Serik Jumanov - Rise of London Gambler. Second edition

© Serik Jumanov, 2017

ISBN 978-5-4485-0935-3

Created with Ridero smart publishing system

Inspired by real events

Preface

This is the second edition of “Rise of London Gambler’. I deeply apologize for grammar errors, misprints, etc, contained in the first edition. Also, minor changes were made in the original text, and some additional information was added. However, you are very welcome to leave your feedback and remarks on Facebook page of “Rise of London Gambler”: https://www.facebook.com/riseoflondongambler.

Many times I was asked to write a book or brochure about my experience and business tactics. Sixteen years ago I wrote one brochure about trading techniques and investment risk assessment but, in my opinion, it had a very limited impact. For someone, the brochure was too brief and could not express all the details I usually share when I talk in person – for others, it had too many technical details making understanding difficult. Therefore, I did not have a proper motivation to write a new book.

However, a couple of years ago I wrote a script based on my novel called “You-lia” for Biennale Cinema College script contest in Venice and, surprisingly, it had relevant success which inspired me again. After some hesitations, I decided to write a book which had to be both entertaining and informative.

“Rise of London Gambler” is a story about a student who pursued his Master degree in Finances and decided to apply his skills to gambling. You will read about his scientific approach, elements of psychology in the gambling, his exciting life, and, finally, his way to success. So, I hope, you can spend some time reading this book and have fun, and some of you could read between the lines and/or pay attention to some details which could be useful for you.

The term “football” in this book relates to association football (soccer). Knowing of its basic rules is desirable for readers, but not necessary.

“Schizo” novel was adapted from a script.

The book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

“So, what is this vanity fair all about, Ben?” asked Chris, starting to sip his cocktail at “Seven Bells” pub in Putney. On Friday Ben invited him and his two other friends, Neil and Bruce, which was a bit of surprise for them. Free drinks offer was pretty tempting too, so Chris, who usually prefers spending his Sunday evenings at home and recovering for a coming business week, decided to come. Ben also texted there will be gifts for everyone.

“Let’s wait till Neil arrives,” replied Ben. “I have great news for you, and I wanna announce it once for all of you. Can’t wait to see your faces!” he laughed. “And yes, especially for this event I brought – tada! – a, here you are, the box of amazing dark crème flavored cigars from Costa Rica called ‘Senior Diaz’! You’re gonna love it, I’m sure! Buenas noches, caballeros!”

“What happened, Ben? One of the Arab Sheikhs became your client or your robbed a bank?” asked Chris, smiling.

“Not really, but it’s a good idea!” laughed Ben. “Come on, just wait. For God’s sake, where is Neil? Can he learn how to be in time, at last?” Ben was dying to tell them the news.

“Oh, I’m sure, it’s again one of London Tube closures or something. We’ll find it out when he arrives. This guy never misses freebies,” added Bruce, smiling.

“Good stuff, I like it,” said Chris, tasting the cigar. “Class A shit,” he said with Latino accent. “How much is the box?”

“He-e-ey!” exclaimed all of them, seeing Neil entering the pub. They could see he was rushing as he was all flustered.

“Sorry, sorry, guys,” was saying he, greeting his friends. “I was late for a train so had to wait for the next one…. How is it going? Good? So, what is the reason of this party for the crème de la crème? Did you get a promotion or salary increase? Or you married a millionaire’s daughter, Benny, you lucky bastard?” Everybody burst into laughter.

“Words ‘Ben’ and ‘luck’ in one sentence is the last thing in the world I would expect,” said Chris, smiling.

“Okay, take seats. Now each of you will get an envelope. It is my gift for you, guys.” Ben distributed the envelopes. “You can open it right now if you wish, or you can do it later at home.”

Neil already opened his envelope:

“One thousand?! Oh God, Benny, you’re… you are the best friend! Where did you get it?”

“Look, Ben, thank you very much indeed, but I’m not accepting it,” said Chris, shocked. “This is very nice of you, but this is too much for me and… you need money and Laura…”

“Laura? You said ‘Laura’? ! Benny, come on, yesterday it was Liz!” All guys started laughing at Neil’s joke – they all knew that in fact, Ben was pretty conservative when dealing with women.

“Please stop, okay? Give me five minutes to explain something to you.” Ben stood up to calm everybody down. “Just relax! Everything is legal and fine. I didn’t kill anybody and my ‘new girlfriend’ Laura is happy about everything. Do you guys remember how many times I borrowed some cash from you and never gave back? Mostly because I just forgot about it, but I know, Neil hates me for that!” smiled Ben.

“No-no, I just asked if you can…” said Neil but Ben stopped him.

“So, this is my compensation to you for the years in debt, if you will. And, the last but not least reason is I made big money! But to tell you about it I have to come back to one particular subject not so pleasant to talk about, no ladies but gentlemen! This is World Cup in Brazil…”

“Booo! Shut up, Benny!” Chris pretended like if he was disappointed – which in fact he was. Recent results of England national team were…

“Pain in the ass! Assholes! I can play better if I had a professional coach!” Neil now looked pretty angry.

“Yeah, yeah, enough! We all know about it and we talked and shouted about it many times. They’ve been eliminated, so what can we do?” asked Ben impatiently.

“Erh, fuck it,” said Chris. “So, what’s your point, Ben?” Clubs of smoke now were covering the guys’ heads.

“Have some of you noticed that tonight we are smoking cigars made in Costa Rica?” Ben raised the box of cigars. “Reason why is now I am enjoying everything Costa Rican is their national association football team helped me to win £80,000!!!” shouted he and slammed his fists on the table. Everybody in the cafe turned their heads to see what’s going on and, noticing nothing special, continued their chats, flirts, whatever.

“80 grand?! Are you kidding? Did you bet?” asked guys.

“Yeah, exactly! I just placed few bets on Costa Rica. You know, they were playing pretty well, and I felt like they were underestimated. I won £2,600 when they beat Uruguay, then £5,000 when they beat Italy and £15,000 when England couldn’t beat them. I thought it would be good compensation for me if England is eliminated so I placed my bet on it, why not? I just was securing myself from this kind of frustration! Then I continued to bet on Costa Rica till they got eliminated by Netherlands – but it happened only after a penalty shoot-out, so Costa Rica did not lose in regular time and thus I made money anyway.” Now Ben looked satisfied.