Smooth Call

by Ken Kelly

The chip leader’s new style kept him even and when Rick got up from the table the chip man had a little over $800 in front of him. If he’d bought in for $200 he was ahead $600, a very nice win for a game that size, Rick thought. He cashed in his chips at the cashiers window and headed out of the casino on to Freemont Street. He looked at his watch and wondered if he had time for a quick walk up the street. If Gloria was done she would have come looking for him, unless she went for a walk as well. Not likely, thought Rick, deciding to walk five minutes up and five minutes back.

  Rick noticed was that even though it was after 11pm nothing was closed. Casinos, restaurants and bars, souvenir shops, liquor stores – all open for business. Up ahead a few hundred yards Rick saw what looked like a plasma screen coming out from a building. On the screen were head and shoulder shots of attractive women with seductive smiles floating by one after another, promising things to come.

  When he got closer he saw that the screen was an ad for a gentleman’s club, or a strip bar for the non-gentleman. Two barkers, young attractive scantily clad women, a blonde and brunette, were smiling and talking to the men passing by, trying to turn them into customers.

  When Rick walked by the blonde said, “Come in my handsome young man, we’ll make you feel so, so good.” She emphasized the “so, so,” drawing it out so it sounded both sexy and sincere.

  The brunette said, “No cover, just a two drink minimum.”

  Rick hadn’t stopped walking but he was right in front of the girls now. He halted and looked from the brunette to the blond. “Thanks for the offer ladies. I’m meeting someone now but maybe another time.”

  “After you meet them why don’t you bring them here?” said the brunette.

  “I don’t think she’s into gentleman’s clubs.”

  “You might be surprised. A lot of men bring their dates these days. A lot of women want to try something different.”

  “I’ll ask her,” Rick said, as he pushed off back toward the Golden Nugget.

  “See you again, baby,” said the blonde.

  Rick was about to walk into the Golden Nugget when he saw Gloria walking toward him. She greeted him with a kiss and he put his arm around her waist as they made their way down the walking street. Just then a couple of teenage girls shrieked as they zipped by overhead on the Flightlinez; a cable that runs over 800 feet from platform to platform and carries riders at speeds up to 30 mph.

  “Let’s do that before we leave,” said Gloria.

  “Deal. What do you want to do now?”

  “Go to the Four Queens and sleep.”

  “I was hoping you’d say that.”

  It only took a couple of minutes to get from the street to their room.

  “How did you do?” Gloria said.

  “I did okay, I won $158.”

  “Good for you,” said Gloria as she kicked off her shoes.

  “How did you do?”

  “I won $423.”

  “Wow, that’s impressive.” He took off his shoes, laid down with his head on the pillow and his hands behind his head.

  “It’s a bigger game with bigger blinds and bigger buy ins. You might have done as well if you were playing there. Give me the highlights of your game.”

  “You go first.”

  “I asked you first.”

  “The trump card, hey? Alright I’ll go first.” He took a deep breath then started. “The first thing I did was walk around and look at all the pictures which was pretty interesting, especially the wall with all the World Series winners. Then I played Texas Hold em,’ the best game in the world.”

  “So they say.”

  “I won a big pot against a college kid who made the low end of a straight and seemed to think he had the nuts. I’d flopped the nut straight and got him for about one hundred and fifty.

  “But the most interesting thing was watching this guy who I thought was a maniac but who steadily won more and more.

  “You ever play with those guys who are in every pot, big raisers and big betters, and usually big losers by the end of the night?”

  “Sure,” said Gloria, “every poker player has.”

  “Well, this guy was all that except he kept winning.”

  Gloria looked at her watch. “It’s still early. The game could go until 2am or all night. He might still lose it.”

  “Yeah, he might, but somehow I don’t think so. I’ve seen my share of maniacs but this guy was different. He played a lot of pots but after I started watching him I noticed he didn’t pay much to see the flop and usually he wouldn’t hang around for the turn. But sometimes he’d flop a monster, like when he held a Q, 2 and the flop came Q, Q, 2.”

  “That’s a hand. You weren’t in that pot were you?”

  “No, thank God. The only guy up against him after the turn was a guy holding A, Q.”

  “Owe, that’s got to hurt.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure it did. The guy lost his stack, about $300.”

  “The guy who won it sounds like a good loose aggressive player to me.”

  “Because?”

  “Does he comes in for a raise when he’s first to act and steels the blinds?”

  “He did plenty of that.”

  “He applies pressure with all his betting and raising, intimidates people, pisses some of them off, forces players to make mistakes. He wants to win big when he’s holding a power house and the way he positions himself to do that is by seeing a lot of flops, cheaply.”

  “That sounds like our guy.”

  “Not many people want to be in a pot with a Q, 2 off suit but a loose aggressive player likes to give himself a chance.”

  “Is that how you play?”

  “Sometimes, I like to mix it up a bit. Usually I’ll start out tight aggressive and try to lull people to sleep. Then I’ll get loose for twenty minutes or a half hour, before I tighten up again. It works pretty well and is more fun then waiting all night for Aces, Kings, Queens and board card suited connectors.”

  “So tell me how your night went.”

  “It went well,” said Gloria, as she stepped out of her dress and hung it in the closet. “Oh, I wanted to say I hope you didn’t think I was scowling at you when I first sat down.”

  Rick laughed. “As a matter of fact I did. I thought you were trying to tell me to buzz off.”

  “I wasn’t, honest. I was frowning because this guy had just bet into me and I was trying to come across like I didn’t like it. The fact was that I’d just flopped a set of 9’s, the nuts at that stage, so I was happy he was betting. I felt bad when you took off.”

  Rick watched her in her black bra and panties. “Don’t feel bad, absolutely no harm done. That was your first hand wasn’t it?”

  “Yes. He flopped the top two pair and bet all the way through. I smooth called on the flop, smooth called on the turn and then raised on the river and doubled my stack.”

  “Good one. It’s a nice way to start off.”

  “Yeah, baby,” said Gloria as she stood by the side of the bed, looking into Ricks eyes. Without breaking eye contact she reached back, unhooked her bra, pulled it off and tossed it on the other bed. Tilting her head just a little she began rubbing her breasts and moaning slightly. Rocking slowly from side to side, she closed her eyes and rolled her nipples between her thumbs and index fingers. She continued moaning, a little louder now.

  She opened her eyes and looked at Rick again. He was paying close attention. Her left hand went down to the top of her black panties, her thumb sliding inside. Her right hand moved down her stomach, her fingers gliding past her belly button. Her hand stopped and she laughed. “Better stop there, we need to get some sleep. I do anyway. With all the driving, eating, drinking, gambling and sex I’m exhausted.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Gloria went to her bag and got a T-shirt. She pulled it on and said, “I’m beginning to think you’re a very naughty boy.”

  “You think so? I prefer to thin
k of myself as a typical red blooded American guy.”

  Gloria went over, pulled back the covers on her side and laid down next to Rick. “Take off your clothes and let’s get to sleep.”

  “Sleep, right. That’s what you’ve got me thinking about now.”

  The next morning Gloria got up at 8:30 and took a shower. When she came out she could see Rick stirring so she started the coffee and when it was done she poured herself a cup. Rick was still sleeping, his stirring maybe her imagination since the coffee brewing didn’t wake him. Gloria read the hotel’s literature and sipped her coffee.

  When she was done she lay down on the spare bed, put the back of her head on the pillow and closed her eyes. A few minutes later Rick got up and poured the last of the coffee into a cup and took it with him to the bathroom where he showered and shaved. When he came out he got dressed he glanced over at Gloria and saw that she was still in the same position.

  When she opened her eyes a few minutes later Rick said, “Good morning. Were you sleeping, I couldn’t tell?”

  “No, I was praying.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes.”

  “Oh.”

  “Don’t you ever pray?”

  “Rarely.”

  “I pray fairly often, mostly to help things go the way I want them to.”

  “Don’t get me wrong, but isn’t that a bit selfish?”

  “I don’t know, people are always working to get what they want and are commended for it. So why can’t I pray for what I want? And if it is selfish I’m sure God won’t answer the prayer.”

  Rick laughed, “That makes sense.”

  “I prayed a lot for you yesterday morning when you talked to Randolph Finch on Fran’s behalf.”

  “Come to think of it I prayed to, one of the rare occasions.”

  “Looks like it worked, you should keep it up.”

  “Maybe. Speaking of Fran, have you heard anything?”

  “I’m betting we’ll hear good news from her today.”

  Gloria and Rick found a place on 4th Street for breakfast. The eggs, hash browns, and toast were all good, the coffee was okay. When Gloria was finished eating she took the HP mini out of her bag and googled Johnny Moss.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I thought I’d look up some World Series of Poker history, since so much of it happened across from our hotel. Okay, here’s Johnny Moss, he’s the first one to win it right?”

  “Yes, he won the first two, and another one a few years later. What does it have to say about him?”

  “It says he was born in 1907 and died in 1995. Learned the game when he was young, learned to cheat from a group of cheaters and, as a teenager, was hired by a gambling hall owner to keep the games clean.

  “It talks about his World Series wins and then about his heads up game with Nick the Greek.”

  “That was a famous game,“ said Rick. “You ever hear of it?”

  “No but I’m not a Poker Historian like you seem to be.”

  “I’m far from that, but I confess I do like to hear old tales of the green felt.”

  “Okay, here’s what it says. ‘In 1949 Johnny Moss played Nick the Greek, heads up in a 5 month long game set up by Benny Binion. Moss won between two and four million. At the conclusion Nick the Greek uttered one of the most famous lines in all of poker, ‘Mr. Moss, I have to let you go.’

  “The game is often sited as the inspiration of the World Series of Poker. It is the foundation of Al Alvarez’s book ‘The Biggest Game in Town’ and is one of the most famous stories in poker.

  Gloria said, “You’re not going to like this next part.”

  “Why not?”

  “I’ll just read it to you. Despite being one of the best known poker stories a soon to be released book, ‘Showgirl Stories’ by Steve Fisher, claims the game never took place.”

  Rick moved around the table and sat next to Gloria so he could see the screen. She continued reading.

  “According to Fisher there were no stories or reports of the game until 6 years after Nick’s death. Binion never spoke about the game even when giving a detailed history of Las Vegas and avoided answering questions about the game by saying, ‘Well, my memory ain’t what it used to be.’ While Nick the Greek was often covered by the national media there are no news reports in any Vegas or a national source. Fisher says that nearly ever version is virtually identical to the version first told by Moss beginning around 1971. The story consistently says that the game took place in 1949 at the Horseshoe Casino, a casino that didn’t exist for another year and a half. Fischer also points out that during the time that Binion was supposedly setting up the game he was fighting off a request by Texas to have him extradited. Because of his past Binion lost his license to run a gambling establishment in 1948 and did not regain it until April 13,1950. He was not granted a license to open the Horseshoe Casino until December 5, 1952. Fischer believes that the notion of Binion sponsoring a poker game, in front of a window, of a casino that hadn’t opened, while fighting extradition is absurd.”

  “Wow, that’s a bit of a shocker.”

  “Do you believe it?”

  “I don’t know. They seem to have a lot of facts, if they’re true. One thing they got wrong is that the game was supposedly played in 1949 at the Horseshoe which didn’t exist for another year and a half, which would be in 1951. Further down it says Binion didn’t get his license to open the Horseshoe until December 5, 1952. It can’t be both. What do you think?”

  “I don’t know. I just heard about the game, and then I heard it might not be true. I don’t have much invested in it either way.”

  “That’s true for me to really. It’s not going to effect my life, make it better or worse. But it’s weird. It’s like if I went on line and there was a believable story saying that Babe Ruth never did hit 60 home runs in one season, in fact he never played for the Yankees but spent his whole career in the minor leagues with the Brookaylyn Dodgers farm system.”

  “I thought the Dodgers were in L A.”

  “They are but they used to be in Brookaylyn.”

  “When?”

  “Before we were born.” Rick was quite for a minute and then said, “You ever here of a book called ‘The Big Deal?’ It’s written by this Englishman named Anthony Holden. It’s a memoir about how he became a professional poker player for a year. It’s a pretty entertaining book. At one point he talks about the game between Johnny Moss and Nick the Greek Dandolos, that was Nick’s last name, how they were playing five card stud and Johnny had 9’s wired. He was betting pretty heavy and Nick stayed with him all the way. On the last card Nick caught a jack and told Johnny he had a jack in the whole. Johnny told him, ‘Greek, if you’ve got a jack you’re going to win a whole lot of money.’

  Afterwards Johnny said, “That’s all right, if he’s going to chase cards like that I’ll bust him in the end.”

  Gloria said, “You know what I think is going to happen? I think time will go by and more information will come out about the game and did it happen or not. The dust will settle and things will clear up, and we’ll know one way or another.”

  “I agree. And if it did happen, Johnny Moss will be remembered as one of the two players ever to win the WSOP three times and the player to win the 5 month marathon game with Nick the Greek.”

  “And if it was bogus?”

  “Well then Johnny will be remembered as one of two players ever to win the WSOP three times and the biggest con artist since P.T. Barnum.”

  Rick said, “Alright, back to Las Vegas in the 21st Century, what do you want to do today?”

  “I’m open to anything but I wouldn’t mind playing some poker.”

  “You play a lot, you must like it.”

  “I do like it as long as I can afford it. As long as I win more then I lose. I have a brother in college and I’m able to help him with the extra income.”

  “You ever think about doing
it full time?”

  “No, I wouldn’t want to. I like nursing and I like variety. Besides I’m a pretty fair poker player, but I have no desire to go up against pros who do nothing else. If I start mixing it up with them I don’t feel like I’ll be getting the best of it most of the time.

  “How about you? You seem like more than a casual player. Sounds like you read a lot as well.”

  “Actually I do consider myself a casual player because I don’t play that often. I play a lot when I have time but then I won’t play for months. A lot of it depends on if I’m winning or losing. If I’m winning I’ll keep coming back. If I lose twice in a row I won’t come back for a month or more. The reason is, losing pisses me off, especially if I’ve had a few winning sessions and see my money draining back in. I realize that’s not the most mature way of looking at things but it works for me.

  “As far as reading goes I’ve read a number of ‘how to’ books, most of which are pretty interesting, and some memoirs like ‘The Big Deal.’ I want to read ‘Cowboys Full – the History of Poker’ one of these days.”

  “Maybe I’ll buy it for you as a present for taking me on this trip.”

  “That’s a nice thought.”

  “Alright,” said Gloria, changing gears, “how’s this for a plan. We go down to the Strip, find a casino with a good game and play for a few hours. Then we can eat down there or come back here and eat, get ready for the show and head back down. I’m hoping we’ll have hooked up with Fran and her friend and they can give us a ride.”

  “So we won’t have to drive the tow truck?”

  “With all due respect for your cousin Ed, yes so we won’t have to go in the tow truck.”

  “How about now, do you want to take the tow truck or get a cab?”

  “What do you want to do?”

  “I’d like to take the tow truck. A cab will cost us $20 each way.”

  “Okay, let’s take the truck.”

  On the way down the Strip Gloria and Rick decided to check out the poker room at the Bellagio. They parked in the hotel parking lot which, like most hotels in Las Vegas, was complimentary.

  “You can’t beat this town for parking,” said Gloria, as they got out of the truck.

  “Good for parking but bad for towing. With all the free parking there are probably not many calls to tow people off.” Rick looked at his watch “On another subject, its 10:45 in the morning, do you think they’ll have enough people who want to play poker at this time of day?”

  “I guess we’ll find out.”

  It was 11 a.m. when they found the poker room and there was no doubt they were open for business with games at 10 or 12 tables. As they approached a split in the rail a well dressed man in his early forties stepped forward to meet them.

  “Good morning folks, how can I help you?”

  “Tell me about your no limit hold ‘em games,” said Gloria.

  In a clear, crisp voice the man rattled off the blinds and the minimum buy-ins for each of the no limit games currently being played.

  Gloria said, “I’ll take the 5, 10.”

  Rick, surprised but not wanting to show it, asked Gloria, “How much are you going to buy in for?”

  “A thousand.”

  Rick dug into his pants pocket, brought out a roll of bills, and counted off five one hundred dollar bills. “You want to go halves?”

  Gloria looked at the money and thought for a moment. Rick could see it wasn’t an easy decision. “Whatever you want babe, I’m good either way.”

  She smiled, took the $500 and said, “Thanks partner. What are you going to play?”

  “Since we’re increasing our stakes I’m going to go with 2, 5.”

  “What are you going to buy in for?”

  “What do you recommend?”

  “$300 or $400.”

  “That’s what I was thinking. $300 actually.”

  “2, 5 then?” said the floorman.

  “Yes, and thanks for your patience.”

  The floor man directed Rick to his table and walked Gloria to hers, a few tables away. Rick had a good view of her from where he was sitting. He could keep an eye on the game and hopefully watch his money grow.

  The chip girl came over and asked how much he wanted to buy. He put $300 on the table and she set down 55 five dollar chips and 25 ones. “Good luck,” she said.

  Rick mucked his first three hands and then decided to take a page from the Q, 2 Kid of the night before. When three players before him tossed in their cards he opened for $17 with a 10, 5 off suit and collected the blinds when the rest of the table folded. He watched and folded for a couple of dozen hands until a player to his right opened for $20 after four players in front of him folded. Rick thought the guy was probably trying to steal the blinds like he had so he raised him $50.

  Everyone left folded around to the opener who seemed deep in thought. He counted out $50 in chips, looked at Rick’s stack, and rattled his own. Rick figured it was 10 to one the guy was going to fold. His act was for Rick, and the other players benefit. He wanted them to believe he wasn’t someone that could be run over, someone who’d give up easily. This time he was going toss in his hand but be careful, he’d be waiting next time.

  The dealer pushed Rick the pot and thanked him for the dollar tip. Rick stacked his chips and smiled to himself. This was fun, winning money with trash hands was new for him.

  After an hour Rick was up $175 and feeling good. It was an easy game in the sense that, although there was a fair bit of pre-flop raising, it wasn’t every hand and it was spread out among the players, not restricted to one or two aggressive types. It was an eclectic group that included a woman who was a dealer in a casino in Montana, three young Frenchmen from Paris who politely spoke English at the table, an Indian who said he’d immigrated to the US ten years ago and played any two suited cards. He hadn’t hit any flushes but he’d won pots with trips and two pairs. There was another women, attractive, probably in her late 20’s, who kept looking out into the casino like she was waiting for someone. Seated next to her was a young man in jeans and a western shirt who was mildly drunk and whose play seemed mildly effected by that fact. The last player was most likely a dealer. He seemed to know all the dealers and waiters and was a good tipper.

  Rick went card dead for the next hour and watched his $175 dwindle away in blinds and bets to see flops he never caught a piece of. He tried to improve a pair of 5’s but didn’t, tried to steal the blinds and got caught, played suited connectors and the flop brought nothing in his suit and nothing connected. And then, finally, he caught a break when he picked up a Q, J of diamonds in the dealers position. Four people limped in and Rick raised $28. The small blind called, the big blind folded and two others called, the youngest Frenchman and the lady who still seemed to be looking for someone.

  The flop came K,10 of spades, and a 2 of clubs. The small blind, the Indian who played any suited cards, checked and everyone checked around to Rick. Having considered his options: to check and let everyone have a free card, to bet and hope everyone called so he’d be getting good odds if he made his straight, or make a sizeable bet and maybe lose any flush drawers and win the pot right there, Rick bet $100.

  The Indian looked at his cards, looked at his money and looked at the pot before reluctantly folding. The Frenchman folded and the lady called and stopped looking around. The turn card was the 9 of spades giving Rick a king high straight but making a spade flush possible.

  Rick had focused on the lady’s eyes and body language when the turn card came and didn’t see much of a reaction so he was surprised when she pushed the rest of her chips into the center.

  “I call,” he said and set out a stack of five dollar chips. The dealer measured it against the lady’s stack and gave three chips back. He turned over his Q, J. “I’ve got a king high straight.”

  The lady looked at her cards but didn’t turn them over. The dealer dealt the river card, a 7 of sp
ades and the lady let out a shriek. “I made it, I won, I have a flush.

  “Can we see your cards please,” said the dealer.

  “Of course, 10 of hearts, 4 of spades,” she said as she laid them on the table.

  “Perfect,” said Rick under his breath.

  Just then a guy in a fresh white T-shrit, jeans and Chicago Cubs baseball hat walked up behind the lady and began massaging her shoulders. She looked up, said hello and continued stacking her chips.

  “Sorry I was late.”

  “It’s okay, it made it possible for me to win a big pot with a 10, 4 our lucky number. We were married on October 4th,” she said to the table, “that’s why 10, and 4 are our lucky numbers.”

  Rick was glad her husband was there, it made it easier to keep his mouth shut. Yeah, it was frustrating to have the best hand he’d seen since he’d sat down beaten when the river card puts the forth spade on the board and makes a flush for a women who pays $100 to see the river because she had a 4 (her lucky number) of spades in her hand. Regardless she’d beaten him, fair and square or fair, square and dumb, depending on how you looked at it.

  * * *

  Chapter 11