the.com/stakes
the invisible weight that turns a game into something worth losing sleep over
word originFrom the post you tied bets to before wagering
gambling rootTo be 'at stake' meant literally on the betting post
vampire variantWooden stakes as monster-slaying tech predate Dracula by centuries
raising themPoker invented stakes that escalate to force decisions
survival mathHigher stakes sharpen focus, then shatter it past a threshold