***All characters are over 18 and are fictional. Any resemblance to any real-life persons or situations is purely coincidental.
.....
POKER NIGHT
Pete:
"I know this is last minute, but my friend Jack is hosting a poker game. Are you in?"
Ken looked at the text he received from his friend Pete. He had no plans for tonight other than watching a Mariners game. There's nothing else to do on a Thursday night anyway. But now he got the text from Pete and thought it might be a better option. He hadn't been to a friendly poker game in a few years and was excited at the idea of going to one again.
Ken:
"I'm in. Thanks for the invite. Is Terry coming to?"
Terry is another one of his good friends.
Petet:
"Yes. And Jack is inviting one of his friends too. So, it should be a good game."
Ken:
"Have I ever met this guy before?"
Pete:
"Maybe. He was at my Christmas party."
Ken:
"Maybe I'll remember when I get there."
Pete texted him the time, address, and time the game was starting, and he replied that he'd bring some beer for everyone. After work, Ken went home to change, had dinner before leaving, and then picked up a 12-pack on his way to the poker game.
When he got to the address, he was greeted by Jack, whom he vaguely remembered. He was a slightly taller guy, probably in his mid-forties, with a graying beard. He was kind of muscular and seemed to be in very good shape for a man his age. He wore a Hawaiian shirt with the first few buttons undone on top to show off a tuft of chest hair and a gold chain around his neck.
"You must be Ken," said Jack as he shook his hand.
"Thanks for the invite," said Ken.
"Thank you for bringing the beer. You saved me a trip to the liquor store, so all I had to do was get the snacks."
Jack escorted Ken through the house; he was impressed by how big Jack's home was and everything he owned. He asked Jack what he did for a living, and he told him how he used to be a professional boxer; he never won any championships, but he had a decent career in the ring. After retiring, he invested his money in a chain of successful sports bars around the city. Ken knew of these sports bars and had always enjoyed visiting them in the past; he was surprised he was at the home of the man who owned them.
They got to the basement, where the poker game was being held. It was a finished basement with a carpeted floor, a small gym set in one corner, a TV and sitting area in another corner, and a pool table off to the side. Jack told him he was going to install a bar but never got around to it. Ken was happy to see that the TV was showing the Mariners game he was planning to watch tonight, so he could still watch the game as he played poker.
The poker table was set up in the middle of the room. Pete and Terry were already there, and he was introduced to Jack's friend, Brent. The buy-in was $500, a little steep for Ken, but he wanted to give it a shot. He dropped a lot more in casinos in the past.
They were playing a standard five-card draw game. The host deals first, and then after every round, the player to the right deals next. They agreed to a couple of simple rules concerning the bets for the game. First, they were only allowed to buy back into the game once when they lost. Secondly, they were only allowed to use the money they brought; no using cash transfer apps or any kind to get more money from someone or a promise to pay more money later. They wanted to keep it simple and make sure nobody was going to lose too much money other than what they came with.
Just as everyone was getting their poker chips, someone new began walking down the stairs. Ken looked over to see a beautiful blonde woman carrying a tray of nachos and dips. She was no more than thirty years old and wore a short-sleeved white blouse and tight jeans that showed off the curvature of her ass.
"Hello everyone," she said as she set the tray on a side table. "I won't interfere with your guy's night. I'm just bringing in some snacks, and I'll be on my way."
Ken may not have remembered Jack, but he definitely remembered Monica. She was casually dressed now, but the last time he saw her at Pete's Christmas party, she looked like a totally different woman. At that party, she wore a sexy red dress that showed off plenty of her legs and a lot of cleavage from her double-D tits. She also wore a Santa's cap for the occasion, which somehow made her look like a sexy Mrs. Claus. Because of her, he then remembered Jack, who only had a mustache at the time.
Jack made the introductions. "Monica, you already know Pete and Brent, the new guys are Pete's friends, Ken and Terry. Guys, this is my wife, Monica."
"Hey, guys," she said.
"Hi Monica," said Terry.
"Hello, Monica," said Ken. "You have a lovely home."
"Thank you, Ken," she said to him. "By the way, I remember you from Pete's Christmas party."
"Yes, we met briefly there."
"I remember that you refused to kiss me under that mistletoe," she revealed.
Everyone expressed their shock and awe that Ken would turn down such an opportunity. He clearly remembered how they both accidentally bumped into each other when she was going to the bar for a drink and Ken was just leaving the bar with a drink of his own. He almost spilled his drink on her, and he apologized; she said nothing spilled on her, so no apologies were necessary. It was then that someone pointed out that they were under a mistletoe, and then a few people in the small crowd around them cheered for them to kiss.
She smiled at him, waiting for him to make the decision of whether to kiss her or not. Ken was very tempted, especially after seeing her in that dress. But he remembered that she was a married woman and felt it was inappropriate. He told the crowd he couldn't do it and walked away, much to their disappointment and taunting.
"I was really offended that you did that, by the way," she said.
"I remember you now," said Jack. "Why didn't you kiss her?"
"I'm sorry," said Ken. "But I knew she was married. I didn't think it was appropriate."
"I was ok with it. It's a Christmas tradition, after all," said Jack.
"Yeah, dude. Even I kissed Monica that night under that mistletoe," Pete revealed.
"I did the same thing with her a few years ago," said Brent. "You missed out, bro."
"I'll be sure to keep that in mind if the opportunity ever happens again," said Ken, who was feeling slightly embarrassed by the situation.
Monica left the men to their poker game. She made joke about them putting up a 'no girls allowed' sign that got a big laugh from everyone. Jack dealt out the cards first and they began the game.
THE FINAL BET
Everyone was having fun over the next few hours. They made some crazy bets, had plenty to drink, talked shit to each other, shared some fun stories, and made a few dirty jokes with each other. Ken felt like he was back in his old fraternity when they used to have their weekly poker games.
Ken was even having a good night with his cards; he was getting a lot of good hands and had never had a win streak playing poker like this before. He didn't win every hand, but he was doing very damn well and winning a lot of money. The night was only getting better when he also saw on TV that the Mariners were winning big against a rival team.
He wasn't the only one to win big that night. Jack was killing it with some very good hands. Ken couldn't help thinking how lucky this guy was; he had a nice house with a kickass basement, a sexy trophy wife, and was lucky at cards. He was thinking that this guy may be his new hero.
Pete, Terry, and Brent were having a lot of fun themselves, but not when it came to the game. They each had some good hands, but they mostly lost the others. Brent was the first one out; he bought back in but made too many bad decisions afterwards and lost it all pretty quickly. He was only allowed to buy back in once during the game, so he was now out for good.
Pete was the next to go. He was doing very well in the beginning, and was even responsible for much of Brent's losses. But soon, he got too cocky and started making too many risky bets on hands he knew better than to bet on. He was certain he could bluff his way into winning some of those hands, but that plan was no good. He did buy back in and did well again for a short while, but soon lost everything.
Terry was doing fairly well. He was smart enough to know when to fold his hands rather than pretend he could bluff like Pete was trying to do. He was doing well until he lost several hands in a row. He did have some good cards, but the problem was that Jack and Ken had better cards and took all of his money. Before he came that night, he decided not to bring any extra money that night to keep himself being tempted to buy back in if he lost.
Jack and Ken went back and forth on winning each hand. For a while, it seemed like they were in a permanent stalemate. Soon enough, Brent and Pete were taking side bets on who was going to win.
"This is going on for a while," said Jack.
"I know, it doesn't seem like either one of us will be the big winner if it keeps going on like this," said Ken.
"It's fun nonetheless. Don't you agree?"
"Definitely. It just keeps getting more exciting with every hand."
"Just be sure you don't get cocky like I did," said Pete. "I need you to win out against Jack; I'm going to win my bet with Brent."
Ken couldn't help laughing at Pete. He lost big that night and was still trying to get something out of it. He hoped that he wouldn't disappoint him by the end of the game.
After another few hands, Ken did everything he could to show his best poker face when he received his best hand of the night. He was given a full house, Aces over kings. He bet the usual amount and waited for Jack to respond. Jack looked at his cards for a while and raised the bet another couple hundred dollars. Ken was sure he was bluffing and raised his bet a couple hundred more. Jack didn't hesitate as he raised his bet even more. It was a lot more money than Ken was willing to bet on, but he took the chance and called.
Terry, who was dealing the cards for them on that round since he was out of the game, asked if anybody wanted to exchange cards. Ken felt his hand was good, so he stayed, but Jack decided to change two cards. Ken felt he was showing a sign of weakness by changing two cards because it meant he wasn't confident in his cards. When Jack raised the bet even more, Ken decided to raise it even higher.
There was a tense silence in the room as everyone was waiting for the outcome of the game. Jack looked back and forth between his hands and the chips on the table, contemplating what he should do next. Ken was certain he had him now; there was a lot of money at stake, and he was certain Jack was bluffing.
"I'm all in," said Jack as he pushed in all of his remaining chips.
This was a sudden surprise to Ken, who was certain he had Jack on the ropes. He figured that Jack must be bluffing because nobody would put in that much money after how that round was going. Ken was willing to accept that bet, but the problem was that he didn't have enough chips to cover it. As good as he did that night, Jack did much better and had taken a lot more of their friends' money, so he had a little more than what Ken had to bet on.
"I can't cover that bet," said Ken.
