To do something that involves risk and could fail but that you hope will succeed or make money: gamble on sth He gambled his political future on the success of the project. Gamble with sth The President warned Republicans not to gamble with Medicare. Investors gambled. Gamble synonyms, gamble pronunciation, gamble translation, English dictionary definition of gamble. To bet; to take a chance on; venture; hazard; speculation; flyer: I’ll take a gamble. Verb (used without object), gambled, gambling. To play at any game of chance for money or other stakes. To stake or risk money, or anything of value, on the outcome of something involving chance: to gamble on.

While Judge Smails declared there is no gambling at Bushwood, let’s be honest, it doesn’t get much better than winning a bet on the golf course. A handshake at 18 was a nice gesture in pre-COVID times, but nothing compares to watching your opponent whip open his wallet and collecting your winnings.

As PGA Tour pro Joel Dahmen – who turned to social media to find a money game after missing the cut at the Northern Trust – put it, Venmo just won’t do. Cash is still king.

Sometimes, the stakes are immaterial; it’s bragging rights that are on the line. But what is your game of choice? Everyone loves to play skins, a Nassau, a scramble, sixes, even Wolf or Bingo, Bango, Bongo. But if that is your full rota of games, we have a few new options to spice up your next round.

This story originally ran in Issue 4 of Golfweek magazine.

Coin Flip

Kevin Kisner recommends a game he calls Coin Flip. “We like to play as a gangsome of five or six, so picking teams is tricky,” he said. “We flip coins on every tee and the heads are a team and tails are a team. Sometimes it is 4-on-1 and other times it is 3-on-2. It avoids any of the typical complaining because you flipped the coin, and if you don’t like your team, you’ve got a chance at a different one on the next hole.”

Two-ball best ball/worst ball

If you’re playing head-to-head as a twosome and the handicap system isn’t doing its job to make the match competitive, Tour player Charles Howell III suggests playing two-ball best ball/worst ball. It’s a game he plays with his son, Chase, 8. Each player hits two shots, and Dad has to play the shot Chase deems the lesser of the two – some call this a reverse mulligan – while Chase gets to pick his best ball. This game is a true test of skill for the better player.

Vegas, baby!

In this game, the match is one two-person team against another. On a par 4, say one team cards scores of 4 and 5, and the other makes 5 and 7. The score for the first team is 45, the score for the second is 57 and each point is worth a negotiated amount. Unless you’re playing for pennies or caramels, this becomes a respectable gap (12 points). You start to feel the damage when one team makes a birdie, because the other team’s total is then flipped, with high score first. So if Team 1 made 3-5 on a par 4 for 35 points, Team 2’s order (5-7) gets reversed for 75, or a difference of 40 points. Make an eagle and post-flip the difference in points is doubled. You’ve been warned: It can get expensive playing Vegas.

Umbrella

My brother-in-law Todd Myers likes to play a two-man team game called Umbrella in which six points are available on every hole. Two points are awarded for the low ball, two for the low team aggregate score, one point for proximity to the hole and a point for a birdie. If your team sweeps all six points on a hole, the points double to 12. That’s an umbrella. They start at $1 per point with automatic presses. The last hole can get as high as $18 per point, which can cost you more than your monthly car payment if someone makes birdie. “I’ve won some nice money on that game. Luckily no big losers,” he said. “But it can get a little nerve-racking at the end.”

Quota

There are different variations of this points-based game, with scoring in ways similar to a standard Stableford, and here’s one: Players receive eight points for eagle, four for birdie, two for par and one for bogey. Anything higher than a bogey earns no points. Subtract one’s handicap from 36, and that’s how many points a player must earn to reach his “quota.” A 10-handicap player, for instance, would need to make 26 points. The player who finishes with the most points over his quota wins.

The Snake

This is a mainstay at my home course. Every time a player three-putts, an agreed-upon amount is added to the pot. The big loser is the last player to three putt, who pays for everyone’s putting woes and has to carry the snake headcover until next time. As for the big winner? At my club it is the bartender, who is paid the pot as his tip. A slightly different spin on this game is a stuffed donkey that is carried by the last player to make a double bogey in the round. Tour pro Bud Cauley used to play practice rounds with Jason Bohn, Carl Pettersson and George McNeil in a no-bogey game, and they had a fun twist: The first time someone missed a par putt, he could use a lifeline – in this case, his caddie – and if his caddie made the putt, he’d get new life.

Trash

To spice up any match, “Trash” can be instituted, with dots doled out for various categories. We’ve all heard of polies (putts beyond the length of the flagstick), sandies (up-and-down pars or better from bunkers), barkies or Tarzans (pars after drives scrape trees) and even sparkies (pars after a player’s ball strikes a cart path). Former Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly chimed in with his version of trash, or what he calls “Sugar Junk,” that includes but is not limited to:

Bitch bucks: You owe a dollar if you complain about a shot that ends up in the fairway or on the green ($5 for bitching on a putt that goes in). “You don’t have to swear either,” Reilly said. “Just showing any displeasure with the shot – even facial gestures – is a bitch buck.”

Arnie: A player cashes in if he missed the fairway on a par 4 or par 5 and makes a birdie.

Seves: Cash in if never on the fairway and make a one-putt par.

Posie: Pay out for posing too long after a good shot.

Ralphies: If you can finger-barf before your ball stops rolling, you can re-hit.

So, hit the range and work on your game … and don’t forget to perfect your Ralphies.

Playtech, the gambling software developer, will this week end one of the longest boardroom searches in recent corporate history when it announces that it has raided a rival industry player for its new chairman.

Sky News has learnt that Playtech will announce that Brian Mattingley has agreed to become the long-term successor to Alan Jackson, who said he was stepping down almost two years ago.

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Mr Mattingley will join from 888 Holdings, the online gambling group, where he has spent 15 years on the board.

The recruitment of an experienced industry figure is likely to please Playtech shareholders, ten months after Claire Milne was installed in the role on an interim basis.

People close to Playtech pointed out that the search for a permanent chair had been paused because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with one investor suggesting that Mr Mattingley was 'not an unexpected choice'.

Playtech's shares have performed strongly over the last year, almost doubling to give the company a market capitalisation of almost £1.5bn.

However, the company has been beset by corporate governance concerns for years and has found itself embroiled in a string of rows over boardroom pay.

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In a recent trading update, it hailed its entry to the key US market alongside ongoing talks to sell its financials division, Finalto, for up to $200m.

It plans to announce its annual results next week.

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Neither Playtech nor 888 would comment on Tuesday.