If your dad gambled you & your sister away in a poker game

MonaLeigh

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What would happen if a loser of a dad threw his house and two kids into a poker pot and lost? I'm assuming the kids would be taken away to foster care, but what would happen to the dad? I'd like him to go to jail for a long time. (There is no mom).
 

Chiron

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How would the kids end up in foster kids if the kids were gambled? Wouldn't they go to the winner?
 

Drachen Jager

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He'd probably be investigated, but it's not certain they'd take his kids away. They're not a legal stake in a poker game anyhow, and nobody is legally obliged to commit an illegal act, so the bet is null (except the house of course).

If he was otherwise not a terrible Dad the kids would probably stay with him, unless the investigation showed he was likely to do that sort of thing again. If there were other problems in the home, the kids might get taken away. I think it's unlikely they would make a decision based 100% on that single incident.

Why would anyone want his kids?
 

MonaLeigh

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Actually, you've helped me answer a few loose end questions. I think I'll make it so it's a very poor situation at home (no food, dad has been arrested for drugs before, older sibling taking care of younger sibling, etc.). And I'll have the guy who "wins" the kids report it so the father will be investigated. This is mostly backstory for now, but I do want to know how the kids ended up in foster care to begin with. Being a foster parent myself, I've heard of lots of crazy stories but none where kids have been gambled away. Thanks!
 

Paul

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Mayor of Casterbridge did it, or similar.

it would be interesting if he got away with it, and the kids come a callin ten years later...
 

MonaLeigh

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In that case, I'd be wondering why the guy accepted the bet to begin with.

It was a two day poker game between drunk losers (like her father). Once the guy sobered up he realized he didn't want to deal with the kids he'd won.
 

Maryn

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Oh, I'm a dark and grim person, but let us also remember there are people who'd be delighted to have children to cherish and raise as their own, and people who'd be delighted to have children for, ah, other reasons.

Consider that the person who takes that bet may well end up with a couple kids who are untraceable if he moves. He can claim he abandoned them, then turn them into household slaves, or sell them to a desperate couple, or really abandon them, or sell them to the sex trade, or make dog food out of them.

Maryn, nice and dark
 

Paul

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yes, but the twist is he treats them well, a lot better than their bio dad.

but they still want revenge of bio dad.

will they go through with it?

will they?

even when they find out about xxxx, which explains bio's actions somewhat??

will they still go through with it???

And when the find out that foster dad will suffer if they harm bio dad, will they still do it?

And if they do, what happen then? Especially to foster dad

(Paul steals idea and runs off into the hills, cackling.)
 
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frimble3

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I've seen at least one story in the news about people who are approached by a parent seeking to sell a small child or infant. The stories got into the paper because the people who were approached contacted the police.
 

debirlfan

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If one of the other poker players was a good guy and realized the bio dad was badly abusing the kids, he might see winning them in the game as the fastest/easiest way to get them away from him and get them the help they need.
 

Priene

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He'd be committing a crime the moment he handed his children over to the custody of strangers. Probably wouldn't get a long sentence, but the newspapers would probably pursue him forever. The Mayor Of Casterbridge was based on a true story, but it was a long time ago and stuff like that doesn't go on anymore (except in really small villages after the annual fete).
 

DoctorK

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Poker is generally played table stakes. That is, unless it's on the table, you can't bet it. In a no limit game, where the size of your stack is almost as important as the cards, it's to keep everything upfront. I know how much you can bet, and you know how much I can bet. It's also to keep someone from throwing out a bet like "my house" that couldn't possibly be matched by your opponent. The hands of "Big Hand for the Little Lady" don't typically exist.

The moment he bets his house it becomes incredible unrealistic in a poker sense. Add the kids to the bet, and I think it's even more unrealistic.
 

Sydneyd

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I am wondering why this other player doesn't give the kids back, instead of reporting it to the police?

I'm around drunk people often, by occupation, and find that while people do things they wouldn't normally do while under the influence, they don't become entirely different people. Wouldn't this person think he could get in trouble for accepting the kids as a bet in the first place? I think he would worry about this. IMHO this person would first try to go back to the dad and say something like, "wow things got crazy last night, here are your kids that was a crazy joke." *uncomfortable laughter*
 

ironmikezero

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Mark Jacobs

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Agreed with DoctorK above. If you're going for any sort of realism, you could not bet anything that you did not start with on the table in a poker game. You can, at any point, put more money on the table, but it would have to be before the hand actually started. One possible option is to say the player lost all his money and someone (most likely the people running the poker game if it was in a card room) were willing to extend him a certain amount of credit in return for the deed to his house. Still not completely realistic but probably good enough as an explanation. The kids are a little more problematic if you're trying to make it realistic. I suppose there could also be some debate on just what is the monetary value of two children. If they were little, probably they would only be good for an ante.