A TIME TO FOLD ‘EM
You just got your new glasses. And you’re on your way to the monthly poker game with old friends, no marks in this game. You take your seat, put on your new glasses, and see soon enough that this game of five-card stud is not as friendly as it once was…or you thought it was.
Right off you spot Peachy George, to your left, dealing from the bottom of the deck. Not fair!
Next to him sits a smiling Al White, the Crimson Tide fan who deals next, with a joker up his sleeve; how long has this been going on?
To Al’s left sits Virgil “Verge” West, with the flattop haircut and the sooty hands that you watch shorting the pot by surreptitiously dragging back his ante; that’s cheating!
You turn to Tall Tale Tex on your right who is now dealing; he gives everyone the prescribed five cards except you; he shorts you a card while the rest get the prescribed five. Wtf?
It suddenly dawns on you that you’re now the mark! How long has this been going on? And what do you do? Well, you remember Kenny Rogers’s advice to know when to hold’em, and know when to fold’em. Yep, time to fade.
You stand up and tell banker Tex to cash you out. “I’m running behind schedule fellas…I’ve got a dolphin to feed.”
At the exit door you turn back for a parting shot: “Guys, I won’t be back. Some of my West Coast buddies are starting a friendly game and asked me to join them. Good luck in finding another chump to take my seat.”
Wouldn’t you do the same with a pair of new, close-up spectacles?