He grew up in the working-class neighborhoods of Chicago, where honor was highly valued. In a fight, it was perfectly possible to get your eye gouged out, your throat punched, or your balls smashed. But any deception automatically sent a person to the bottom of society. At 16, he beat a dealer at cards, who then introduced him to gambling dens. He quickly saved up for college, and then for his first mortgage on a cheap apartment.

In his youth, he tried kung fu, philosophy, and esotericism, but quickly realized they weren't for him and abandoned them.

After college, he devoted himself to gaming, studying all sorts of books, breaking into a poker league, and amassing a small fortune there—enough to start paying off a decent house, travel regularly, and live the good life.