I want to take a minute to acknowledge that while "The Gambler" is a critical piece of the American lexicon, that video is boring. (But press play anyway and you'll have a nice soundtrack for the rest of this post.) You see, I don't have any photos to accompany the following announcement, so Kenny will have to do...
I have accomplished #24 on my 40 by 40 list! I have learned to play poker, as measured by the fact that last night I went to a poker room and actually played poker without making a total fool of myself.
First, I discovered that Mystic Lake (aka, the only nearby casino with slots) no longer offers poker, so after playing some slots, we headed down the road to Canterbury...home of my next hobby (as soon as I have an income again), horse racing. They have a card room, which I had never partaken in before, but, with my husband's encouragement, I marched up to the lady at the desk, said "I want to play hold 'em," and procured a spot at a table.
This table was playing 2/4 Hold 'Em. Since the extent of my experience so far had been playing with my husband and kids, I had no idea what the "2/4" meant, but it was the table with an open spot, so I sat down anyway. This was a 10 person table. No one but the dealer even acknowledged me, which was fine...I of course threw my cash on the table and had to be told to wait until the next hand. (Oh yes, yes of course...)
So they set a giant stack of $1 chips in front of me and I try to figure out what's going on. My at-home play had taught me the basics - as in, I knew what a good hand looked like, but playing with actual poker players is a little different than playing with your kids. The first few hands happened so fast with raises and folds that no one was showing their cards. The woman sitting next to me was knitting and barely seemed to be glancing at any of the cards, yet was winning some of the hands. The dealer was turning over 5 cards, not the 3 we had been practicing with. What is going on?!
I panicked and almost gave up. My husband, who wasn't playing, but was perched behind me, whispered "You're okay." I gritted my teeth and committed.
Slowly, I calmed down. It started making sense. I realized everyone in a poker is a liar. Obviously I knew bluffing was a big part of the game, but I hadn't realized it was most of the game.
I missed a chance to win with a pair of Jacks - I folded and the dude only had a pair of 3s. We hadn't practiced a lot of bluffing at home. But I kept going. I gave back the bad cards without wasting a bet. I didn't fold every time someone raised, even if I was pretty sure I had nothing. And I won a hand!
Sadly I did not discover that I am a gifted poker player, ready to hit the professional circuit. I lost $70. But I learned a lot. And I was brave. And I accomplished something!
And I'd still take slots over poker any day.
