“But why would they do that?” Ethan blushed, flustered by all this talk of kissing. “Why would they fold?”
“Because they can’t afford to put any more money in the pot, or because the other bettor manages to convince them their hand is stronger. If it comes to a showdown, whoever wins is the one who guessed right. Except they don’t just guess like roulette. They use reason, and some math, and a shitload of people reading.”
Ethan was beginning to get this, he thought. Maybe. “Scully bet on you because he knows you, because he thinks there’s no way I won’t give in and kiss you—because guys usually do?”
Randy looked chagrined. “Between you and me, Slick, my reputation is a little grander than my reality. But you bring up an interesting point. Scully bet on me, but he was an idiot because he didn’t consider you. He acted like a guy with pocket aces and another on the board. He ignored the fact that there was a clear shot at a flush, which would beat him flat.”
“You’ve lost me now.”
“Scully only considered what he knew about me. If I were his hand of cards, he would be looking at two aces and thinking, ‘Nobody can beat this.’ But there are a lot of things that can beat a pair of aces. You might be a flush, or a straight.” Ethan’s mouth quirked in a smile, and Randy rolled his eyes. “A straight is a run of five numbers. 2-3-4-5-6. 9-10-jack-queen-king. A flush is a set of five cards of the same suit. Don’t have to be in order.”
“What if they are in order? What if it’s 2-3-4-5-6, all hearts?”
“That’s a straight flush, and it’s a very fine hand. The best hand of all is a royal flush, which is 10-jack-queen-king-ace, all the same suit.”
“So aces are high.”
Randy shook his head. “They can be low too. You can run ace-2-3-4-5 for a straight.”
“What about jokers?”
“No jokers in casinos, not in the cards, anyway. In a home game, jokers are usually wild. They can be whatever you want them to be.” Randy held up his hand, ticking off his fingers. “Royal flush. Straight flush. Four of a kind. Full house. Flush. Straight. Three of a kind. Two pair. One pair. High card. That’s the hand ranking in order from high to low. This is what you’re paying attention to, all the time. You’re looking for the highest-ranked cards in the highest-ranked hands.”
“What’s a full house?” Ethan knew he’d never remember all this.
“A full house is one pair and three of a kind together in one hand. Three 4s and two 8s. Three kings and two jacks. Three aces and two queens. Another way to say it is aces full of queens. That means you have three aces with two queens. The three set full of the two set.”
“Okay.” Ethan tried to iron it out in his head. “Except I’ve already forgotten half the orders of the hands.”
“You’ll learn by playing. But do you get the concept? You’ll be dealt five cards. You want to form the best hand you can from what you’re given. Now in this game”—he tapped the monitor in front of Ethan, which was flashing INSERT COIN TO PLAY—“you’re only playing against the hand you’re given, and you only get one discard.”
“Discard?”
“You get five cards, and then you get a chance to hold or redraw however many you want, up to five. In this game, unlike at a table game, you’d need to get jacks or better. Any single pair lower than a jack is garbage, so ignore it. In a real game you could win with a pair of 2s, if you had the best hand or the best bluff or if nobody else had any other pair. But you can’t bluff in video poker, and nobody’s playing against you.” He pulled out his wallet and rolled off a twenty, which he fed into the machine. “Just bet one at a time to start.” He pushed a button. The screen immediately changed, and five cards came up. “Now. What do you have in this hand?”
Ethan blinked at the screen. 5 of diamonds, 3 of clubs, ace of hearts, 2 of clubs, king of spades. “I don’t know.”
“You have jack shit, is what. But don’t worry about that. Look at it again, Slick, and tell me what you could have. What hands do you almost have, or what could you have if you discarded some and drew again? What possibilities are here?”
Ethan studied the cards. He still had no idea. “I have an ace. That’s good, right?” Randy said nothing, so Ethan kept searching. “I have two clubs. Oh—and they’re in order.” He started to see it. “I have a 2, a 3 and a 5. If I had a 4 and a 6, I’d have a straight.” He stopped. “Wait, no, I have the ace. I almost have a straight!”
“Very good. What else?”
Ethan squinted. “I have an ace and a king. If I had a queen, a jack, and a 10, I’d have a straight. I have two clubs, which meant if I had three more, I’d have a flush.” Randy seemed to be waiting, so he looked one more time. “Oh—either the ace or king could get me a pair that would pay.”
Randy nodded. “Good. Now you’ve got to discard and redraw. What are you going to hold on to?”
Ethan tried to remember the hand rankings. “The ace, 2, 3 and 5? To try for a straight?”
“Well, see, this is the trouble. The odds of you getting one of the 4s is not high. Of course, neither are your odds of getting anything else. You’re probably going to lose this one.”
“Can I fold?”
“Not with video poker. The only other thing worth trying is to hold the king or ace alone and try for a pair, if you don’t go for the straight. It’s about odds. If you go for the straight, you have one shot to draw one of the four 4s. But if you try for an ace or king pair, you have three shots of getting one of the remaining three.”
“So I should try for the pair?”
“Ah.” Randy pointed to the side of the screen. “This is where we talk about payouts. Check the payout for a straight versus a pair.”
Ethan leaned forward and scanned the list of how many credits each hand made. His eyes went wide when he saw the straight. “Shit.”
“You can get your credit back for going for a pair, or you can get eight credits for going for a 4 to complete your straight. Which would you rather have, Slick?”
“I want a fucking straight,” Ethan said, and Randy laughed.
“Then you have the best of it with trying for a 4.” Randy pressed several buttons below the cards, which made the word HOLD appear over the ace, 2, 3 and 5. Then he nodded at the DRAW button. “Hit it, baby.”
Ethan held his breath and hit the button. The screen shifted, and where the king had been, he now had a 9 of clubs. His shoulders fell.
“Sometimes that’s the way it rolls.” Randy hit BET ONE, then DRAW. “Try again.”
Ethan tried again and again. He got several pairs and a few three of a kinds. He lost most of the hands, and after ten minutes of playing, he was down thirty credits overall. But he understood why Randy had sat him down here because he was starting to see how the hands played out, and he knew what to hold and what to discard. He knew, too, what hands were the better choice for odds. Sometimes Randy would stop him and point out something he’d overlooked—twice he’d missed a near straight—and sometimes he’d coach Ethan through a debate on what to hold and why. After another half hour of playing, Ethan was really starting to get into it. Two aces came up, so he held them and then hit DRAW.
Another ace and two 5s came up, and the screen exploded into light and a merry tune blared out of the speakers. Ethan started, and Randy clapped and laughed. “You did it, Slick.”
“What? What did I do?”
Randy clapped him on the back. “Full house, baby. Ten credits.”
“I did?” Ethan watched five dancing jesters prancing their way across the screen. Standing, he pumped his hands over his head. “I did it.” He whooped, then turned to Randy, gripping the sides of his head and—
Ethan stopped halfway to Randy’s mouth, realizing what he’d been about to do.
Randy’s grin tipped. “It’s only a quarter to ten, Slick. Better hold out.”
Ethan let him go, embarrassed, but then he looked at the screen and felt his chest puff out from the inside. “God.”
R
andy pressed CASH OUT. “I think you’re ready for phase two.”
“What’s phase two?” Ethan took the receipt from Randy. Forty dollars. He’d started with twenty, and now he had forty. He’d made money—by playing a game.
“In phase two I teach you the beauty that is the game of Texas Hold ’Em.” Randy clapped a hand on Ethan’s shoulder. “Unless, of course, you’d like to take your forty dollars over to the roulette table?”
“No,” Ethan replied, and Randy took his hand and led him off into another part of the casino.
Chapter Four
OF ALL THE poker rooms in the whole city of Las Vegas, the one at the Golden Nugget was Randy’s favorite.
The room was cozy without being crowded, elegant without being ostentatious. Tables were evenly spaced with ample room to maneuver around them, and while there were plenty of hanging lamps distributed over the tables, the room itself was low lit, giving the place the same feel as Randy’s uncle’s kitchen where he’d learned the game. The room was done up in cream, yellow, muted orange, and brown, which when combined gave the place a golden glow appropriate to the casino’s moniker. Even the felt on the tables was brown. Though Randy believed felt should always be green, even with this deficit the Golden Nugget Poker Room was perfect.
He wouldn’t admit to many that half his attraction was due to the ambience, given how often he lectured people on the importance of the players in the game and the integrity of the host or casino, but the Nugget had this too. They had a reliable supply of live ones, and the dealers knew Randy. He always tipped, so they sat him down at tables he would enjoy. They knew for him the best table wasn’t necessarily the one where he was most likely to win.
One of his favorite floor hosts was working tonight, and she smiled when she saw Randy. When he slipped a twenty-five-dollar chip into her hand, she kissed him on the cheek.
“Hey, Mandy,” he said, touching her on the arm as he leaned in close. “Got any good tables for me, sweetheart?”
Mandy nodded at the back of the room. “Several. Number Six has a businessman from Atlanta going on tilt and two live ones, though I’ll warn you Buddy’s over there already and might think you’re poaching. Five has good action and might be the better choice if you’re in one of your moods—two little old ladies from Milwaukee. They know their poker, but they’re used to playing home games for pennies and nickels. Jones is working prop there. I’ll have to pull him if you go over, but I could use him on Three, to be honest.” She glanced over Randy’s shoulder at Ethan.
Ethan was oblivious to the both of them, trying to bluff the fact that he was intimidated. Randy saw Mandy take in Ethan’s handsome face and quiet, easy stance. Her eyebrows lifted, and she looked both appreciative and hopeful.
Randy drew Ethan forward. “Slick, this is Mandy Carter, one of the prettiest, nicest floorpersons in Las Vegas.”
Ethan accepted her hand. “Ethan Ellison. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Pleasure’s all mine.” Mandy turned up the wattage on her smile. “What brings you to Vegas, handsome?”
Randy caught the shutter passing over Ethan’s face. “Just thought it was time I saw the place for myself.”
Mandy all but purred. “Let me know if you need someone to give you a tour.”
“I’m teaching Ethan how to play poker. Thought I’d start him out with some nice low buy-in, no-limit Hold ’Em.”
“Table Five’s what you’re after, then.” Mandy winked at Ethan. “You’re learning from the best there is, honey. If he roughs you up too much, you holler, and I’ll make sure you’re taken care of.”
“Thank you.” Ethan glanced at the tables again before frowning at Randy. “Do you really think I’m ready?”
He wasn’t even close. Randy clapped him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, I won’t let the little old ladies eat you.”
“Little old ladies?”
Randy passed Mandy another chip as he led Ethan past, but she grabbed his hand and held him there as she jerked her head at Ethan. Randy gave her a rueful glance, then reached over and placed a bold hand against the firm, fine globe of Ethan’s ass.
Ethan glanced over his shoulder and gave Randy a quelling glare.
Mandy caught it and all the undertones the look carried, and she sighed. “Do me a favor, Jansen. Next time you come, skip the toke and bring me one who looks like that and plays for my team.”
Randy kissed her cheek before sliding his hand up from Ethan’s butt as he led him to the tables. He didn’t take them all the way to Five, though, but rather held him back a moment, letting Ethan see the tables and players clearly where they could still speak to each other without disrupting the game. Keeping his voice low, Randy did his best to explain Hold ’Em.
“There are a lot of different versions of poker. What you were playing on the computer was Five-Card Draw, which is probably what you’ve seen in westerns on TV. But the most fun are the community card games—Seven-Card Stud and Omaha. This one, Texas Hold ’Em, is the most popular.”
He pointed to the dealer at the nearest table. “Everyone gets two cards of their own. These are your hole cards. You look at them and keep the information to yourself. You might decide to fold based on what you see there alone. Or you might look at them and know you’re going to go all the way unless you get the whiff of someone with nuts. That’s a hand you know statistically cannot be beat. If you get one of those, your biggest job is to keep the information off your face. But more on that later.” He nodded to the center of the table. “Those cards laid out there in front of the dealer are called the board. They’re public cards, five in total, dealt in three waves you’ll hear people call streets. The first three are dealt at once, and they’re called the flop. The fourth card is called the turn. The final card is called the river.” He glanced at Ethan. “You taking all this in, Slick, or do you want a rewind?”
Ethan studied the table, his pale eyes sharp and focused. “I have it. I think. Keep going.”
Randy continued. “You get your two cards, and then there’s a round of betting before the flop.” He pointed to the white chip with DEALER printed on it lying before one of the players. “In a home game you’d take turns dealing. In a casino or club, there’s an assigned dealer. But since the blinds have to rotate, they put that chip out—it’s called the button—so everyone knows who the ‘dealer’ for the round is. The first two players to the left of the button are the blinds.”
Ethan nodded. “Okay. I’m with you.”
“Hold ’Em is a double-blind system. Everybody takes turns betting blind, and two people go at a time. The first blind is the small blind, which is for slightly less money than the big blind. Those two positions have to bet no matter what, and everyone takes their turn there. After that, the players move around to the dealer, and they call, raise, or fold. To call, you place the minimum bet for the round, which is posted at the table. We’ll be playing at a five-dollar table—five early, unlimited late. You raise if you think your hand is pretty good and you want to drive up the betting. The bigger the pot, the more you get. Be careful how and when you raise, or you’ll drive the live ones out.”
“Live ones?”
“Poker shorthand for a player who doesn’t know what he’s doing and whom you can probably beat. If you’re out to make money, live ones are critical in a poker game. Always treat live ones well, because they’re buying your dinner. Oh, and when you win, or when you leave a table, be sure to leave a toke for the dealer.” When Ethan looked at him blankly, he clarified. “A toke is a tip.”
“Then why didn’t you just say tip?” Ethan frowned at the table. “I’m a live one, aren’t I?”
“Not while I’m here with you. But you will be if we both sit down and play, because then I can’t help you without getting us both in a lot of trouble. People will be thinking we’re a team as it is.” He saw the question in Ethan’s face but rode over it. “Back to the play. If you don’t call and you don’t raise, you fold. You fold if your
hand is garbage. Depending on the game, anything offsuit and lower than a 10 is a good benchmark for throwing away to start. You also fold if it’s clear from the raises and re-raises before your turn to act that your hand isn’t strong enough to compete. The later your position after the button, the better off you are.”
“So sometimes you’re lucky, sometimes you’re not?”
“Yes, but you’re always playing your position, your odds, always getting the best of it. Once everyone has called and met raises or folded, the flop is put down. Now you bet again, only this time you’re looking at what is in your hand. You get to make a hand of five cards using any from your hand and anything on the board. The flop changes everything—you might fold as soon as you see it, you might suddenly have gold, you might be sorry you already folded. The one thing you need to know for sure is if you have Big Slick—an ace and a king of any suit, connected or off—you keep it and you stay in. Might come to nothing, but you don’t fold with Big Slick unless it’s clear someone is plowing their way toward something serious.”
Ethan gave Randy a hard look. “Are you calling me Slick because of poker?”
The question took Randy off-guard. “Maybe I am.”
Ethan lifted an eyebrow. “Am I a king or an ace?”
“Ace, baby.” He turned to the board. “So. You’ve bet on the deal and the flop, and now you get the turn. This usually doesn’t change much, though sometimes it makes you lucky. Same procedure—except on all the board bets you can check instead of call until someone else calls first. If you check, you don’t put in money, just knock the table, and play moves on. You can’t check after a call, though—you have to meet the call. So you check, call, raise, or fold through the turn, and then you get the river, the final card. If everyone stays in all the way to the end, you show your cards, and whoever has the best hand wins. That’s Hold ’Em.”
“How would you have a game where everyone didn’t stay in until the end?”
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