Not paying your debts?!?!?!?!

This past week headlines were made when Washington Wizards star player Gilbert Arenas pulled a gun on his teammate over his unpaid poker debt. Gilbert owed him $25 000.00 over debt on the plane from playing. Gilbert is now facing potential criminal charges and may be in detriment with the Wizards.

Now what do we think of this? Well, there a few things to think of in regards to poker and here they are: 1. Playing with respectable adversaries. 2. Playing in casino's or back-rooms

3. Respecting the Game.

1. When playing poker people usually don't think of where the money they are winning is coming from. Poker does breed some crazy characters and you must be aware of these players. When playing for large sums of money it is wise to make sure that the person you are taking money off of is respectable enough of a player to not be waiting in the parking lot after the game for you. There have been some games where Shodown R-Team members have left early because they were concerned for their well being. This is not a bad idea. Make sure your adversaries are respectable people.

2. Playing in a casino you are usually safe and will definitely get paid on cash out. You do have to worry about the parking lot sometimes, but cameras are usually out there. Now private cash games are a different story. You are playing illegally. So you must realize that some things may not always work out the way you want them to. However on the payout end, usually the person running the game takes care of the pay outs. So you usually always get paid out. Just watch out for sketchy people who may be looking to rob the place. Our advice is to play games where it is invite only and the crowd is usually older.

3. Know when people are respecting the game, especially when playing with friends where no governing body is overseeing the game. If your opponent is not playing by the rules and has bad etiquette then it is likely they won't pay their debts. Gilbert is probably very bad in a game and we can't believe how he disrespects the game for $25 k when he makes $100 mil in his contract.

In closing Gilbert will most likely get no action in a poker game unless it is in a respected area or casino. He should pay up and be a man. Respect the game and respect your opponent. So if you see him in a Casino and he comes to play, we suggest you soak him for everything! CRUSH DESTROY and DOMINATE him like every other star basketball player has done to him this year!

SHODOWN