Tong-Its, et al.
We play Tong-its almost every night. This Filipino poker-like game has been one my few addictions ever since my early teens. The first time I learned it was during one Christmas vacation when I have all the money to bet against my Mom and my brother, Jason, just to learn how to double your money if you are lucky. I would sing at night (not as a professional singer, but a caroler) and I will play in the morning, just before lunchtime. On the very first day I played – believe it or not, I won 18 pesos – 90% of my total capital (20 pesos – just in case you feel lazy to compute). The second day, I still won. On the third day, after thinking that at long last, I had found something I would be proud of not losing ever, I lost – and it had been that way until I learned something very, very, very important in life – don’t always count on luck.
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| I actually won this round, can you believe that? |
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| (From L-R) Jonathan, ME, Marlon, Rowel |
Isang araw nitong 2010, napag-tripan namin ni kuya na mag-Poker. Actually, I really didn’t know how to play it. The last time I played (back in 2007 in Iraq), I was having more trouble trying to hide my ignorance of the game than winning. Well I lost there small time – about 40 to 60 bucks. That time with kuya, I thought I was going to learn and would be at ease and won’t have to exert effort of faking a good hand (though I really don’t know if I DO have a good hand). But I was wrong. Learning the game cost me 300 bucks (can you believe that?). But my kuya was good to his younger brother and understood that his younger was just learning the game. He gave his younger brother $100 back and pinangalat sa buong opisina namin ang aking pagkatalo... Lesson learned: Never gamble against your brother.
So, I gambled against my ‘other’ officemates, bosses included. On the second time I played, I won $20. Third night – our country manager lost his 100 bucks to me, along with 50 bucks more from the others. Fourth night I played, still won more than a hundred. This time, I already regained what I lost to my brother. On our succeeding games, I still won some more, until one night, for the first second time since I learned Poker by heart, I lost $20. Then I stopped
I stopped because I thought that my winning streak has come to an end and that it was a signal that a series of unfortunate events (meaning, mga gabing talunan) has commenced and that I will just find myself addicted to the game because I will always aim to regain what I lost the previous night. And you know how I did it? Simple, I just made an accounting of my “Poker” transactions ever since that battle against my kuya:
Beginning Balance: $0
Add: Revenues from Poker
Day 1 (Donation Revenue) $100
Day 2 $20
Day 3 $150
Day 4 $130
Day 5 $80
Day 6 $110 $590
Less: Losses from Poker
Day 1 /with Kuya $300
Day 7 $20 ($320)
Ending Balance: $270
So in 1 week, I was able to make $270.00 out of Poker. On Friday, I went to Eggers PX (a military exchange store in Kabul) and bought a brand new X-Box 360 120gb with Kinect Sensors. Nice gaming console and at a good price too. $299.00 – just added 29 bucks to my winnings.
Well, I thought that from zero balance to $270 is not bad. Also, if I already thought I was gonna lose more, then I’m ought to lose more. So I decided to stop $270. But this thinking wasn’t the one that stopped me from playing poker.
It was a freaking X-Box videogame that got me really hooked enough to forget Poker and guess what - shower. Yes, even taking a shower gets compromised with my addictions. There’s only one addiction that motivates me to spend more time in the shower room – and that is my addiction to my girlfriend.
Pero since all videogames ay may katapusan (kung hindi man nakakasawa), nawala rin ang addiction ko sa mga ito. Natapos ko ang Naruto Shippuden pati na rin ang Assasins Creed – ay mali, nagsawa lng pala ako sa Assassin’s Creed – so sa Naruto lang pala talaga ako na-adik. Kaso, tinapos na namin ni Kuya yung storymode, eh sawa na sya mag laro ng 2 player versus, tapos si Ricky naman (yung isa naming kasama sa work) eh hindi naman ganon ka husay (walang challenge), hindi na rin ako naglaro. Nawala din ang addiction ko.
Almost all addictions leave our bodies, our minds, our hearts at a certain point in time. It may be when we don’t find happiness in them any longer, or when we no longer find reasons to do them. That’s why I believe, that it is utterly important to choose our addictions well – for sometimes they leave indelible marks on our personalities that make us regret for the rest of our lives. Some addictions just destroy us, take away our dreams, and lead us to our fall. Others would create us and bring us to the realization of our dreams. Discernment and discipline are the keys. I have always remembered that the worst addiction makes us feel good of ourselves, so good that we no longer feel that we are already crashing on hard ground.
Now, I am back to playing tong-its. And I have new playmates! Now that my brother was stranded in the PI for a long time, I get to play with new people in Project Controls department. I’ve known them for years and have been friends or acquaintances. It was good playing Tong-its with them. But unlike before, where I think of gambling as a way to quickly double your money, I think of it as a past time. With good friends playing with me, I always enjoy even if I lose. I don’t do accounting equation anymore, I just enjoy the company. When you have Rowel, Jonathan and Marlon playing with you, you’ll just laugh big time.
