Today is my personal annual Texas Hold’em poker day tournament. What this actually means is that my car is in the service center for its annual check-up, and I am forced to hang around waiting for my wheels.

I look into a few of my favorite online casinos to see how the action is going before I make my choice and I finally decide to play at ‘Arkie’s Online’ where there is a great game going on. I squeeze myself in at the table, smile at the very tense looking players who look as though they’ve been sitting there for days, put my money on the table and ask for chips. The dealer calls for bets and we all ante up. The stake is $50. He deals my first hand and I squeeze the cards open to snatch a quick glance. I am holding a jack and a 7, nothing to get excited about. But this is Texas Hold’em and anything can happen.

I look at the other guys but must of them are wearing dark glasses or hats with the brims pulled down over their eyes. A couple of them are studying me speculatively, trying to gauge if I am a good liar, a good bluffer or a poor player. 

I drop $20 on the table to show that I am staying in the game. There are five of us in the game. The flop comes down. A, 7, 9 and a queen. Now I have a pair of 7’s, a big improvement but what are the other guys holding? I add another $20 to the jackpot and sit back. One player folds. The turn is a queen. I now have a pair of 7’s and a pair of queens. It’s getting better but it’s almost the end of the hand. I wait breathlessly for the betting to end.

Now for the river. $20. There is good money on the table, some of these guys are playing with $100 chips. Here comes the river – a queen. I have a full house, a winning hand. I pick up $800 as my cell-phone rings to tell me that my car is ready. I’ll be back next year I tell the others as I log out.

Posted on: July 19, 2008

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