[PairTheBoard]

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Ram pays Phil Ivey the money owed from the bet... then beats the living crap out of him for [censored] over a friend and takes his money back

atleast then he hasn't welched on his bet and Ivey got what he deserves for being a scumbag

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I don't see this "Ivey is a scumbag" perspective. You know, Golf is a funny game. It's very unpredictable. People who have played the game much can tell you how baffling it is. You even see it with the pros. A guy who wins a tournament can blow up into the 80's and miss the cut the next week. Gambling on golf is a little like gambling on women.

Sometimes when you take a break from the game like Ram did, you come back fresh, work your way into it after a few holes and shoot the round of your life. Other times you find your swing has abandoned you. The swing you once knew as well as your wife of 20 years has suddenly become a hooker you just met coming off her strip joint pole. You can't tell the difference between a 70 yard pitch and a full Nine Iron. The pitching wedge you once figured to get close to the hole with is now taking you 10 yards over the green. And that's if you don't Shank It. 3 Putts start popping up like Freddy Krueger in sequel after sequel of Nightmare on Elm Street Greens. Getting down in 2 from the fringe is like threading a needle with a rope. Your focus on 4 foot putts is like a myopic sleepwalker on an Ambien quest for peanut butter.

I think this is what happened to Ram. He underestimated the effects of his 4 months layoff. He asked for an adjustment to their standard spot but was easily talked out of it. He thought he would work his way back to his old form after a few holes. That's why he kept playing. He couldn't believe what had happened to his game and he thought he would get it together in the next hole. I've seen the same kind of thing with guys who gamble at pool. They go back to their girlfriend over and over again for another $20 saying, "I'm just getting warmed up. I'm ready to get hot".

This is why it's called gambling. You just never know. There's no way you can make the perfect spot to insure the game will be close because the game of Golf befuddles any such predictions.

Meanwhile, Ivey was at the other end of that spectrum. He had been struggling with his game for the past year as a beginning golfer. Sometimes such players reach a breakout point in their game. Everything comes together and they shoot hot rounds much better than they've been consistently shooting. The thing is, There's no way to predict when that breakout is going to happen. Sometimes it NEVER HAPPENS! Just look at Daniel N. For all his practice and coaching he's received, he still sucks. You can't blame Ivey for believing in himself, putting money on the line, and then having the talent to put it all together under the pressure and make some great putts. You can also understand Ram thinking that Ivey was bound to revert to his old form and start having some blow ups. Ivey just didn't accomodate him. Not because the spot was so wrong - they did adjust it after 18 holes. But because Ivey's talent finally showed through For The Win. Like Barry G. observed. It was a Perfect Storm.

You also can't blame Ram too much for his hesitancy in paying off. Before releasing that kind of money you certainly want to make sure you haven't been the victim of some kind of Con. But he has evidently agreed to abide by the results of this latest binding arbitration. So that should be the end of it.

Actually, Ram did get conned. But not by Phil Ivey. Ram made the mistake of getting into bed at the same time with two of the most baffling Forces of Nature known to man. Lady Luck and the Game of Golf.

PairTheBoard