Poker players live life on the edge, but I am sure you already knew that. But I will use this entry to demonstrate that we are your average, rootin, tootin' cowpokes. Actually, some of the players DID grow up in Texas, so there was already quite a cowboy (and girl) atmosphere in the room. Anyways, on June 9 we thought we would play in Chesterfield. On the eighteenth we made the shift to Grace Street Today we shifted our location to Monument. So, as you can see, anyone without a phone would never have been able to make our party. Cowboys live life on the edge.

After picking up Lyle near his brother's apartment, I stopped in Plan 9 and had my Indie cred challenged by a sign. I purchased the album to prove my manhood, and now it is going to get the listening of a lifetime tomorrow at work as I write more about potential implied remedies. Anyways, Lyle and I grabbed dinner at some Italian place on Cary Street. Huge portions, pretty cheap. Hopefully, I will get Thai next time and Zoidberg will eat! By the end of the meal, it was Seven o'clock and we were late for our date.

Arriving at Eric's house, I noted that they had been busy bees since the day before. The desk I had helped move up was not covered in items. I was pleased to see such dramatic results, since it also meant that there were enough chairs for our butts, there was a table for resting our cards and cups, and there was a fan to keep us cool. There was a window with a great view. I did not look, because it was kinda far from my chair, but other people seemed to like it a whole lot. Maybe if I ever go back. There is a whole summer stretching before me like a huge stretch armstrong pulled by two tractors. Perhaps somewhere on that 1980s toy there is another poker night on Monument Ave. Who can really see that far?

So, there we were. Five people playing poker, and two watching. Eric, Laura, Brennan, Lyle, and Adam. Bill and Renee. We had a 10 pm bedtime because Eric's job was going to get him out of bed at 6 am. I started off the game with some big wins, which was nice. I considered cashing out after 20 minutes, but that would have created a bad precedent for future games. I had purchased Pepsi Blue and Dr Pepper. Both were excellent for only costing 60 cents each. Lyle got dip that he hated and chips that were Salsa-less. Cigarette breaks and bathroom breaks kept us from moving quickly, but we played lots of games.

The salsa error really cost Lyle his mental edge, as he would be the first to 'go out' of the game. By the time he went out, I was down to about two dollars. that means that 18 dollars profit was sitting in the hands of the other three people. We were approaching the time limit, so I proposed we play one more game. Pyramid. Bum Bum Bum! I had searched long and hard for the rules that I had been taught, but those did not exist. The only version I found was as follows:
- 9 cards face down, 4, 3, & 2 in the shape of a pyramid
- 5 cards dealt to every person
- Flip the first two cards after anty, those two cards are the wild. If it is a 2, and you have a 2 in your hand, then that two in your hand is now wild.
- Bet, then flip the middle three cards. Those cards are now shared. Like Texas hold'em, everyone can combine the three with the cards in their hand to make the best five card hand they can.
- Bet, then flip the final four cards. Each of those cards pull those numbers out of your deck. So, if you were holding a 3, you lose it.

I put down the nine cards, explained the game, then dealt the five cards. I had a pair of fours, a six, and two other cards that are now forgotten. The Wilds were Jack and perhaps a 2. Whatever it was, it did not help me, so I did not pay attention. I stayed in, but bet very little because a single pair was so little when I knew someone must have gotten a wild card. Flipping over the shared cards raised my spirits. Both a 4 and a 6 were there! That gave me a full house. BAM! Now the biggest fear was that the only remaining four was in the remaining grave yard cards. Blah blah blah, I bet big, reducing my total holdings to eighty cents. Flipping the evil cards, one of them was the same as a wild! This pulled a card out of one person's hand. I lost a 7 at some point, but it did not matter to my full house. the final round of betting ate up my eighty cents. BAM! I win! Three cheers. Well, this story lacked a lot of the drama, but that is because we are not movie stars.

So, as you probably figured out, I ended up with 70 cents profit (which is why I was willing to write this entry in the first place). Had I not won, I would have had zero dollars walking out (instead of 10) and you would not even know that I played that last hand. Fate has rewarded both you and me. Take a moment to thank your lucky stars, because I ain't got the time.