The Shark
Last night was a moms poker night at my photographer friends house. I had been excited about this night out for quite some time & even more so when we decided to play for cash. I lived in Vegas for almost 8 years. I turned 21 there, partied extensively & gambled regularly (sort of). I'm not a stranger to table games. Bill's parents still live there & every holiday get together we play poker for hours on end. So, I still get some practice in every now & then.

We all made snacks to share - I made the heavenly pumpkin bars again & there were lots of drinks (who can play poker without alcohol?) Everyone knows that I lived in Vegas, but they didn't know that I remembered how to play poker. I never jumped in the "this is how you play" conversation that many of the other "seasoned" players were having with the novice moms.

We played nice for the first part of the night only putting in one chip per hand so the games would last longer. It was also more fair for those who'd never played before. One by one, people lost & left. It was my photographer friend, another mom & me left at about 11:15 pm. That's when we decided to play "real" poker- as in actually betting. Quickly the tables turned & I started racking in the chips. The other two friends just kind of stopped in their tracks. "You're a shark!" someone laughed. "Maybe", I replied with a smirk.

We laughed & played for a while until it was just my photographer friend & me left in the game. It was almost midnight, so we decided to split the pot. While I didn't win big money, I did double my money & then some. I've been told that we're going to do this again sometime soon. If word gets out about how I play, I might not be invited.