Page 109 of Gambler's Conceit

Once we’re all settled at the table with drinks, Madeline lays out a few cards on the table. “In poker, the goal is to have the highest value hand at the end of the round. We’re going to play a version called five-card draw.” She goes over the card values and lays out some sample hands.

I have to admit, poker isn’t usually my game. It takes too long, and I have to spend more time figuring out the other players. Counting cards for blackjack is easy by comparison.

I can always keep track of which cards are being played here, of course.

“Let’s do a sample game,” Caleb suggests. “We’ll show our hands to show you what the best plays are.” He nods at Madeline, and she shuffles the deck for us.

We all turn our hands over to show Seven what we have.

“Looks like you have an unlucky hand,” I say, peering at Seven’s cards. “I’d discard the seven of spades and the three of clubs, and…”

“Keep the seven and go for a full house,” Vortex interrupts.

I roll my eyes. “A straight is easier, and he’s already got?—”

We argue about probabilities, until Caleb clears his throat. “Or we let Seven decide which cards he wants to keep or discard.” He smiles at Seven. “There’s no wrong answer. You just have to be convincing once your hand is concealed.”

“I don’t think I like poker,” Seven says. “At least blackjack is simple. Can we play… Oh, I don’t know… Go fish?” He laughs, but I’m not sure he’s actually joking.

“We could play old maid,” I suggest with a shrug. “But we don’t need a dealer for that.”

Caleb shakes his head. “We brought poor Madeline out to deal for us, so we might as well play a few rounds.”

“I don’t mind, boss,” Madeline says. “Lorena’s out with some coworkers tonight anyway, so there’s no reason for me to rush home.”

Vortex leans over, patting Seven’s hand. “Just give it a shot. Maybe you’ll turn out to be a secret assassin at the game once you get the hang of it.”

Seven laughs, and it sounds marginally more sincere this time. “Yeah, maybe.”

“In that case…” Caleb leans closer to Seven and puts the cards into Seven’s hand. “I want you to look Havoc and Vortex in the eyes and pretend you have the best hand in the world.”

I scoff at him. “We already know he’s bluffing.”

Caleb smiles at me. “But bluffing is the real strategy in poker.” He holds his own cards up, facing out so we can’t see them. “You’ve already forgotten what’s in my hand, haven’t you?”

“You have the Ace of Spades,” I declare confidently. “And the jack. But I know you aren’t getting a royal straight flush.”

Vortex nods. “Those were the only good cards in your hand, boss.”

Seven looks down at his cards, considering. “I don’t really have to bluff,” he says with a shrug. “I already know I have better cards than both of them.”

I catch the half smile on his lips and laugh. “Nobody’s going to believe a bluff like that with such an obvious tell.” I pick up my own hand and discard two cards. I don’t really have anything amazing either, but it’ll beat whatever Seven can cobble together.

Vortex passes two cards off as well, his expression closed. He has a good poker face, at least, and I can see why he was so excited to play a game that’s entirely up his alley.

Caleb tosses one single card into the discard and nods at Madeline. She deals us our new cards, and of course I don’t getanything amazing but I do have three of a kind. Sevens, at that, and I laugh at the irony.

Seven eyes me. “You’re laughing at your cards? Does that mean they’re that good or that bad?” he asks.

“That’s for you to guess,” I respond, grinning at him.

Vortex grunts and throws chips into the pot. “This is where you decide if you have something and we decide our betting strategy. For example, I’m going to raise.”

I think about my chances of beating Vortex, knowing what I do of his cards, and figure it’s about even. “Call,” I answer, adding my chips to the betting pool. “That means I’m putting in the same amount as Vortex, but not more.”

“Hmm. This might already be too rich for me,” Caleb says. “I fold—which means I can’t lose more money than I already placed into the pot.”

“Like you need to worry about losing money,” I grumble. “But that means his hand is just as shit as Vortex and I said it was.”

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