There are a few poker terms used throughout the story, and if you have no understanding of them, or experience with them, you can look on the net for an explanation of each one. There aren't that many; poker is
not
the primary purpose of the story. Regardless, you may want to check out the reference to Jennifer Tilly though.....
Note -- there is reference to violent acts, but they don't occur in the period covered by the story. If you have a very low tolerance level for brief descriptions of sexual sadism you may want to skip this story, or the few paragraphs involved. It forms an integral part of the story, and I don't see how it could be left out.
Chapter 1
It was obvious to all of the players that the dealer was getting a bit tired. He was starting to have difficulty shuffling the cards, and they could notice that he was checking his watch after every hand was completed. Robert Porter had also been checking his watch, and he knew that they would be playing at least another three hands of Texas Holdem before there would be a short break while the dealer was replaced, and a fresh deck was brought into use. He was looking forward to the break as well, as it would give him a chance to take a necessary trip to the bathroom.
It was a quiet Sunday afternoon, and most of the people at their table had been there for at least a couple of hours. Robert himself had been there for over four hours, and knew that he would probably play for at least another hour before taking a supper break. It made no sense for him to leave too soon, now that he had gotten to the point where he was able to figure out most of the players styles and their 'tells' that were permitting him to have a bit of an advantage at the table.
They were playing $5 and $10 Limit Texas Holdem, which meant that the pot could get fairly sizable when up to three raises were made. The dealer would remove up to five dollars from each pot as the casino's share, or rake, which usually didn't make too much of a difference in the size of the pot, but still would cost the players a lot of money in an evening.
There was one female at the table, a pretty, dark haired woman he judged to be of about his own age of 30. She seemed to be pretty good at playing the game, but he had picked up one very valuable tell from her; he just hadn't had the opportunity to make use of it yet. He fully expected that the information he had filed away on her habit could either save or make him some money. Robert also noticed that she wasn't taking advantage of her good looks or figure, a surprising mistake in his mind.
From the size of the stack of chips in front of him he knew that he was likely ahead by at least $250 for his afternoon's work so far. That was about the result that he had hoped for, based on how past afternoons spent at the tables had gone for him. With still an hour to go before he planned to take a lengthier break, he was very hopeful of adding to his winnings.
The woman was sitting practically across from him and was immediately to the dealer's left. There were two other players between her seat and his, and they were both players that seemed to be losing more than they were winning. The remaining five players to his left were a mixed group. The two closest to him were both decent players, and it seemed that both of them were ahead a few chips. The next player was one of the bigger losers for the afternoon, one of those players that were necessary if the others were to make any money from the game.
The last two players, the ones closest to the dealer's right hand, seemed to be average players that were probably close to breaking even. Robert was hopeful that once he gained more information on their play he might be able to make a few dollars at their expense. A lot of people felt that playing poker was a fun experience, but Robert had learned that if you looked at it that way it was going to cost you some cash. He knew that he had to watch his opponents closely, so that he would have every advantage available when he made his bets.
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Just as he had expected, the break occurred three hands later, and he was able to make a quick pit stop at the men's room. He hadn't been the only one to do that, but they all made it back in plenty of time for the start of the next hand. Robert was just about to sit down at the table when an old friend of his walked by and noticed him standing there.
"Lip! How the hell are you doing? I haven't seen you in at least a couple of years." The speaker was a man of his own age, and close to Robert's height of 6 feet. While Robert had sandy blond hair, his rapidly approaching friend had dark brown hair and was also notable for his rugged good looks. Good looks were not something that Robert had ever associated with himself, though, as his face, while otherwise normal, bore a very obvious scar from reconstructive surgery for a cleft lip and palate.
"Fred, it's good to see you! You're right, it's been too long." The two men shook hands before continuing their conversation. The surprise Robert felt at seeing his old friend made him speak more quickly than usual, and as a result his Hypernasality became very noticeable, as his words became overly nasal. It was as though he was "talking through his nose," and several of his fellow poker players quickly glanced up as he spoke.
"So, Lip, you're a poker player now. I hope you're not losing your shirt!" Fred was grinning as he said it, as he knew full well that Robert wasn't a person known for foolishly squandering his money.
"I play a little now and then, Fred. So far I've managed to keep my pickup and my condo. What are you up to these days?" As he regained control of his breathing and slowed down his speech his Hypernasality almost disappeared. The many months of training spent with a Speech Pathologist served him well, and in normal situations his speech sounded almost indistinguishable from anyone else's.
"Nothing new or different, really. I still work in the office at the paper mill. I guess I've been spending too much time with Sherry, my girlfriend. You know how it is, Lip; they don't like their guy spending time with his buddies." He laughed heartily at his little joke.
Robert joined him in his laughter before asking, "Are you staying here tonight, Fred? Maybe we could get together later for supper or a couple of drinks."
The smile disappeared from Fred's face as he said, "No, Lip, I'm not. Sherry is in the casino, playing the slot machines for a few minutes, and then we're headed back to Thunder Bay. She has to go to work in the morning. We only stopped in here for a few minutes on our way back from Minneapolis; we were there for a concert."
Robert could see that the dealer was just about ready to begin his first deal, so he said, "That's too bad, Fred. How about I give you a phone call later this week, and maybe we could get together for supper back home." He laughed before continuing, "I'll even spring for supper for your girlfriend if she wants to come along. It would give me a chance to meet her, and to tell her what you are really like."
"That sounds like a plan, Lip. Except for the last part; how about you just forget the war stories. She has enough things to give me a rough time about as it is." The two men shared a laugh before each gently slapped the other on the shoulder and Robert turned back to the table to retake his seat.
On the first deal the big blind was posted by the man two positions to Robert's right. When the player who was under the gun failed to make a bet, Robert raised the bet to $20 while holding an Ace and an 8. All of the rest of the players mucked their cards, leaving him with a gain of almost $15. He made the same play three more times during the next 12 hands, and in every case he collected the blinds minus the rake. It almost seemed as though the other players didn't like to take him on.
On the thirteenth hand he was in the small blind position, and received the Ace of Diamonds and King of Spades, the best cards that he had been dealt in a while. The third player on his left, the afternoon's big loser, called the big blind, and the woman across from him raised the bet to $20. The player to his immediate right called her raise, as did Robert with his Ace King. The player to his left folded the big blind, and the first caller threw in the extra $10 needed to call; there were going to be four of them in the hand.
Robert was paying close attention to the players who had decided to play this hand, and noticed immediately that the woman across from him was indicating that she had a good hand. The tell that he had noticed earlier was warning him that she had very good cards, and he knew that the other two players in the hand were prone to stay in hands waiting to see the flop with any kind of decent cards. He knew he would also have to wait for the flop to see whether he should stay in the hand himself.
The flop came up with a pair of Kings and an Ace, giving Robert a full house, Kings full of Aces. It was a great hand, and he quickly raised the initial $10 bet from the man on his right. The next player called, and the woman across from him calmly raised the bet another $10. The man to his right made the third raise, and the pot had grown by over $100 on that round of betting. He had been watching the woman closely, and realized that in spite of the fact that he had a rare great hand, it was a loser. After a momentary hesitation he folded the two cards and watched the dealer pull them into the pile of dead cards.
Robert carefully watched the remaining rounds of betting on the turn card and the river, confident as he watched the woman's play that he had made the right decision. The player to his right obviously felt he had the winning hand, as he kept raising her raises. He wasn't sure what the third man in the pot had, but he kept calling every bet. Robert had judged him in the earlier play as a rather undisciplined player, and truly, what cards he had were anyone's guess.
By the time the hand ended, the pot was almost $500, the best one of the afternoon. When the woman showed her pair of Aces, her Aces full easily beat the ace high flush held by the player to Robert's right, and the three Kings held by the remaining player. While the chips were being moved over in front of the woman, Robert said, "I'm sure glad I folded Big Slick."
The woman immediately reacted to his comment, saying, "I'm calling bullshit on that! There's no way you folded an Ace King after that flop." A couple of the other players made comments in agreement with her.
The dealer was just reaching for the pile of dead cards when Robert asked, "If no one objects, could you turn over some of those cards? You'll find the Ace of Diamonds and the King of Spades in there, and they should be together."
