Clyde barely fanned his cards as he checked them again. He leaned forward to look at the pot.

  “Finally, a pot worth taking. And this one is all mine, gents.” Clyde counted out his chips.  “I’ll see that 1200 and raise it 600 again.”
This message was last edited by the player at 02:50, Fri 21 Sept 2007.

Chorro called for two cards as he discarded two. He looked at them briefly. He reached for his chips. “Let’s see how far we can keep this party going. See that and raise another 600. We’ve marked the devil well this round.”
This message was last edited by the player at 03:19, Fri 21 Sept 2007.

Randy glanced at the other players and then his hand again. Some where in the back of his mind, under the chatter of calculating his odds the altered Ego of Dren Telarwin was quietly pacing back and forth. He'd seen "the tell" but there were no face up cards to weigh "the tell" against. The "system" had a flaw and it was breaking down fast - there was only one thing left to do... get a new baseline reading.

Randy looked at Ethan one more time, then Chorro and smiled as he lifted a very large stack of chips in front of him and dropped them in the ever growing pile, after repeating the motion one more time he looked back to the other players "I'll Call." letting the left corner of his cards slip from his thumb he leaned back "I'd just be worth it just to find out who's bluffing."

The pot was growing yet. Johnny watched, somewhat worried but doing his best not to show it, as a round of careful betting was turning into what could very well become a turning point in the game. It was, he realized, the first round in which substantial amounts of chips would change hands.

It would certainly not be the best round to bring an average hand, but he had to see the draw. "My turn to raise soon?" Johnny asked. The occasional theatrics weren't much use in professional games, but in this company he could at least hope for some or other subconscious tell.

But if I can't even tell what Dren - the completely amateur player with whom I am actually cooperating - are doing, am I just fooling myself?

Will looked at his cards casually. “Two please,” he said as he tossed his discard to the dealer.  He slid the new cards into his hand. “Looks like I will Call as well,” he said as he looked toward the red-faced demon.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:42, Sat 29 Sept 2007.

Swel shuffled his cards and looked at the pot of chips. A low growl issued from his throat. “Someone’s got something good, and it ain’t me!” He tossed the cards down. “I’m out”.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:42, Sat 29 Sept 2007.

Johnny looked from Will and Swel to Dracor, who had already folded - good call, Johnny thought, humored by his own wordplay. "One card," he told the dealer, throwing a casual look at his hand. Essentially, his four Clubs opened for a flush, and only drawing one card would make the other players think twice about calling him. He passed the useless King of Hearts on.

While the actual odds for getting the card he needed were rather poor - nine out of forty-seven, to be exact - he had that spider's sense telling him to go for it. He had played a good deal of poker in his time, and one thing he had learned was that, for some or other un-Bayesian reason, he could ride those dismal odds which would leave other players in ruin.

Johnny had actually moved his mind onto just how much he was going to raise before he was dealt his card. He threw only a half-hearted look at it - it was red as fire, Queen of Hearts, essentially his discard's wife and just as useless - before he slammed the four-fifths of a flush in the table, showing more emotion than he was really comfortable with.

"Fold, he muttered, turning his gaze to meet Dren's. He didn't have to count the chips he had himself commanded into the pot to know it was going to be an uphill battle from there.

Ethan plucked the 4 of diamonds from his hand and slid it face down toward the discard. “Just one card for me.” He looked at his remaining cards, the ace of hearts and a set of triplets - a club, spade, and diamond each with the number 3. He picked up the new card that had just been dealt to him. It was the ace of diamonds. He had a full house. He made sure that his face gave nothing away. “Oh, bloody hell,” he suddenly said aloud, as he closed up his hand and it placed it face down on the table. “I fold.”

Clyde looked over his hand as he wrestled with his odds. He selected one card and dropped it on the table.  “One, s'il vous plait and make it a good one.” he said thick with his Cajun French accent of New Orleans. His eyes grew just a little wide with excitement as Clyde slide the new card into place.  I’ve got this pot! My luck has changed and I’m gonna win this night. Don’t get too greedy, string them along. he thought to himself.

“Call. Let’s see them boys.”as he matched the pot with his chips.

Chorro spread his hand.  “Pair of fours. Tried to get that second pair, but it wasn’t to be.”

Will dropped his hand and spoke out of turn. It took a second for the blurred cards to become clearly visable to everyone. “Hell, that beats me. King high with a Jack backing him up. I thought you were bluffing, Chorro.”

Will turned to his right. “What do you got, Randy.”

Randy flipped over his hand "Pair o' Sevens." he winked at Chorro and then glanced over at the man across the table from him.

He folded. I thought I was calling him out, but he backed down... Trying not to think about the idea of a Full House in Johnny's hand the man in the cowboy hat continued to smile knowing he took Chorro down at least... with sheer luck. He turned his attention to Clyde now wondering what went wrong... it's like the entire system had broken down and he was just now figuring that out.

Clyde’s eyes reflected his evil nature as he flashed a bit of fang to seal his victory. ”Read them and weep boys!” with great flare, he laid down his cards, one at a time. Splayed out before them was the King of Clubs, Queen of Spades, Jack and ten of Hearts, with the Nine of Diamonds.  A very high straight.

Clyde kissed two fingers, and then patted the Queen affectionately. “This lovely lady was late to the party, but she made quite an entrance.”

Clyde reached out to scoop the pile of chips over to him.

Chorro caught Clyde’s wrist firmly. “Then she really is the death card, because she killed your hand.”

He faced Clyde and said with a twisted smile "Hoyle's rules, remember?"

Swel started to laugh uncontrollably.

Randy looked from the cards to the laughing demon and back "Is there ah joke 'round 'ere that I'm missin'?"

Johnny watched nervously whatever was unfolding - it was not exactly hyperbole to say he was well versed in card games, but at the moment, Clyde was sitting with the definite winning hand, and it was not even a borderline case like a jack to ace straight. And even as relieved he was to be no part of the madness, involving some five-hundred pounds of demon roaring with uncontrollable laughter, he couldn't help but tell himself he could have won that round.

Johnny shot Dren a glance, trying to express Pair of sevens? Have you lost your mind? with only a frown.

Clyde tried to reach for the chips a second time, but  Chorro held his wrist firm.

Chorro shook his head no. “That is an invalid hand, Clyde. We explained this to you last time. “

Clyde wrenched his arm free from Chorro’s grasp and sat back in his chair. “But I thought that only applied to a flush?”

“I’m afraid you’re mistaken, Mr. Lafeet.” Ethan spoke in a friendly, casual tone. “According to Hoyle, both straights and flushes are invalid hands, unless otherwise announced before the start of the game.”

“When it comes to poker, I’m old school.” Chorro looked over at Clyde. “You should know that by now, Lafeet. You’ve sat in on enough of my games. “

“Yeah, well you’re the only one that’s ever claimed they’re bad hands. Nobody else has ever had a problem with them. Am I right?” Clyde turned to the others at the table, looking for support.

“That’s not entirely true. Poker was played for several decades before straights were introduced into the game. I think that was around the later half of the 1800s.”

“I’m old enough to remember when we played with a 20 card pack. You’re lucky I don’t make you play that way.” Chorro spoke in a firm voice. “Without straights and flushes, the highest winning hand is four aces. As far as I’m concerned, that’s the way it’s always been, and that’s the way it’s always going to be. They can play by those newfangled rules on the casino floor, but not at my table.”

Clyde was furious. “Maybe you should grow up and get with the times. Your days of glory are long gone. The world is passing you by while you’re still clinging to the past.”  Not being one to keep his mouth shut, he let it move without thinking.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:10, Wed 07 Nov 2007.