The Art of the Hustle

by Edward Mullen

  ***

  “Hey, I found a fourth for our game.”

  “Hello,” I said, as I gave an awkward wave.

  “Trevor, this is Dan and Jeremy. Dan and Jeremy, meet your new neighbor, Trevor.”

  “So what are you guys playing?” I asked as I took my jacket off and grabbed a seat at the table.

  “The game is No Limit Texas Hold ‘em, have you played it before?”

  “Remind me,” I said coyly. The truth was I used to host tournaments and cash games at my house every week to make a little extra money. With my winnings, I would play in the big tournaments at the casino once in a while. I did pretty well too, but I kept that information to myself.

  “The buy-in is twenty dollars, is that okay with you?”

  I reached into my pocket and grabbed a fist full of whatever I could find. I had three five-dollar bills and a bunch of change. I noticed a few stares, but nobody said anything. I counted out twenty dollars and put it into the pot.

  “Alright, hurry up and deal,” Steve said to dealer.

  For the first couple of hands, I played the rookie card like a pro. I checked out of turn, asked dumb questions, and pretended to forget which direction the cards were supposed to be dealt. I had these guys believing I really sucked, but there was money on the line, and I wanted it.

  “So you’re a student?” Dan asked.

  “Yeah, I’m starting law school next week, how bout you guys?”

  “Hey, me too. I’ll probably see you in some of my classes then,” Dan said. “Jeremy and Steve are in business school.”

  “I see. Oh, is it my turn?”

  “Yeah, it’s on you, what do you want to do?”

  “Um, I’ll check.”

  “Well, Dan just raised, so you either have to call, re-raise, or fold.”

  “Oh, sorry. Okay, I’ll call.”

  “Flip ‘em, let’s see what you have?”

  “I have a straight, is that any good?” I asked.

  “Good enough. Take it down.”

  That was another one for me. I had been conning these guys all night and was the current the chip leader. Perhaps it was not the best way to make new friends.

  “So what do you guys do for fun around here?” I asked.

  “Around here? Nothing,” Jeremy said.

  “We go to New York and Las Vegas a lot though,” Steve said. “New York is only a few hours drive from here.”

  “I haven’t been to either of those cities.”

  “Really? You should come with us next time we go.”

  “Sure, that sounds like fun.”

  C H A P T E R

  T H I R T Y - F I V E

  Classes were starting soon and I still needed to settle in. I picked up all my books in the morning, but I still needed some furniture. The last two nights I had slept on the floor with a rolled up towel as my pillow while using another towel as a blanket. It reminded me of earlier times when I was broke. I managed to save up a little money over the past few years, but not much, just a couple thousand dollars. I was relying heavily on my student loans to get me through the next three years.

  Just outside my building was a small drugstore where I bought a bunch of cleaning supplies and some groceries. On my way out, I inserted a quarter into the payphone and dialed the number to my only friend.

  “Hey, Steve, I’m sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if you could let me know where your uncle’s furniture store is?”

  “Where are you?” he asked.

  “I’m at the drugstore payphone.”

  He laughed a little, and then said, “Okay, why don’t you come up to my apartment and wait for me while I get ready, and then we can go together?”

  “Alright thanks, I’ll be there in a minute.”

  When I entered Steve’s apartment for the first time, I was completely blown away. He lived by himself in a large two-bedroom apartment. The first thing I noticed was his elaborate entertainment system.”

  “Wow, this is a nice place, man. It’s almost three times the size of my place.”

  “Thanks. Wait until you see the view.”

  I walked across the dark polished hardwood floor, toward the large window. The curtains were open, revealing the entire campus. A small telescope was set up, pointing down to the Student Union Building. I peered into it and saw a bunch of scurrying students.

  “Is this the penthouse?” I asked, looking up at the fifteen-foot high ceiling.

  “It’s one of them. There are four units on the top floor.”

  “You want the grand tour?”

  “Sure.”

  The living room was equipped with an array of high-end electronics including a 60″ TV, surround-sound speakers built into his walls, and a massive catalogue of movies. He had a large sectional sofa with a simple glass coffee table and a stylish area rug underneath it. I followed him through the living room to a large sliding glass door. He slid the door open to reveal a beautiful patio that was larger than my entire apartment. The patio housed a large hot tub, basketball hoop, a sun tanning area, and a flower garden.

  “Check this out,” he said, as he showed off his prize possession. “I had this installed a few months ago.”

  The L shaped bar was completely stocked and fully functional. It was custom made out of stone and had a built-in barbeque, mini-fridge, sink, and dishwasher.

  “Come on inside, I’ll show you the rest.”

  Steve led me back inside, through the living room, passed the kitchen, down the hall, and into his office. One of the walls in his office had a colorful abstract painting in the centre of it with two bookshelves on opposite sides. In the centre of the office was a large executive desk with three monitors mounted to a single base.

  “What’s with all the monitors?” I asked.

  “Oh, I need them for trading.”

  “Trading?” I asked.

  “Yeah, I trade equities.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Oh sorry, I trade stocks.”

  “Do you make any money at it?”

  “I do okay, made thirty thousand last week,” he said casually.

  “Wow, good for you.” My mind was still trying to comprehend such a large figure. I didn’t even make thirty thousand the entire year.

  “Come here, I’ll show you what I do. The monitor to your left is where I check all my SEC filings, news, and charts throughout the day. The middle monitor is where I do all my order entries, and the monitor on the far right is set up for my alerts and level IIs.”

  I had no idea what he just said, but for the chance to make thirty thousand, I wanted to learn more. I stood behind him and tried my best to make sense of all the flashing lights, graphs, and letters moving rapidly across the screen. I felt like I was in the cockpit of an alien spaceship.

  “If you want to learn more about this stuff, I can show you.”

  “Seriously? That would be great, thanks.”

  “No problem. You can also help yourself to my book collection. I think you will like everything on the top shelf.”