[LVHerbie]

I'm 31 years old and made (most of) my money the last five years or so gambling... To make my long (sob) story short I'm pretty much broke, heavily in debt (currently have a 10K+ tax lien against me), going through a divorce, unemployed, smoke two packs a day, overweight, currently crashing on my family's couches etc, etc... (This is also why I haven't posted much here in the last 6 or so months)... Anyhow I've been kindof inspired by John-Robert Bellande's tweets (and I'm not really ready to throw in the towel and get a job yet) so I'm liquidating what assets I have left and going to try and run it up... I just emptied out my pockets and have $6.19 cash but I got money tied up in some pretty weird spots so I'm pretty sure that after I liquidate various stuff I can scrounge at least a couple dimes...

Anyhow I've been pretty unmotivated/depressed the last few months and haven't been doing much of anything so I've decided to blog about it and I'm going to repost them here through the My SBR page... If you want to flame or tell me to get a job that's fine but I'm willing to answer any legitimate or serious questions as well...

[Shonner]

Hope things get better

[jjgold]

Well best way to get out of debt is take any job for now, never ever gamble again, claim bankruptcy

I doubt your wife is going to get anything from you if your broke

Do you have kids??

Oh quit smoking too

[LVHerbie]

In honor of the legend and (my personal hero) JJGOLD (I believe currently John Serthlin of Serthlin Security?) I decided to take on the moniker of Herbert Smitty... I'm not the best writer but have lined up a proof reader of sorts to read over my blog posts (but can't start for a couple days) so please be gentle with that as well...

[LVHerbie]

Originally Posted by jjgold

Well best way to get out of debt is take any job for now, never ever gamble again, claim bankruptcy

I doubt your wife is going to get anything from you if your broke

Do you have kids??

Oh quit smoking too

Yea, I've obviously considered getting a job but I want to see where I'm at when I liquidate shit first... I think it makes more sense to take a month or so to do that then divide my time between that and $9 a hour job at walmart or whatever... I really wished I would have gotten a job a long time ago and did the gambling thing part time... Living out of the bankroll makes it hard to build when every time you hit a small score you have stack of bills to pay... Whatever, I'm where I'm at so...

No kids... quitting smoking obviously...

[HotStreak]

Some people can be focused and disciplined when fighting with the last of their bankroll to "stay in action" , or in your case "to live". The problem is variance(bad luck) doesn't care if you have to eat.

Live your life how you want; however, it doesn't sound like you've been making a living gambling the past few years, it sounds more like you've been living for gambling and wiping out all your assets in the process.

At the very least, take some of that remaining bankroll and invest in a military grade sleeping bag and some pepper spray.

It's cold and dangerous trying to grind a living gambling, and it's cold and dangerous sleeping under bridges.

I hope your story can have a better than expected outcome, I've been broke before too. Don't rule out some kind of job. A man's gotta eat.

Best of luck.

[RudyRuetigger]

quit gambling. if you were successful you wouldnt be in this predicament. get a job and enjoy a normal life while playing sbr contests to get a gambling bankroll back up.

[treece]

what happened to John-Robert Bellande? i remember he was the guy that kept saying excellent laydown.

[wtf]

good thread, sorry to hear about your predicament

will follow with interest

[MJT1212]

Damn dude, you need to seriously get a grip on life and give up gambling.

[GoldRush7]

sorry to hear about your situation. Just curious and have a serious question though. How do you log on to post here if you are that broke? I would have sold my lap top/computer by now if I was in that situation.

[rookie]

Originally Posted by LVHerbie

(my personal hero) JJGOLD

Dump him now.

[jjgold]

Originally Posted by RudyRuetigger

quit gambling. if you were successful you wouldnt be in this predicament. get a job and enjoy a normal life while playing sbr contests to get a gambling bankroll back up.

Rudy makes a lot of sense here, guy is way behind his years.

[mcbaseball10]

LV, you are a good poker player. Why don't you concentrate on playing poker and quit betting sports? Start out slow and build up your roll again. If you aren't going to get a job, start playing more poker where you feel you have an edge.

[RudyRuetigger]

do you have CC debt as well?

do you have someone to talk to about all this? going at it alone will drive you crazy, obviously telling everyone will make you embarrassed but you should have someone

do NOT put a dollar in gambling. take advantage of the free $50 poker promos, turn your sbr points in for a freeplay, and compete in free contests. (i need to not deposit as well )

[LVHerbie]

Originally Posted by HotStreak

Some people can be focused and disciplined when fighting with the last of their bankroll to "stay in action" , or in your case "to live". The problem is variance(bad luck) doesn't care if you have to eat.

Live your life how you want; however, it doesn't sound like you've been making a living gambling the past few years, it sounds more like you've been living for gambling and wiping out all your assets in the process.

At the very least, take some of that remaining bankroll and invest in a military grade sleeping bag and some pepper spray.

It's cold and dangerous trying to grind a living gambling, and it's cold and dangerous sleeping under bridges.

I hope your story can have a better than expected outcome, I've been broke before too. Don't rule out some kind of job. A man's gotta eat.

Best of luck.

Thanks for the the advice... I actually feel like I could have "made a living" gambling if I would have A) been alot more frugal or B) made some better non-gambling decisions... On the other hand, I definitely feel I would have better off just getting a job and doing this on the side... When I got out the military (~5 years ago) I had close to 25k in a safe deposit and no debts... Those the numbers are (pretty much) reversed today so obviously I've made some wrong decisions...

To answer the other questions (as, obviously, posting on message boards with any regularity is kindof counterproductive to what I need to be doing)

1) Broke isn't probably the best way to describe my situation... But I do have alot more debt then assets... I guess I'm pretty much were alot Americans are currently - no job and limited marketable skills... On the the other hand I'm willing to liquidate everything and admit that I need to start over...

2) I'm understand a job is probably required right now but can't see this being immediately beneficial when I can spend the next month or so getting my life somewhat simi-organized and have significantly more cash then if I would start working several low paying jobs... Also, at first, I was hopeful that the situation between my ex-wife and I might be fixable but (after being separated since April and now living in different states) it is pretty clear it that is over and that I need to start picking up the pieces or whatever...

3) I have one almost maxed out CC (I believe the limit is $1500) and probably like 15k in student loans... My ex-wife has a couple ************ as well and much larger student loan debts but I'm consider these hers as they are in her name, prexisting before we were together, and I've agreed to take care of the IRS debt that is both our names... When she left I told her to take what ever she wanted or thought she needed and she took our car (worth a couple thousand at most) and our shared laptop so I think I'm being more then fair... Neither of us have money for a lawyer (and I can't see much point since we don't have any significant assets or disputes) so I'm hoping we take care of the situation independently and avoid this expense...

4) My family (and my ex-wife's family) are aware of the situation... While I was more secretive about my situation in the past at this point I'm personally willing to talk to anyone about the circumstances... I was seeing a counselor a few months back through my school (it was suppose to be a marriage counseling but my wife decided not to attend after the first visit) but I'm not attending school anymore (I'm two course away from graduating... One I took an incomplete in at the end of the semester, because of my current situation, and the second I can complete online)... So, basically, this option has been cut for me unless I can find some sort of low income counseling where I'm below the income threshold or they consider my current situation and not my past income...

[LVHerbie]

Originally Posted by GoldRush7

sorry to hear about your situation. Just curious and have a serious question though. How do you log on to post here if you are that broke? I would have sold my lap top/computer by now if I was in that situation.

Bought the computer refurbished from dell several years (~ $300)... The monitor I got from pokerstars a couple years back for points... My secondary monitor (off brand 24 inch) burnt out a few months ago and I haven't replaced it (and, obviously, can't right now)... I'm tethering off my phone for internet... I have a broadband modem though Cricket but it is shut off (plus I left the modem in a bag at an unopened hostel on the strip after the bash)... My brother has wireless internet but I can't get signal in his garage and need to get a relay and a wifi receiver (although I think I could piggy back off my phone if I could get the signal to reach)... I also have internet and computer access at both my brothers and parents but elected to set up my computer here so I could smoke (this shouldn't be a problem in a couple days though as I've quit)...

[OmgUrMom]

have significantly more cash then if I would start working several low paying job

how is this going so far? gl man...

[thezbar]

There comes a point where you have to turn things around. At this point gambling on sports is not going to solve anything long term. I've been there. Too stressful! Too risky! Too anti-social! It was humbling for me yet I took a job as a janitor in the church and school at a simuliar point in my life. I found something better several months later from people I met there. It was a Lutheran Church and I am far away from those beliefs. Sooner or later you will need to make a responsible decision and get on with it. Gambling isn't going anywhere. Cashing in you're final chips for one last run isn't the brightest move imho. Just my two cents worth.

[rm18]

yes this is a depressing spot to be in, what really sucks when you gamble for a living and are broke is that you do not the limits, outs, bonuses, loyalty points anymore because of winning

[MexicanStallion]

Sorry to hear about your misfortunes. I wish you the best.

[pavyracer]

Are you going to liquidate your 318 points when you liquidate all your assets? Getting rid of all your material possessions you don't need and starting over from scratch is a very good plan. I wish you the best.

[GiveMeaBJ]

Should we donate.

[LVHerbie]

Originally Posted by GiveMeaBJ

Should we donate.

BJ, I'm not into borrowing (one of the few things I'm really proud of is I've never been staked or borrowed in my five or so years of "serious" gambling (not going to call myself a professional gambler or anything like that) ) but charity I think I'm pretty much okay with but I'm going to save it till I really need it...

I'll tell you what though... I have a pretty crazy time in Vegas during the bash/after/getting home from the bash and been wanting to do a trip report... Right now I can't see myself typing it up because I have about 50 other things I should be doing... Someone (or multiple people) come through for like 300 points and I will type a lengthy summary up...

[LVHerbie]

Originally Posted by pavyracer

Are you going to liquidate your 318 points when you liquidate all your assets? Getting rid of all your material possessions you don't need and starting over from scratch is a very good plan. I wish you the best.

I've scalped out my points in the past (also blown way to many in the casino)... Back when I cared about them I think I figured they were worth about 8 cents a piece so I will be using them for something at some point...

[LVHerbie]

1st blog post (from a couple days ago and pretty much what I've typed up and covered here already)... I finished my second from yesterday and will cross-post it here when I get it proofread... I'm posting somewhere else but don't think I'm allowed to promote myself here (although I'm not really sure that could be considered what I'm doing or not) so I will just cut and paste the text to mysbr blog until I'm given the proper permission... (Willie?)

[bobbyfk]

aren't you getting unemployment?

[LVHerbie]

Originally Posted by OmgUrMom

have significantly more cash then if I would start working several low paying job

how is this going so far? gl man...

I just got back from Vegas like Friday of last week and haven't really started until yesterday... I broke down yesterday and bought (actually traded... will be covered in my upcoming blog) for some smokes and caffeine so cash wise I'm a little worse off then yesterday... I've tried to take care of some stuff online yesterday but haven't gotten far with it... Also working/looking into how to best sell some bigger stuff ('69 VW Beetle and an AR-15, both of which I traded for awhile back, and are the two big things I have that I'm going to have to part with)...

I'm hoping that I can sell everything and have at least 3k and a more functional vehicle by a month or so...

[The Prick]

man i love this herbie kid. hang in there son

[Sunde91]

Tail Brock Landers.

[LVHerbie]

Originally Posted by bobbyfk

aren't you getting unemployment?

I filed as self-employed the last three years (I haven't filed this year as I took an extension...) so my understanding is I'm not eligible.. I also walked off a job about two months ago after working three weeks (another long story) and also claimed unemployment for six months about five years ago after my last real job (military)... Not sure how those two things would work into it but I guess I should make a phone call just to verify...

[LVHerbie]

Originally Posted by The Prick

man i love this herbie kid. hang in there son

Dear MFer (aka "The Prick"),

It is very hard to find good angles to work these days... If I'm going to pimp myself out by exposing my soul on the internet I don't want to have you hanging around... Please go start your own thread and stay out of mine...

With Much Love (ie XOXO),

Herbie

[Brock Landers]

this is too depressing to read

consider getting help

[Fishhead]

Herbie, buddy.......I will help you out when I return to Vegas.

I can help you grind up a few thousand.............do you know video poker strategies?

Hang in there pal, returning to Vegas soon.

FH

ps- I know Herbie personally.

[Dirty Sanchez]

Man I thought I wanted to jump from a bridge reading Peco's Bill's posts...you are a train wreck...sorry to hear about your misfortunes if their true, but pardon me for being cynical but you can't swing a dead cat around here without hitting a fake or fraud.