High Roller Radio

"He had the calm confidence of a Christian with four aces."

- Mark Twain

News, Views & Interviews
Notes, quotes & anecdotes. Bad Beats, Remarkable Feats & Casino Cheats.
The High Roller Radio Blog
2-to-1 you'll LOVE it!

"The first time I walked into Binion’s in 2003, I took one look around the room at the cast of characters and realized this job was going to be everything I'd ever dreamt of. I swear, I asked myself, 'Where has this been all my life?' Then, after I watched the first show before it aired, I was so impressed at the gritty, real-life gambling feel these new producers had given it, it was just unbelievable.”

- Norman Chad, ESPN commentator on living the poker dream.

"Poker Quotes"

“It’s an honor to be inducted alongside so many great players that have come before me. An even bigger honor to be recognized at age 40, the same age as the legend Chip Reese. Thank you to the living members of the Poker Hall of Fame and those on the Blue Ribbon Media Panel that voted for me.”
- Daniel Negreanu, after learning he'd be inducted into Poker's Hall of Fame, Class of 2014, alongside tournament director Jack Effel.

2-to-1 you'll LOVE it!

Poker Humour

“Stop cheating!” The dealer told the card player.

“I’m not!” claimed the player. 

“You must be,” said the dealer. “That is not the hand that I dealt you.”

"A Smith & Wesson beats four Aces!"

- American Proverb

How to Beat the Game?

In Richard Munchkin’s book, Gambling Wizards, the great Billy Walters, a gambling legend, said, “If you’re committed to being a professional gambler, and you want to be the best you can be, you spend every waking moment trying to figure out a way to beat the game.”


“From the first year I came to the WSOP in 2005, I made it a goal to win a bracelet. I thought I was a great player and that it would happen for me. I found out quickly that I wasn’t as good as I thought I was, but that just made me want it more.”
- George Danzer, the German the mohawk and multiple bracelet winner. Great Player!


"You can't let it get you down when somebody knocks you out of a tournament playing a hand they shouldn't have played. Without these types of players, nobody would win any amount of money, so sometimes you just have to take your medicine."
- TJ Cloutier


"It's hard work, gambling. Playing poker. Don't let anyone tell you different. Think about what it's like sitting at a poker table with people whose only goal is to cut your throat, take your money and leave you out the back talking to yourself about what went wrong inside. That probably sounds harsh. But that's the way it is at the poker table. If you don't believe me, then you're the lamb that's going off to the slaughter."
- Stu Unger


"No Limit Hold'em. Hours of boredom followed by moments of sheer terror."
- Tom McEvoy


"Poker is the game closest to the western conception of life, where life and thought are recognized as intimately combined, where free will prevails over philosophies of fate or of chance, where men are considered moral agents and where — at least in the short run — the important thing is not what happens but what people think happens."
- John Luckacs


"I believe in poker the way I believe in the American Dream. Poker is good for you. It enriches the soul, sharpens the intellect, heals the spirit, and — when played well, nourishes the wallet."
- Lou Krieger


​"How long does it take to learn poker, Dad?"
"All your life, son."
- Michael Pertwee


​"Is it a reasonable thing, I ask you, for a grown man to run about and hit a ball? Poker's the only game fit for a grown man. Then, your hand is against every man's, and every man's is against yours. Teamwork? Who ever made a fortune by teamwork? There's only one way to make a fortune, and that's to down the fellow who's up against you."
 - W. Somerset Maugham


"[Poker] exemplifies the worst aspects of capitalism that have made our country so great." 
- Walter Matthau


​"The commonest mistake in history is underestimating your opponent; it happens at the poker table all the time."
- David Shoup​​​


"I must complain the cards are ill shuffled till I have a good hand."
- Jonathan Swift


"With spots quadrangular of diamond form, ensanguined hearts, clubs typical of strife, and spades, the emblems of untimely graves."
- William Cowper​​


"My old pappy always used to say, there is no more deeply satisfying religious experience, than cheatin’ on a cheater." 
- Maverick


"I've often thought, if I got really hungry for a good milk shake, how much would I pay for one? People will pay a hundred dollars for a bottle of wine; to me that's not worth it. But I'm not going to say it is foolish or wrong to spend that kind of money, if that's what you want. So if a guy wants to bet twenty or thirty thousand dollars in a poker game, that is his privilege."
- Jack Binion


“Judged by the dollars spent, gambling is now more popular in America than baseball, the movies, and Disneyland-combined.”
- Timothy L. O’Brien (Bad Bet – 1998)


“Luck never gives; it only lends.”
- Swedish Proverb


“Gambling is the son of avarice and the father of despair.”
- French Proverb


“If I lose today, I can look forward to winning tomorrow, and if I win today, I can expect to lose tomorrow. A sure thing is no fun.”
- Chico Marx

$55 Million in 2 Days?

Legendary golfer John Daly can now estimate he lost between $55 million and $57 million gambling from 1991 to 2007. The two-time major winner says he used to play all seven hands on a blackjack table, bettng as uch as $15,000 a hand.

“I’ve played slots for two days in a row, I’ve played blackjack for two days. One sitting. The only time I’d get up is to go to the bathroom. Time goes by so fast and if you’re on a roll and you’re winning, I’d just keep on going, keep on playing. I should say I regret it, but I did it, I move on from it, I had a lot of fun doing it. I love the action. I love the adrenaline going in there.”

- John Daly