Poker Shark

When it rains it pours. That goes for my job and, sometimes, my personal life. First of all, thank you everyone for your prayers for concern for my Dad. I'll be visiting him in a few weeks. I visited him this past weekend, he is fine and his appetite is back - a sure sign of progress!

I went to my first poker-game-in-a-lawnmower-repair-shop event. A friend of mine from swing dancing told me about his buddies getting together for Friday Night Poker, I early asked if I could go, only to be told it was a "guy-only" thing. Well, that change the other week, when the guys let me, the first and only girl to play with them. OK, so bringing my famous Kahlua Chocolate Chip cookies helped grease the wheel.

Some of them definitely was suprised, if not apprehensive about letting a girl play. One of them even stated, "Woah, there's a whole other mojo going on here..." I was a bit nervous and basically was ready to say goodbye to my $20 buy in.

The guys were fun and surprisingly cool and accepting. We shared pizza and started our game. After half an hour I had lost most of the chips I started out at. Not good, but after another $20 buy in, my luck started to change. I was drawing poket Jacks, some river-induced straights and two ace-high full houses - both of which I never got to show - thanks the guys folding oh-so-easily.

The best hand of the night, worth $20, came to me at critical time. The one other newbie, other than myself, in brought into the group was a tad cocky. The hands were dealt, someone raise at the flop then checked at the turn. It was my pet peeve, I put down triple the blind, looked the guy and said, "You don't have it." He smiled then folded. At the river, I new I had won. The pot was big, and I made a big enough bet to chase out the remaining newbie. However, he thought I was bluffing, met my raise and went all in. I tried hard not to chuckle and replied, "All in." I swear I saw him @#$%^ in his pants when I laid down my four-of-a-kind. Once again, the poker shark strikes again!