College Poker Scene:
Cars and Poker

FOR SALE: Acura Integra GS-R VTEC. I'm serious. Any takers? Well let me know if you're interested.

As you can see, I'm desperately trying to sell my car. I've been trying to sell it for the past couple of months but no one seems to be interested. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love my car. It's one of those "Fast and the Furious" cars with the body kit and matching leather interior, the only problem is that I can't afford the insurance - $380.00 a month!!

At first I listed it for $10,000. I figured with all the time and energy I put in to perfecting the car, it was worth at least that much. I put an ad on Craig's List and a couple of "for sale" signs on my car. I got a couple of people who were interested but who just didn't have the money. So I lowered the price to $9000. A couple more people responded to the ad but they were more interested in test driving it than buying it. A few months went by and I had to keep paying the $380.00 for insurance that I didn't have. I spoke to my parents about it and they suggested listing it for a lower price, but I knew that my car was worth at least $9000 if not more so there was no way I could list it for any less.

Between classes, tests, homework, partying and car selling I managed to fit in a game of poker with the guys downstairs. They are three guys who are pretty loose players who are just playing to have fun, but they have a friend who was playing that night. He's extremely tight and takes every hand seriously. That being said, the five of us sat around a crate and the hands were dealt. I got a couple of OK hands but nothing that amazing. The guys were playing pretty predictably, calling when they had something and sometimes when they didn't. Their friend, however, seemed to fold on just about every hand.

We ended up having a lot of fun, but there was one hand in particular that really bothered me, and is still bothering me. I had a pair of Queens and raised the $.25 blind to $1.00. (Hey, I know the stakes are low - but I'm a poor college student so give me a break). Everyone called. The flop was Tc, 7d, 3c. I was on the button. Everyone checked. I figured I was still high so I bet $2.00. This knocked two guys out, another one of the guys stayed and, surprisingly, the tight player called my bet. The next card was the Ac putting three clubs on the board. The tight player bet $5, the other guy folded, and the action was to me.

I looked at him and at my cards. At this point I was running through my head the possible card combinations that this tight player could have to prompt him to bet $5.00. He could have a pocket pair of Ts, 7s or 3s and have trips. But what were the odds of that? But he also could have started with two clubs and just made an Ace high flush. Or he could have started with an Ace and just made a pair of Aces.

I weighed my options. I could stay in, calling his 5 dollars or I could fold, losing only 4 dollars. Considering his previous playing habits I decided to fold. After folding I asked him what his hand was. Unlike most college guys who are quick to brag about how they bluffed or how amazing their cards were, he nicely said that he had to go because he had an early class the next day.

I thought about the game as I was driving to the grocery store yesterday. I realized that I'll never know if I did the right thing by folding. I chose to play it safe and accept my losses as they were instead of risking a large loss.

It became clear to me how similar this card game was to selling my car. I know that I've put a lot of work into the car, at least $3,000 worth of work - making the car worth well over $9500 (at least to me). But each month I'm wasting another $380 on a car that I can't afford. And every day the car gets older, new things break down, and the value goes down. I'm starting to think it's time to just bite the bullet and list the car for a much lower price, sell it for a loss, and be done with it. My pride is hurt because I don't really want to admit that I have to sell my car for a big loss, but at least I'll have the money now, not have to pay such high insurance, and also have an opportunity to get a more practical car. The option I'd most like - to recoup all of my money for this hot Acura Integra - isn't available. So it's better, I think, than just holding on indefinitely, risking that I'll have to take a really big loss when it loses even more value - while paying my ridiculously high insurance.

It's just like no limit hold 'em really. There's no point in throwing good money after bad. Sometimes it's better to take a certain limited loss than to run the risk of losing it all.

� Rebecca Adams is currently a Freshman at the University of South Carolina. She was raised in Boston but moved to South Carolina for school because she wanted to see what Southern hospitality was all about. She's been following in her father's footsteps, playing poker ever since she was a little girl. She's plays in home games, college tournaments, tradition family games as well as online.

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