All Comments on 'Equation'

Well written.

@BTW Re: I Don't See How - Please don't include CTC in the same sentence as Randi.

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On the alley cat reference, the way I saw it was, yes, alley cats can be pretty, but on a purely surface level his Laura was far more beautiful, but ONLY on the surface.

Would make a nice film, love stories like this.

A few mis-spellings some sentences missing words but an interesting story.

Great story!!!

God. Damn.

A great piece of work. Love, deciet , recovery, love, success, retribution and revenge. Thanks for sharing this amazing story.

I really enjoyed it. Gave it 5 out of 5. Not really a "Hold 'em" poker player, so thanks for the background info on it. I had a feeling he'd hook up with Kaye, and Judy, and would see a disgraced Laura again. She would be looking for a new "sugar daddy", since Jason was now without a job, and possibly doing time. It wasn't a BTB story, or a RAAC story, but it was a good story about life and the curves it throws at us.

It was James the lost alley cat when Kaye found him at the bar and rescued him from himself. If not for her intervention he would have been expelled from Las Vegas and worked in a tire factory or committed suicide.

"Compared to you, Kaye is an alley cat". really?! just because she's not educated she's dehumanized?! Have you lost your mind? Compare to the evil bitch who whored her self and ploted with criminals just to hurt her ex Kaye is an archangel.

Very poor word choice.

Oh please, Tilan, stop with the psycho babble BS. It’s a good fictional story, key word, fictional. If anything about it is suspect it’s the ability of a ‘beginner’ poker player winning the World Series of Poker. It’s a very enjoyable story with a HEA ending. Thanks for sharing, oshaw.

T- Your pathetic crap is meaningless. All the so self supported 'experts' have NO validity with your self serving critiques. As pointed out this is a work of fiction written by someone with the balls that you obviously lack. Your list of stories mirrors you - ZERO!

oshaw has written an assortment of very good stories, the best you can come up with is a few sentences with no value. oshaw's stories will carry on long after your 'psyco babble' is dust in the wind.

Thank you oshaw.

somewhere east of Omaha

Great story. Will there be a second chapter?

Tilan, you are a miserable prick.

Comparing Kaye to an alley cat? Didn't seem to fit that he would disparage the woman he loves like that. Still loved it.

Excellent tale by a polished writer.

5 stars

Good guys can win. I am not sure but I think this is my 3rd reading. It always makes feel better

While I don't feel qualified to comment on the academic aspects of this tale--my gut reaction to hearing an intelligent, talented "hot" woman (who has carved out a survival strategy in the cut-throat world of professional gambling) fondly referred to as an "alley cat" is to yell..."Damn Right! You Go, Girl!"

Anyone who has had exposure to "feral cats" knows that they are some of the most cunning animals out there.

They have to be to survive threats to their lives both natural and manmade for nearly everybody hates them or resents their existence and wants them either dead or "far away" from their immediate locale.

"Alley cats" are inherently "wild"; so all you guys out there who can only fantasize about having a wild woman in your bed--re-frame your fantasies! And if you've been lucky enough to experience that phenomenon--BE GRATEFUL !!!

Kudos on a sweet tale well told. (A definite 5 out of 5.) More please....

2d time reading this; still an excellent heart-warming story. 5*****

5 to the 5th power, and then some! Simply magnificent! Romantic as hell, eye-watering. QuickMagazine's fave line: "Compared to you, Kaye is an alley cat. But the thing is, she is MY alley cat." I suspect SS06 would agree.

I loved the concept, I loved the flow of the story, my biggest draw back was the ending was too quick. The consequences of the actions of Jason and the Dean could have been expanded with a face to face meeting with Reed. And Laura got 2 short paragraphs ---there could have been a lot more in that. I loved the story up until the last page. The last page was like the last season of Game of thrones.

I Would Like To Thank you for a wonderful story. 5 star gpa

Had to bail on it after 3 pages. Not one of Oshaw’s best. I had to laugh at the casino going after a card counter who’s goal was to win a few hundred bucks!

Equation. Re-read 7/24/22.

Not sure how many times I have read this wonderful story. I always smile afterwards. I like uplifting stories with love given and received. This one has love in abundance. My only question mark is why Laura threw Ben under the bus. It just makes no sense to me, he did her no wrong, in fact the story shows he had great admiration and affection toward her - she appeared to return that until she fell under Jason's spell - only way I can rationalize the level of deceit and dishonesty she shows. How was she so shallow without showing this before? Oh well, it is fiction - very good fiction set in a fictional place. The story flows and has good pace. An enjoyable read.

As I always do I read the comments of others to see how they perceived the story. I am often left wondering if they read the full story or even the same one as I am. The interesting extras such as discussion of and explanation of math, motorcycles, poker, blackjack, etc. are what make a story interesting to me. A little insight into an area I may not have encountered before is always a plus. Those who are "experts" and get all bent out of shape if the I's are not dotted and t's not crossed just right in a work of fiction just floor me. Oh well.

The discussion concerning reference to Kaye as an alley cat is interestingly absurd. When I read it originally, I thought he was praising Kaye for her strength and fight. But I can see how the commenters who seem to see it derogatorily reached their conclusion. I disagree. She has the tenacity and strength to push forward in life when all seemingly are against her. She is protective of those she loves, to the extreme. Her countenance may not be on par with Laura but her real beauty shines in her loyalty and honesty - both of which Laura is dismally lacking. Reed several times mentions Kaye's beauty - so she is not homely.

I like so many others am saddened that Oshaw has decided to no longer share creative and entertaining stories with us. Our loss.

A heart-warming story with suspense and tension. Well worth reading. Thanks John.

Loved the story, but tend to agree the aftermath and emotional impact of the reckoning with the ex wife and Jason was underwhelming. Perhaps that highlights how over it the MC was, he was happy with his new life, he didn’t care about about emotional or closure?

More and more we have seen dishonesty become more the practice instead of honesty and true academic freedom. When I was at a major university my freedom was getting a B while 5 got A's. Problem was I had the highest grades on all the tests and lab projects. Why, I had dared to call the prof on his BS in a matter that was not in the curriculum, but was his pet nonsense. I wife studies so hard to improve in her German class and when she wrote a perfect test, she was called a cheater by her prof.

This was a real life type story. 5/5

Great story. Thanks.

4 stars - It was a decent story except for the plot focus - the world of gambling is one of the worst addictions anyone can imagine - right up there beside alcohol, drugs and sex - I hate all forms of gambling.

awesome story , loved it!!!

Great story, def 5 star but slightly spoiled by "compared to you Kaye is an alley cat?"...definitely NOT the words a man so in love with Kaye would use as we've already heard his physical description of her beauty in the strip poker game.

And imagine how Kaye would feel if that comment got back to her?

This is the 3rd time I have read this story and I like it better each time. An unhappy beginning with a great ending. Keep up the good work. MtM

Cracking good yarn! It caught and successfully held my attention, which is what counts. It isn't perfect; it would benefit by a final edit. There are some annoying sentences that fail to make grammatical sense, and someone else has correctly flagged the "alley cat" remark as a lapse of authorial judgment. I hope the author will give it a critical reread and remove the obvious warts. It's a grand story and deserves a well-finished presentation.

Great story! Not Too long and was pretty tightly written. The only thing I didn't care for is he comes off as a bit of a pussy. Didn't really fight to clear his and friends names, just lucky someone else did.

Stupid from the start. Straight to sexercising with no warm up what lead up to the event. And you described it as love making but more like a one night stand. Just a story to show what a stud muffin you think you may be. So bad I skipped 5 3/4 chapters just to say it sucked.

Still one of the best stories on this site.

A nice tale with a satisfying conclusion. Would make for an entertaining made-for-TV movie.

4 stars. Didn’t live the ending. Laura lied and accused HIM of plagiarizing Her work, she fucked over Ben and had a kid with (and married) shithead? Why? Even if she was angry with Reed, why go with asshole? Not enough pain and suffering came to them either, especially after screwing his (and Ben’s) lives up so bad

Loved it all!

An outstanding piece of work except for one fingernails-on-blackboard screeching note of discomfiture: His discription of Kaye as an alley cat compared to Laura! Right there you lost your 5. That piss poor error in judgement was simply too egregious to let it slide. True beauty comes from within, and Laura for all her outer beauty proved her innerself to be far far down on the beauty scale.

Sadly all too true of what happens in academia.

Wow! What a story. Very well written, except for the disparaging remark about Kaye at the end. I can overlook that as the rest of it was amazing. 5-😊😊😊😊😊

Fantastic story...., beautifully told!!!! Keep up the stories. You are a truly great and a fantastic author.

For you who do not know the difference between an Author and a Writer look it up in any dictionary or Google it.

Awesome

The one thing I don't understand was how did Laura just blindly believe the accusations? Given that she then moved on with Federer, it implies they had a thing going on, but she wasn't one of the blackmailed people, so I don't get it.

Great story except for Laura getting off so easy, and for him to compare Kaye in a negative light when he compared her to that beeotch didn't make any sense at all.

It's called Loving wives. I call it a 5/5 Romance. Well done Oshaw!

THC

One of the best stories I've read here.

What a great read.Felt such a range of emotions.Tears of joy and sorrow.

Oshaw robbed us of more greatness. I can't forgive that.

I very much enjoyed reading this touching story. Thanks for writing it.

Very nice story, love the ending.

very moving

Nice story, but the ending was weak. The ending with the Ex was especially anti-climactic and unfulfilling. That backstory should have been expanded as her motivation was relatively unexplored and actions explained. Like her own ambitions which trumped any affections she had for her spouse. Her betrayals were clearly related to those ambitions in my mind, and not the excuse of betrayed sensibilities she gave. Perhaps a follow-up story - Equation: Laura's story- would do this well. The sad part for me is that such betrayals happen in the real world all the time in the incestuous institutions of a rotten society - legal, political, corporate, academic- where marriages are an enterprise that only serve to further one's ambitions.

Interesting that 9 years on, this story continues to generate accolades and (quibbling) criticism as fresh (and strong) as the emotions evoked by its reading.

Cinderella ain't got nothin' on Reed and Kaye, and may we all find someone like Munchkin Judy to love.

For the 4th (or maybe 5th) time now I murmur a heartfelt "Thank you" to oshaw for sharing his gifted creativity with us.

MLJ

Well written and totally engaging.

Thank you for your beautiful and wonderful story. It's so well written that I have a great time reading it and didn't realise that there's a dust go into my eyes. Definitely a five star 🌟💫🌟💫🌟💫🌟💫🌟

I enjoyed this a lot. My only quibble is with the author's evaluation of poker hands. Two-Three is not an awful hand (potential straight draw). Two-Seven off-suit is typically considered the worst pre-flop hand.

Fantastic! Well written and great characters. Sad and extremely Happy. One of my personal favourites

Thanks Oshaw!

Great story.

Two things jumped out at me.

There is no such thing as a photographic memory. That being said, If Reed had one, he could have memorized a campus map and knew exactly where he was going when he arrived.

A pair of eights is not "the dead man's hand" it's two pair, aces and eights.

Wow. Thankyou for a great story .

To Anon: Player had a pair of eights and the flop had a pair of aces so if that is NOT a "dead man's hand" what, in your opinion IS?

I can’t find my previous comment, but I believe it to be over a year ago. I know I gave it 5 stars then as I did now. It wasn’t until I read this time found the advice to switch to poker that I realized that this is where I learned that fact. Great story!

One thing in recent comments made me wonder. Why some stories I find have only about 5 or 6 comments over the years while some like this have many. It’s like I stumble into an area with many posts that have been ignored even though they elicit 5 star ratings from others and me. ?

Bill S.

I think the Laura character is not believable as it could have been. Firstly she said Jason creeped her out, and a woman never would marry a guy who gave her that impression from the start. Secondly not believing her husband without even talking to him? Nope no woman would not interrogate her husband before deciding to leave him because people lie. In college it happens more than people realise. Faculty members should know this as it is standard college protocol to investigate charges like this. So no the beginning g needs work. Laura should have been a power hungry type person and betrayed James. That would have made more sense than if she was fooled twice. So I apologies I have to deduce stars for that huge hole in the story.

The Laura character needed a little more development. Initially she was creeped out by Reeder. Then when the shit hits the fan, she suddenly turned heel and shat on the people she loved. I don’t buy it.

You people are freaking Ridiculous! A Story this short and you want every "named" character to be fully fleshed out and developed. Oh gimme a frikken' break!! Laura was a support character ONLY, she was there as Reeds work place love interest and ultimately his lover, then wife and then his Betrayer!!

She was there so the male (& some female) readers could say "GREAT!! Take that you bitch!!, no Reed ain't taking you back, he's got a REAL HONEST LOVING FAITHFUL WOMAN!" That's it. That's all Laura is. Barely even 2 dimensional.

Not every character has to be fleshed out in a story. But Laura was his wife, hence she was an important character. Her sudden about turn in her feelings for her husband and the person she appeared to loath was puzzling. I want to know why

Great story. I was happy to see that the good guy won and refused to lay down. Five very bright stars.

I love stories of maltreated characters who find happiness through hardship.

I love it when “the good guys” win and the bad guys go down in flames. The story was well written and flowed nicely. 5*s. Thank you for sharing.

(4/15/2023) Ally cat, really??? But still, it was an enjoyable read and worth five stars. Thank you for submitting your story.

This is really beautiful writing with the single complaint of the very indifferent and confusing way his ex-

wife was jettisoned from the story. His 'loving' wife willingly accepted every possible crime her husband was accused of without even a conversation or any attempt at supporting him. It was probably done that way to increase the pain level as everything in our protagonist's world imploded instantaneously.

Brilliant story, possibly your best

Scores a resounding 5/5

What Old_Lion said.

Unforunately the Pernicious Fault-finding Pendant Brigade are in full cry on this one. Glad it entertained them.

Five Supernovas to the author for a well written piece.

I’m not sure if this is my second or third time reading this story again. A beautiful story and one I’d happily give another 5 stars if it was allowable. Obviously, I’ve enjoyed reading it again. Thanks @Oshaw

One of my very favorite stories

Munchkins are great !

The story was also... 5 stars from here.

Glad the first love did get 'burned' after never giving him a chance to talk or defend himself... she also had a nerve to ask him to not only forgive her, but to raise the son she had with the bastard, who also got burned !

One more time proving Karma is not only a bitch, but she knows where you live !

Five supernovas. Always loved a poker story even if it is little more than windowdressing as here.

I enjoyed it, and gave it 5 stars. I think this was my 2nd time reading this, and it's as good as the first time. I still don't understand how Laura could just turn her back on Reed like she did without communicating with him. Then marrying that toad Jason who creeped her out seemed like she lost her mind. It must have been more that she wanted to keep that job than anything. And at the end, the roles are reversed, in that he's got everything he wanted, and she lost everything that mattered including Reed.

This is a terrific story, thanks for writing it for us.

A wonderful read!

Pretty weird that the wife was convinced about husband's debauchery by a testimony of unfamiliar women so much that she refuses to speak with him again. More unbelievable that she got cossied up to, got married to and had a child with a known as Sholes that she used to find unbearable.

Funny. I started this tale twice before and just bailed on it. It didn't hold my interest. This time I persevered and was rewarded with a Five Star story .

JPB

Well we certainly learned a lot about math Mo and poker. Zzzzzzzz

This was a good 9K word story buried in about an additional 9K words of minutiae. 3*

Laura’s immediate acceptance of his infidelity was hard to swallow.

And if Karen was such a great poker teacher why wasn’t she cleaning up at the tables?

But I still enjoyed it :)

This story's url is now listed among my classics. Five hypernovas.

Second time I'm reading this story. Overall really good, but god I wish there was more BTB. Lauren's callous lack of support, then cold-hearted backstabbing by screwing over Reed, leading to him losing everything for years, and all karmic retribution she got was.... lack of forgiveness and a divorce when the slimy bastard turned out to be what she really should already have known from the start. Call me a vindictive bastard, but would have been satisfying with some more... eh, "face slapping" as they are fond of saying in Chinese wuxia novels. Anyway, still great story, 5 stars

I really enjoyed this. First time reading for me. Glad that I came across it and looking forward to reading more. 5 star effort. The plot worked for the length of story without expanding it you can't find out why people did what etc. It satisfied me and is well worth a read or reread. BardnotBard

Well you writing is great on a technical level. However as many others pointed out there are many plot holes here and the ending is underwhelming.

A few private investigators would have made quick work on this case. After they gathered enough evidence, any law firm would happily take Reed's case because it's a sure win. The Dean, Feder and probably the entire University would go down in flames. It was unbelievable that after all of the accusations there was no serious investigation.

As for Laura I have two theories. One that she is incredibly stupid and insecure (which is hardly the case when you consider she's an academic and very attractive). Giving Reed no chance to explain himself, despite knowing him for years, and marrying and giving a child to his worst enemy is just silly. She herself described Feder as creepy.

The other theory is that she knowingly conspired against Reed. Probably had an affair with Feder (and maybe the Dean) for years and when the time came she betrayed him for someone who offered her a better deal.

Either way this woman has no idea what loyalty and faith means. All of the above could have been resolved if Reed decided to fight in court. But the author needed the MC to hit rock bottom. This could have been achieved in a much more realistic fashion.

As for the ending it was too short. After the hell they put Reed through Feder and the Dean deserved to be publicly humiliated and incarcerated for 20+ years. Reed should have been given an insane amount of money as compensation. As for Laura she should have been sued to oblivion as well. That little speech she delivered at the end was absurd. After all that betrayal she expects him to go back to her and raise his tormentors' son?! This pathetic excuse for a woman has no shame. Doesn't she realize what she did? He should have slapped her right there and told her to go to hell. He had every resource to ruin her life, she should have been blacklisted and forced to pay back all the alimony (with interest) plus some more for the slander.

This could have been a great story if not for the over the top plot points I've mentioned. Oh well...

5 stars for this second read as I liked the basic content.

However, the only thing I'll mention is that there was waaaaay toooo much card playing information.

Gambling of any sort is an addiction that destroys thousands of lives every day - the world over.

Isn't it interesting that governments, politicians, criminals, thieves, bullies, liars and cheaters benefit the most from the proceeds of gambling.

Good writing.

Felt a bit rushed and forced in some parts.

The last encounter with Laura is an example. Good points on the state of education in our country..

Perhaps with a better editor it would have been excellent rather very good.

Great story, Thanks for your writing.

He did the right thing not forgiving Laura for if she truly loved him she would have at least talked to him and stood behind him

Kaye allowed herself and daughter to get harassed and bullied to protect him now that is love

On the reporter who started harassing Kaye and Judy by throwing the comments he threw at them that we can only assume wasn't professional just by the simple words that the writer used and then kept pounding on the door demanding answers and going by what the other player said was both in a sexual nature and of a drug user nature with that being said she grounds to stand on and could have and should have filed a lawsuit against him for not only harassment under defraglent comments the company he works for would investigate to see if it holds merit they will see that it does then they are going to want to settle outside of court and make them a lucrative offer as well as the promise in writing to let go of the reporter who done it for unprofessionism and untrustworthy reporting people don't understand just cause the law says the right to press does not mean they are untouchable they have a code of ethics and the few things I just said breaks a few things in there code of ethics and with that being said allows people to win a lawsuit against them if evidence can be proven at very least it would cause them to want to settle quickly outside of the court and outside of the view of other reporters and stations cause of the publicity it would put on them nationally they would want to avoid that at any cost that's just food for thought if someone ever finds that need arise other than that I still stand by my last 2 comments laura never loved him cause she dropped him and damn near destroyed his life the moment he came under attack the same as his so called parents and friends with the exception of 2 people Kaye on the other stood by him got harssaresed and her daughter bullied too protect him when the story became public knowledge if that isn't unconditional love then nothing is

And Munchkin Judy, dearest child to our protagonist, wins the the Costarring award.

Just wait till she gets her lil alley cat feet on the doggy-posed figures of the following:

1. Jason the scum,

2. The ex-dean, his brother-in-arms in evil mongering,

3. Deadbeat Dad Charlie, and finally

3. Laura, n her (obviously potentially evil) son, Jason Jr,

with their rear ends poised in the air arranged in that respective order for Munchkin to mete justice in her own trademark dramatizing way while outfitted with a pair of the stiffest pointy toed footwear around and some chilling algebra!

Do you all realize how badly AND UNFAIRLY that Laura bitch treated Reed during her marriage to him?

In four and more years of conjugal "bliss" with him, she kept denying him a baby (why, "because it would spoil my career at this juncture, darlin!").

Whereas in the three and more years of divorced life after Reed, she found time from her "fantastically evolving" career to not only wed but also give birth for creepy old Feder("why you creep, how did you manage to get into my pants, get me to accept your hand, and finally get me pregnant, darlin?)!!

Laura is a villain and a slut incarnate( more so if the child that she asserts is Feder's, is not). She deserves nothing, not even a hint of compassion if it were proven that she willfully participated in all the above actions.

How dare she assume the audacity to approach Reed at the end in that way? Perhaps thought she was entitled to it, and to his forgiveness.

She outdid Mercedes in the caliber of "women's frailty and betrayal" and we would have needed a truer Count of Monte Cristo to show her when mercy is deserved and what true avenging feels like.

But we got good old Reed instead.

One of the best stories on Lite.

5🌟s

Fred

Well done!

The story was well written and told in a sequence that was clear and concise. Oshw did a very accurate description of the mechanics of Blackjack and the various poker games the protagonist had to learn. I'd like t give this story 5 stars.

Hi Oshaw,

I'm thinking the depth of your experiences, your trials, resilience, and gratitude are reflected in your stories. See you haven't submitted anything in years. Is your writing appearing elsewhere? Perhaps your writing has given you sufficient resolution where you could stop, at least in this vein. Wish you well.