[Open Log] Not so very far from here...

[recognize_an_opportunity]

When; Around 10 pm on February 13.
Rating; PG-13 I would imagine.
Characters; Meyer Lansky, and anyone who either works at Lucky's or wants to come gamble!
Summary; It's basically just happy fun times at Lucky's. Or unhappy not fun times, if you decide to cheat or break things! Employees, gamblers, random people wanting a drink... all are welcome!
Log; As far as Meyer was concerned, ten at night was the best time to be at Lucky's. Everyone who worked there was there by then, and that meant he could take a break from dealing hands of poker to wander through the small card room and schmooze with the regulars, as well as greet everyone who came through the door.

As he made his rounds, he was solicitous, complimenting one man on how much money he'd won in a lucky game of blackjack, and commiserating with another man on his empty wallet once he'd lost several hands of poker. He was always suggesting people have another drink, stay for a little while longer, see if they couldn't get their luck back. Maybe just one more hand would win them everything.

If you walk through the door, you're likely to see a large crowd, but Meyer will make sure to push his way through it to greet you personally, shake your hand, and suggest that you take a seat. You never know, tonight might be your lucky night...

Comments

[recognize_an_opportunity]

"See, this is where it starts to matter what other people have. In seven card stud, you start out with two cards in your hand that no one can see, and one face up on the table. Then, after all the bets are made for the first round, you get another card face up on the table. At that point, people can see half of your hand. If you see a guy who's got two aces on the table, and you've got nothing, it's time to think about folding and trying the next round."

He smiles at her comment about bluffing. He'd guessed she was probably pretty good at it, being in the profession she was, at least. "Or, you can bluff. Maybe you can pretend you have something great in your hand. Maybe you'll get another great card on the next round, but you gotta remember, everything except your first two cards and the final, seventh card, are visible to everyone else. You have to be careful and pay attention to what other people have."

[spotlighted]

"That sounds far easier than I thought it would be. I've only really seen people hiding all their cards before. It sounds like you can rely far more on strategy rather than luck with this one."

"So as well as bluffing yourself, you need to be able to watch everyone else and figure out whether they're bluffing?"

[recognize_an_opportunity]

"Right."

He's glad she's getting it. The last time he'd tried to teach poker to someone who'd never played before, he'd given up in frustration. That was partially due to the fact that he used far too many statistical terms and went way too in depth. This time, he's trying to make it simple.

"You also need to have a good memory. Say you're playing with five people and one guy folds on the second round. You should remember what cards he had on the table, because then you know what you're not going to get dealt. If he had an ace, and you're looking for aces, well, your chance of getting one just went down by 25%."

[spotlighted]

For a moment she imagines herself needing to remember the location of all fifty-two cards at any given moment, and check them off on a list, but she quickly realises that it wouldn't be so complicated as that. "This all seems far more straightforward than I thought it would be. There's a lot of logic to it, really. Hopefully I'll pick it up in no time."

[recognize_an_opportunity]

"You'll be fine. You want to play a round against me, see how it goes?"

He's really more interested in seeing if she does have a good poker face, and if she has any obvious tells. He has the feeling that if she turns out to be decent at the game, he'll be able to make a lot more money. People will pay to play with someone who looks like her, and if she can take their money while being charming about it, all the better.

[spotlighted]

"Sure!" She sits up in her chair somewhat rather than leaning against the table, laughing a little. "I can't promise I'll be fantastic straight off the bat, but I'll do my best."

[recognize_an_opportunity]

"Nobody's fantastic right away, not even me."

He deals them both two face down cards, then one card face up. Picking up his face down cards, he looks at them, face unreadable.

"Okay, here's the way it works: the player with the lowest face up card -- that's me, in this case -- has to start the bidding. So I'll put one dollar in."

He's actually going to put a dollar in, too.

"Then, based one what you've got in your hand there, and what's on the table, you can either put a dollar in too, make a higher wager, or fold."

[spotlighted]

She slides the face down cards to the edge of the table and picks them up, trying so hard to make her face unreadable that she fails utterly, her brow furrowing as she looks at them, biting on her lip thoughtfully.

"Okay, well in that case I'll put in a dollar, too."

She takes a roll of bills from her purse and throws one on top of his.

[recognize_an_opportunity]

He smiles slightly, watching her face.

"Okay, now I'm going to deal us each another face up card."

He does so, not giving any indication as to whether his hand is good or bad, although from what's showing on the table, it's hard to imagine it being any good yet. "From here on out, the player with the highest cards showing has to bet first. That's you, so you can either fold based on what you've got there, or you can add however much money you want to the pile."

[spotlighted]

She sits there for a moment, considering, then decides it's best to lay out her train of thought for him. "All right. So from what's on the table, it looks like I've got the better hand. But if you're bluffing - if I can tell that you're bluffing, that is - then you could have a much better hand than me, so in that case I should fold and not risk it. But on the other hand, I could have a good couple of cards and you could have nothing, so I should raise the stakes. If I did that, there are two options - I could get you to raise them too, which would put us both back at square one really, or it might make you fold, in which case I'd win, but not nearly as much money as I could potentially. Or it's possible that both of our hands are terrible, and we're both bluffing, in which case it's just a case of whoever folds first - it becomes less about cards and more about reading the other person and keeping yourself hidden then."

She looks across at him, hoping she hasn't missed anything obvious.

[recognize_an_opportunity]

He nods, obviously impressed. She's picked up on it quickly, and she's understood that it's about far more than what cards you get dealt and what kind of luck you have.

"That's about the long and the short of it, yeah. This game, especially this version of this game, is pretty much about reading other people and knowing basic statistics. That just leaves one question, though -- can you tell if I'm bluffing or not?"

[spotlighted]

She shakes her head, the smile wide on her face. "No, I haven't a clue. You're really good at this."

She pauses for another moment, her eyes flickering between him and her cards. "I think I'll throw in another dollar and see what happens."

[recognize_an_opportunity]

He throws in a dollar, too, and then deals them both another face up card.

"Okay, now we've got a situation where the tables are turned. I've got the highest hand here," he says, gesturing to the face up cards which include two sevens, "which means that I get to decide what to do. And I'm going to raise the stakes -- two dollars. You can fold anytime you want, remember, if you don't like the idea of a two dollar raise."

And he may or may not be pressuring her to fold.

[spotlighted]

She hesitates slightly longer this time, biting down on her bottom lip again while she deliberates, turning the cards over in her hands rearranging them so one is behind the other, then fanning them out again. Now that he's got a better hand of the cards that she can see, she's not so sure that she has a good hand at all. Maybe it would be smarter to fold. But she can't help but want to push this, see how far she can go.

"Two dollars from me." Her voice has a note of confidence to it that isn't really matched internally.

[recognize_an_opportunity]

"If you're absolutely sure..."

Half of this game is psychological warfare, after all, and he's going to make damned certain to inspire some kind of lack of confidence in her. His own hand is steady on his cards, barely glancing at them.

"We're getting towards the end," he reminds her, dealing them both another two face up cards. "This is round six, and it ends on round seven."

[spotlighted]

Again, her gaze flickers between him and the cards. Her chances had improved somewhat since the last two cards were revealed, but having no idea of where he stood was proving to be more frustrating than she thought it would. It didn't matter how well she bluffed herself - and she knew that she probably hadn't got that art down perfectly yet - so long as he remained unreadable.

"I think I'll see it through to the end," she replies. "Besides, you don't know what I've got, either."

[recognize_an_opportunity]

"I have a pretty good guess. I'll put in another dollar."

It could be significant that he's not wagering another two dollars, like he had before, but it could also be an attempt to throw her off, to make her think that his hand is worse than it actually is. "And since you said you wanted to see it through to the end, you can toss your dollar on in there, too. Unless, of course, you want to raise."

He's already preparing to deal the final hand, confident that she might match the dollar he put in, but definitely won't increase the wager.

[spotlighted]

The fact that he's only put in a dollar increases her confidence a little, and despite the fact that her own hand is only okay, not spectacular, she still smiles as she places two dollars into the growing pile in the middle of the table. She just wants to see his reaction more than anything.

[recognize_an_opportunity]

He laughs. "I guess you've heard the expression 'go big or go home' before."

He deals them the final card, face down, and adds it to the cards in his hand without a flicker of expression besides that pleasant smile. "This can be the card that makes or breaks you. You got four on the table and three in your hand. You have almost half as much information hidden as you do showing. So, what's it gonna be?"

He tosses another dollar into the pile. She can fold now, but he thinks she'll probably finish up the game by adding another dollar and seeing the outcome.

[spotlighted]

She clenches her teeth as she picks up the final card, desperate not to give away any signs on hope or disappointment on her face. She just nods, adding another dollar to the pile. "I wouldn't want to walk away right at the last minute."

[recognize_an_opportunity]

"Keep in mind, you're making the best five card hand out of your seven cards there."

He doesn't think he really needs to remind her of that, but then again, he's been amazed at how many people seem to think that they need to use all seven cards.

"Okay, time to show what you've got, kid."

She's probably -- definitely -- older than he is, but he's going to call her kid anyway.

[spotlighted]

"So I can use all four cards on display and one of my hidden ones, or all three of these and only two that you've seen?" That could make for some very diverse hands. She only smiles at him calling her kid - she figures she's older than him, but she hasn't exactly figured by how much - but she really is a rookie here.

She takes two of the cards from her hand and lines them up next two three of the ones on the table. It's not a hand that's a sure-win, but it isn't terrible, either.

[recognize_an_opportunity]

He nods, looking at her cards thoughtfully. "You've got a full house there. Not bad. Sevens full of tens."

He lays down his cards, too, using all three from his hand and only two from the table. "I've also got a full house. Eights full of jacks. Mine's higher."

[spotlighted]

She just beams at him as she pushes the pile of dollars across the table to him. "Why, your hand was only just higher than mine. I thought for sure that you had something that would make mine look pathetic."

[recognize_an_opportunity]

"What, you thought I had a royal flush or something?"

He'll take that money and stack it into a neat pile. It's all going back to the same place, anyway.

"You did good, for your first time. Here's what I can tell you, though: don't be afraid to fold. I get the feeling you didn't have much of anything in your hand until round four, maybe round five. You had the cards on the table, yeah, but you were pushing you luck seeing it through till the end. You fold in round four, you lose a lot less money. No shame in knowing when your hand isn't panning out."