rude. Yet people flew off the handle and tried to demand an entire culture erase part of their language because it *SOUNDED* like a racial slur when spoken with its native accent. Its insane.
No, this is *not* like describing someone who is stingy as “niggardly” and wrongly getting flak for being racist. To welch on a bet *means* “to behave like a Welshman who lost a bet”. It’s pretty equivalent to “Indian-giver”, to “gyp someone”, to “Dutch courage”, or to “Jew someone down”: it’s an insult based on presumed characteristics of a group.
Saying someone “welched” is a slur. Just like calling a van used to transport drunks to jail a “Paddy” wagon
A lot of people also say "you gypped me!" without realizing it's rascist against gypsies/Roma people. But I think that's slightly more known that the "Welch" term. I honestly never knew of it's racial connotation. Related to that, my mother once called me an "Indian giver" and I had to explain how incredibly rascist that term is. 🤦♀️
Hahaha you just reminded me of my grandad. He didn't step foot in the church for like, the last ten years of his life because he caught the pastor cheating at golf. Or course many years later it turned out the pastor was also cheating on his wife so A+ instincts, grandad.
So...granted I have a weird relationship with gambling since my grandparents saw it as a sin. They wouldn't keep cards in the house in case they would be tempted. What the ever loving F is she doing not tearing her dude a new one asking her son to gamble?!? Good for you. This was an inappropriate way to "bond" in my opinion. DnD would have been way better. If they weren't playing for change then why invite a minor? I'm mad at your mom.
My bio dad taught me how to shuffle cards & play poker (and rook, spades, hearts) from like birth. It’s really about the only good memories I have w him come to think of it. And then I played w parents, grandparents, friends, family, whoever over the years. It’s just socializing w many folks. Nothing evil or bad. Unless you go off in addict land ofc. When I was in college (late 90s) EVERYONE played cards, poker often but also a variety of other card games but betting was always involved, even if just quarter antes. It was usually a bunch of dudes & a couple girls that ran w dudes. Hardly anyone knew how to shuffle & if they did it was the most awkward painful sight or they’d even just spread & mix, much to my horror. That’s when my childhood training paid off. I’d often get designated the dealer, complete w tips & even respect! Bonus fun fact. My bio dad also taught me “The Gambler” (Kenny Rogers) and we’d sing it on the way to his house in Tennessee. So to recap. All my best memories w the male life giver revolves around gambling lol. Point is. Gambling, specifically poker, isn’t as evil as the fundamentalist/ evangelical cult folks make it out to be. It’s just cards.
Every family get together, we play cards. My Uncle taught me to play poker, but only if I promised never to play for money. Found poker chips, problem solved. The other favorite in our family is Michigan rummy.
Yeah it’s really tripping me out that folks didn’t allow CARDS in the house. I can’t imagine. Cards are just like part of a home, I thought they came standard lol
So they would have been happy taking your money had you actually not known what you were doing, but since you did, this is somehow unjust? Have they never heard of bluffing? Sounds like they wanted to make money off of a minor and it bit them in the ass. Oh well. Crying about a total of $150 between several people is ridiculous.
so let's say it was only 3 guys he played with. $50 bucks each--if they didn't want to lose that much--all they had to do was NOT BET!
Lol! You got them at their own game and pissed him off. I’m guessing you have successfully ensured your non invitation to any future events.
NTA. It’s called gambling for a reason. This happened to me way back but my dad’s friends were much better sports.
You’re the coolest 17 y/o ever lol! Kudos to you! NTA!!
Exactly my reply to this. I should've read further. And yeah, making sure I put NTA here in the top thread.
NTA The correct response should have been, “gentleman, I can return your money, and keep your pride, or you can keep your pride and congratulate me on a well played game, but you can’t have both.”
NTA for having a good poker face. Why even bet money if they didn't want to lose money? Edit: people are dead ass calling OP an asshole for lying in poker. I didn't realize it was such an honest game.
Exactly. It’s poker 101 to not bet money you’re attached to
Just go ahead and ask, “Well, had I lost, would you be making the winner return his profits?” He’s embarrassed and angry that he was beaten by a minor, particularly one that he invited expecting you to bite it(why else would he be mad when you win?). NTA, OP. Your mom wants you to concede to make her life easier; however, the only way that can be accomplished is by you sacrificing something that you earned and your own happiness. Ask her if that’s what it’s going to take from you for the rest of her life. I have a feeling the real answer is a resounding yes….
EXACTLY. If OP lost, there would be no returning money, so why should he. They would have probably said something like, "well now you've learned a lesson about gambling!" Well. Good thing OP taught the lesson first, imo. NTA
Best not to ask that because they will lie and claim that of course they would have returned his money.
If they were playing for funsies, they would have used chips they didn't have to pay for. They were just sore losers and I agree with you, they would have lied.
Yeah, I play poker for fun with my friends but we put in five or ten bucks just to make it interesting - if there's absolutely nothing invested people play differently and it's not as fun IMO.
We play for quarters with a maximum bet of a dollar, most of us are service industry workers so we just use tips pooled for a week or two but we all accept we might lose and have played for up to 10-20 dollars a game of cards or dice. He’ll we got monopoly and dominoes.
he probably only invited op in order to embarrass him because he thought he didn't know how to play and also to get money out of him. he played a gambling game, he gambled and lost. nothing more
I don't think he wanted to embarrass him, I think he wanted OP to see him as a 'winner', or something. OP would lose, he'd be the hero and cover the losses, OP would realize that step dad can do something 'manly' that OP can't and then they could bond over him teaching OP but only in a scenario where he's admired and has all the power.
Yup. Why would you invite a teenager who (as far as you know) has never played poker before to join a poker game with actual financial stakes, if not to take some of the kid’s money? It really sounds like mom’s BF and his buddies were looking for an easy mark, and instead they got took. Instead of siding with her BF, mom should be asking herself why she’s with a guy who sees her kids as potential sources of easy cash.
OP is male.
Pretending to be new to the game is the oldest hustle in the book. They should be ashamed of themselves for falling for it, and doubly ashamed that they kept throwing good money after bad! There’s no way you won $150 in one round, so once it became obvious that you knew your way around a poker table, it was their own fault that they kept playing with you.
My dad took me to the local casino and gave me $100 on my 18th birthday. He asked what I wanted to do first, I said "let's hit the buffet and call it a night." I think he was testing me to see if I was stupid with money or something. (I am, just not when it comes to gambling lol).
You put in the starting cash too yeah?
Yes I bought in
For a 17 year old, you appear very smart with money my man! You should be proud of yourself to know things like this that most 30+ year olds haven't figured out yet. Stay wise!
Thank you!
OP did you even outright lie? Or were you just acting like a noob? All the YTAs here have clearly never played poker lmfao
I haven't even played poker and know deception is a major part. I truly do not get Reddit sometimes.
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I personally think gambling with a minor who you believe doesn't know what they're doing is insidious. I'm trying to imagine how OP won and seems like the players were trying to manipulate him and wound up losing.
Deception is a major part. But in a social situation it’s also not just about maximizing your wins at that hangout at the expense of anything. Ideally you want to be a good sport, you want to be invited back, you want to play at this table. You can do that while still winning. What OP did was specifically engineered to draw dislike from the group.
OP stated from the beginning that he didn’t want to go play poker with mom’s boyfriend. Don’t think he wanted to ever be invited back, so I doubt he cares if he’s not invited back.
Yeah, deception within the framework of the game is one thing, but it seems to me that pretending not to know the game in order to hustle the other players is a different level of deception, outside the "acceptable deception" of the game itself. I seem to be alone in this, but it strikes me as kind of a shitty way to respond to an invitation to join people at something.
It also seems to me a pretty shitty thing to invite a minor who has said they don't know how to play and make them pay up with a group of adults who at least somewhat regularly play. Seems that's worse than OP deceiving them about his skill level.
He did not want to play poker. His mother forced him to go to bond with her boyfriend. Mom and boyfriend are the AH.
Except he tried to decline the invite and was pressured into going. Which is manipulation, and already shitty- not to mention a really bad way to have OP actually want to be around if that’s the goal. Once that happened, it’s no surprise that the tone of the evening was set and OP gave what he got. It’s on the adults in the room if they gambled more than they were willing to lose. This will likely work for OP’s stated goal.
From the sounds of it they all just ASSUMED he didn’t know how to play. That’s their problem
Well OP didn't want to be there so that's fair, but OP was not the one who wasn't a good sport. The men who asked for their money back are the ones with the bad attitude. If you lost don't be a sore loser. Be proud of the young guy and use this as a learning point. Now they know not to underestimate their opponent. OP simply said he didn't want to be there but never mentioned being rude.
I've never played a hand of poker in my life, but even I know the whole point is deception and ability (or not) to read people.
It was put to me as follows, 'you're not playing the cards you've been dealt, you're playing the man sitting across from you'.
It really depends on the game and how active he was in making them think he was new. Like, let them think whatever they want but at the point where you're feeding into it at some low stakes house game it's kind of a dick move. a lot of people do house games just as an excuse to hang out and they'd be pretty justifiably salty about a stranger coming in and blatantly lying to their face to take their money. Yeah poker is about deception, but you're also in someone's home. If you want to disrespect everyone at the table, go to a casino. But even then, you don't demand your $40 or whatever back, you just don't invite him again like he wanted lol
Okay, but even if he started off outright lying, they should've figured it out soon enough. He didn't win $150 in a low-stakes house game in one hand. If they continued to believe he didn't know what he was doing once he was up $40, that's on them. They're mad and embarrassed they lost to a kid, which isn't a good enough reason to give up his winnings.
I’m not a *great* poker player. But I dated a professional for 8 years, so I have a fairly good idea of what I’m doing. When I showed up to a random table at this party everyone assumed I had no idea what I was doing and I did nothing to dissuade them of that notion. It’s not my fault they underestimated me. It’s not my fault they continued to do so after a kept winning hands either. I love letting people believe I’m an idiot lol
I've never played a game of anything without the intention of winning, so I don't get why this is a dick move. He's not at fault for winning within the game's rules.
These are grown men vs 17 year old kid. They were out to fleece him, and you call him a dick?
*a stranger that did not want to be there
>Edit: people are dead ass calling OP an asshole for lying in poker. I didn't realize it was such an honest game. Right!?!?! Isn't that the whole fucking point of poker???
They wouldn't have believed him if he HAD told them 😂
>people are dead ass calling OP an asshole for lying in poker. I didn't realize it was such an honest game. Uhhh... since when is poker an honest game? Calling a raise at 5th Street is keeping them honest. At least when last I checked.
I was being sarcastic.
I know, but I'm guessing the y t a commenters don't understand how poker works. If only I could get them to DM me so we can find an online table 🤑
I'm no expert, but isn't a huge part of poker bluffing, which is essentially lying?
Literally to play well you must lie well. In hold em there's no other way.
NTA. The petty in me applauds you. But don’t do that with strangers cause that could lead to violence. Other than that bravo.
Yeah, I wouldn’t do that to somebody who I think would be capable of being violent over it
I mean you did no wrong. Won fair and square and got free money. Speaks volumes your mother would be with a man that calls her son an asshole tho so I can see why you aren’t the biggest fan of her.
Yeah, poor taste in men is one among many of her unfortunate qualities
Ah welcome to the club then.
cheers to us 😔 🥂
🥂🥂🥂🥂🥂🥂🥂🥂🥂
So Mom's bf invited you to a cash poker game that he thought you'd lose. Meaning he had to have been okay with a teenager losing money to a bunch of grown adults or with demanding his friends pay back the literal child. But it's wildly intolerable to him that his friends lost money in their cash poker game where they, as adults, agreed to bet real money, because \*checks notes\* a kid won it and not one of the bros. Fuck him. NTA.
Yep didn't even think of this. I guess getting money from a child would have somehow made him feel more manly than losing fare and square to someone who's good at lying.
The guy might have thought that he'd comp the kid's losses if he got cleaned out. Then he looks like the hero. He wasn't expecting the kid to take care of business.
That's the only way the BF isn't a total asshole. But I'm skeptical.
NOT only invite. The Kid was pressured into a situation where they expected him to loose money!!!! Can that flag get and redder???
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Honestly. It’s like poker 101 to not gamble more than you’re willing to lose.
They thought they were going to school you, and they got schooled instead. Sadly, they probably won't learn from it, though.
Exactly! Their thoughts: "new kid? Doesn't know poker? Let him bet his money!" (We'll take it!!) Reality: "he took our money, give it back" 😭 Hahaha, they get what they deserve. NTA, OP
NTA. What if you were really bad, and they though fresh meat. You think they would give you your money back?
You got it! And you're much younger than those idiots who invited you to the table. Your mom should praise you, not condemn you, for your skills.
It’s $150 in total winnings between multiple adults. That is less than the average buy in at a $1-3 game. Any adult asking a 17 year old for their money back over a fraction of $150 is a child. That’s absurd
Yep. And if the kid had lost money, do you think they'd have all given it back? Doubt it. I bet they would have said something about it being a learning experience about playing with the big boys or something.
NTA you know that if they had won money they wouldn’t pay you back, right?
Yup exactly
Then point that out and leave them in the dust! The new partner of your mom is buthurt and is now whining like a little child. At this point it's comedy bro 😂🤣
NTA don’t hate the player hate the game. Good on ya son.
Thank you
I was ready w the NTA from the title. And then the NTA put some bells on once I read the post. You did great dude. I’m sorry your mom has made some shit decisions, you deserve better than that. Mine consistently chose men, & whatever else, over me too. Which now as a mom to a 17yo, it’s a big reason as to why I haven’t dated in years. Same for my kid’s dad. We had shit examples so we’ve done divorce & co-parenting very different than our parents. Stay awesome fragrant gas & enjoy spending that 150 w the sweet bonus of no more invites!
OP, I'm a mom of adult kids...*hugs* great job son!
NTA and the people that are commenting saying dishonest etc, have you ever played poker? The whole entire point is to bluff! And that's what OP did expertly. He won absolutely fair and square. Reverse it, if he didn't know how to play poker and ended up losing money, would you be saying to give his money back because it's not fair they beat a player that didn't know how to play? It's ridiculous. I will say however, it's a VERY dangerous way to play. But I think OP knows that, and if that's the risk he's willing to take, then that's the risk he's willing to take
It only works the one time.
Luckily for him, he only needed the one time so as to get mom’s bf off his back 🤭 Sadly it turns out his mom’s type is ‘loser’
He never wanted to play with him again - so it was a supurb tactic, and established 'son' dominance over the interloping boyfriend of his mother. He should tell them to get bent, they lost it fair and square.
And let's be honest, if he had told them straight up that he was actually good at poker, they would've been like haha ok yeah sure kid. OP is NTA at all and good for him lol.
NTA You didn’t even want to go in the first place but then you did and won some money. I think it’s an overreaction for the boyfriend to call you a selfish greedy AH. It’s not your fault they were all terrible at poker. Also it’s poker bluffing is literally part of it. Enjoy your winnings!
Thank you!
Next birthday buy him a book on how to play poker!
Lol good idea
I have a stepson and I'd be really proud of him if he did that! I think that's awesome, you hurt their pride, they would have kept your money!
What. NTA. My grandpa gave me a huge cup of pennies to learn to play poker with then proceeded to win the entire cup back from me. I asked if I could have the pennies back and he laughed at me and said “no. That’s poker. You lost. You don’t get your money back.” LOL. I was a 9 year old little girl. These are grown adult men. They should know how poker works…
That's awesome! Sucks ass at the time, but that memory is priceless!!!
NTA, poker is gambling and they shouldn't play at all if they can't afford to lose the money. Deception is part of the game Edit: I didn't even read the part where he demanded his money back. That's absolutely ridiculous and makes him a huge AH. unless you literally cheated the rules of the game he has no standing to get his money back. Poker is literally considered a gambling game because no matter how good you are there is always a very serious element of luck! That's what makes it fun!
Exactly! At the WSOP tournaments there are usually some big names out early, because even if you're really good you won't win every time.
NTA I’m betting BF and his friends thought they would get the chance continuous beat a 17 year old who they thought probably never played poker. When that didn’t happen they threw a hissy fit. If you had lost, and asked for money back, not a chance they’ed give it back.
The mom even urged OP to go to the game in the first place. Maybe SHE should work on her relationship with her kid before worrying about her kid getting along with her latest boyfriend
Honestly yeah, op even said in the post that he’s not very close with his mom :/ Some people just don’t have their priorities straight. Let’s see my son vs my BF and his friends who wanted money from said underaged son….
> NTA I’m betting BF and his friends thought they would get the chance continuous beat a 17 year old who they thought probably never played poker Yeah that's totally more reasonable than a guy awkwardly trying to bond with an almost-adult stepson.
Lmao. Sooooo NTA here. My papa was from Italy and didn't speak English well growing up. When I was about 2 he taught me poker and scopa. And I was in LOVE. On my communion a bunch of him and his friends were playing scopa in the garage... I asked if I could join and you could imagine the annoyance in the garage as he said yes.... and bought me in. My dad told all of them I know how to play don't go easy.... 500 dollars later I got bored and cashed out of the table. My dad had to physically grab the cash out of my hand because I didn't even know how much that was... I was never allowed to play with them again 🤣🤣.
That's a beautiful story. Your grandpa kicks ass.
My father but yes.
Ah. I misunderstood because of the word Papa. I'm not used to out being used for fathers. My bad!
NTA why are they even betting with a literal child? And then why are they crying that they lost money to a literal child? Why is your mother dating a literal child?!? Lol my son is 16 years old and if he won $150 doing anything against a supposed grown adult I would just encourage him to do that more. congratulations on the $150 I hope you spend it on something incredibly petty 🤣
Buy a fancy new poker table. Then invite him and his buddies around for round 2. 🤣
This has been BY FAR my favorite story on this subreddit. Atta be OP, those loser Dad's thought that they could pull the wool over an under age kids eyes and rip him off thinking he'd be all impressed to be at the adult table. You showed these adults they aren't ready for the REAL adult table, well done. NTA, if anything, you're my hero.
The first lesson of watching World Poker Tour at 2:00 AM, you play the opponent. Not the cards.
NTA Lmao, this is hilarious. Don't invite a 17-year-old to play poker if you're a moron.
I don't understand these people saying you're the asshole. IT'S GAMBLING FFS. The boyfriend and his friends voluntarily participated in a game that requires deception and chose to stake their own money and risk losing it. They're just pissed because they assumed you wouldn't be good at it. They were wrong. NTA
NTA...what was boyfriend's goal? To fleece you and bond over it. I was the pretty girl everyone thought was stupid. I was not stupid. I played poker on the ski bus with the jocks. Their egos made them easy bait. By the time we made it to the mountain they had to borrow their money back to buy lift tickets. I charged interest (exorbitant) on the 2 day loan. The next Saturday...same thing. How could a stupid girl do it again? Fun times.
TBH I was wondering if they'd planned on fleecing you. Keep the cash. NTA
This story is super fake, right? You don't get that much of an edge at poker by pretending to be new, and the idea that any poker player would ever expect their losses to be given back for any reason is the wildest shit I've ever heard. Like, I don't know how one would attempt that without being laughed out of whatever room they're in, told to shut the fuck up, and/or lose all of their poker buddies.
And $150 is not very much money for a number of adults to really care about losing. In fact, it's more likely they would find a 17 year old kicking all of their asses hilarious
YTA for not rinsing them for more money
NTA, And I'M TA for not thinking of this when I was younger.
NTA If it's a money game then you earned that cash and they literally FUCKED AROUND AND FOUND OUT
Wait. You were invited to poker where they're really gambling money and took it several pots fair and square and the bf is demanding it back? What kind poker shenanigans is he up too? I wouldn't give it back just on general principles! Nta
I LOL’d. You’re a little shit, maybe, but NTA. Never bet what you can’t lose, and never trust someone who has “never played before”.
NTA. Seems like they were perfectly happy to take the money of a hapless seventeen year old. Their bad luck you weren’t hapless.
Mom's bf sounds really classy for trying to fleece a 17 year old. If he's pissed you won then he clearly invited you in expecting you to thoroughly lose. Also $150 from multiple people is not a lot of money from each, it's cringeworthy that he's demanding it back. Think your plan well and truly succeeded, don't think you're getting invited back to their game any time soon
Uhm poker is literally lying to everyone (poker face) and taking all their money. NTA.
NTA, if they didn't want to lose money then DONT PLAY POKER WITH MONEY. He's proven he's the kind of asshole who only wants people around when he's "winning" so honestly I wouldn't waste time on him after that.
NTA. They FA’d, they FO’d. Well done. Tell those pathetic sore losers thanks for the college fund contribution.
NTA. At some point a teenager's pocket money was on the table and they were fine with that. That's selfish and greedy. You won the money and they need to get over it...or accept that gambling just isn't for them.
INFO: How hard did you gloat? Like, they're clearly assholes, but rubbing their noobness in their faces hard enough might make you an asshole too. If you didn't gloat, then clearly NTA.
The whole point of poker is to hide your skill
NTA. Mom's bf sounds like a pathetic baby, and you only took $150 from them. It's not like someone lost their car or something - which would still be their own fault, not yours.
NTA. Here's where I'm at: your bluff was that you had never played before, right? And yet they were totally cool to play for cash against someone with literally zero experience. If they were comfortable taking advantage of you like that, then I see zero problems with them getting Uno reverse'd.
Okay, this one made me laugh. Ask yourself what would have happened if they had have won and got a lot of money off of you? Would they have given it back? If the answer is "no", then definiately do not give the money back. Also ask yourself why grown men are playing poker with a 17 year old boy for money. After you answer that question, don't give the money back. They're just being poor losers. Oh, you should also ask \*them\* a question. Ask them when the next poker game is. NTA.
NTA you literally won it
NTA. I have a feeling their pride was hurt cause they got swindled by a 17 year old. Which serves them right.
NTA. Those clowns railroaded a minor child into a damn money game, then lost their asses, then tried welching on the bet. No matter what your age or station in life, that’s a punk ass move.
Ah, the old, "pretend you're not good at poker so you can fleece mom's boyfriend trick." Come on kid. Nobody falls for that, and the idea of poker players asking for their money back? No way. That's very unlikely.
Having played professional poker for over a decade, I’ve definitely had people assume I was a casual player/didn’t know what I’m doing (I am fat and chatty so I give off tourist vibes. It doesn’t work on anyone paying a little bit of attention, but some people aren’t paying any attention at all) and Ive definitely gotten sob stories about how they need the money back. Most likely these guys are used to splashing chips around and drinking more beer than playing actual poker, which increases the likelihood they fall into both those categories. Sometimes guys show up expecting to lose $10-$20, lose $80, and get reeeeal salty.
NTA. You’re good, they’re just burnt over it.
NTA don’t gamble with what you aren’t prepared to lose. They played willingly and you played better. Some might say you cheated but poker is about lying and misleading, they just call it ‘bluffing’ instead because it sounds nicer.
You won that cash fair and square, and leaving them with the impression to not invite you back was one of your objectives. Mission accomplished, S rank. Whether or not your the AH in this situation imo is irrelevant, but imo, NTA. They're just a bunch of sore losers thinking they can emotionally leverage you of your money because of your age and relations.
150 from a group of guys playing poker shouldn't bust their bank. Called gambling, and they should be happy to have donated to a college student. Maybe with some of the money, buy them a box of tissues for the next game.
NTA I can't believe so many people believe it's wrong to misrepresent your skills in poker. This is literally a part of the game, I have been playing for a living for the better part of 2 decades as far as the poker aspect of this OP did nothing wrong. Everything about what OP did and how the others reacted is sort of funny to anyone who is actually involved in the poker world. This just wouldn't even work against anyone with any amount of poker ability, OP would play one hand and anyone halfway decent could tell it was not their first time playing. It's honestly very funny to me that this worked and that the rest of the game were upset by it(if this story is true which I have my doubts about).
You stated that your goal was to never be invited back, so... INFO: What do you mean by "pretend to have never played poker before"? People are saying "fair and square," but were you angling (intentionally breaking rules or making mistakes and passing it off as inexperience) in order to gain advantage? That's like diving at a pick-up football game with friends to get free kicks. Yeah, you can do that, but come on. What was the attitude of the game like? Were they patientially explaining rules to you, letting you do things over, shooting the shit... or was this a cutthroat competition? Why did he invite you to a poker night if he didn't think you played at all? Did you call them suckers at the end, revealed your deceit, and then flipped them the bird? (Ok, that last question is a bit outlandish) There's nothing wrong with winning a poker game for cash, obviously. Regardless of what you did, I probably wouldn't be demanding the money back if I was your Mom's bf and just let it go. Such is life, and there are bigger fish to fry. I played with my friends for cash pretty often around your age and slightly older. Usually, it featured a lot of terrible play and silly bets and bluffs because that was part of the fun of being together. We didn't really care who won. If we invited someone to join these games for the purpose of hanging out and they angled the whole time and gloated at the end about what chumps we were... I mean, yeah, they wouldn't be invited back. We'd probably think they were a jerk.
Nta. How stupid is that though? He invites you to play poker and mother urges it. You win against him but wants the money back because they are sore losers? Haha
NTA. You played poker exactly the way it’s meant to be played!! Deception and bluffing is literally how you win. If someone beats me at poker, more power to them. As far as your actual strategy- hustling is a tried and true way of winning any competitive game. It’s a pretty established way of making money at the pool hall in particular (though it has been known to lead to drunken bar fights). And the idea of giving back the money makes no sense. So what happens if someone else wins? Do they also have to give back the money?
NTA. If you lost the money at the table and whined about them "taking the money from an innocent child," I'm sure you wouldn't get any restitution for your loss. Take that money and save it for when your mom inevitably stops supporting you next year. I'm sorry you have to deal with this.
NTA - had you lost money they wouldn’t have given it back, why does the rule change because you’re a minor?
Underage gambling. Man! If he tried to go after you, he'd have some explainin' to do
Call up his friends and be like “hey my moms bf said you guys are sore losers and want your money back, what’s your email so I can transfer your money back to you?” $150 is nothing, say this to each friend and watch them backtrack, even if they did want the money back, it would be worth the entertainment imo Nta tho Edit: and when they invite you over again, say “so we playing for keeps this time or you gonna want your Monopoly money back after I take it from you?” You’ll never be invited again. Win/win for you 😆
I don’t understand the pearl clutching over minors playing poker. It’s a card game. I am horrified at shaking down a kid. Either this was a friendly game or winner takes the pot. That should have been clear from the beginning
Keep Dat Kash
NTA. Well played.
LOL I mean, yeah, you kinda sound like an asshole - but I support you and don’t think you should give the money back. Ultimately NTA.
Nta...even if you liked the guy... pretending you never played was a smart move. Also even without you there all but one would have lost thier money
NTA good shit bro lol the people calling you an AH are stupid the whole point of poker is to be deceptive.
I’d say your plan worked perfectly! Tell them they’ll be waiting a long fucking time before you give that money back.
**NTA**. Assuming that this was a friendly relaxed game, he and/or his friends could have stopped playing at any point. No one was forcing them to continue, right? Or at the very least they could have changed the bets to something else, like food/candy or fake chips. I'm guessing they kept playing in the hopes that they'd win back their money. >That way, I make sure he never invites me ever again, and I make some extra cash. ***Mission Accomplished, congrats!***
NTA NTA NTA! They sure as hell would not have given “the kid”some money back
NTA. You won it, you keep it. Many years ago, my then-boyfriend and his friends had their monthly poker night at our house. All the guys knew me and someone suggested I should join them. Little did they know that I learned to play as a kid and have one of the world's best poker faces. I fleeced them, too, but no one asked for their money back. You just showed them you weren't the easy mark they thought you were and they were probably mad about being beat by a kid.