I met a friend that lives in Belgium and visits Las Vegas occasionally, Frederic, for a drink and we decided to visit the Orleans Poker Room…hey, that’s what poker players do. We both got seats in different games and eventually a seat opened next to me on my left. Frederic joined my table.

Our game was noisy and just a little bit out of control because the gent on my right was boisterous, rowdy, drinking, and having one hell of a good time. He ordered White Zinfandel in one glass, ice in another glass, coke in another glass, and then one empty glass. I wondered if there would be room for me to sit at the table along with his chips, my chips, and his small concoction of beverages and glasses.

Between talking, laughing, betting, stacking chips, and entertaining us, he poured the coke back and forth between the empty glasses to remove the fizz, then poured the White Zin into the glass of ice and poured the coke in with it. His explanation was that the White Zin was so terrible it needed to be mixed with something sweet but he couldn’t stand the fizz because it upset his stomach.

He told us about his love life and dating – along with a lot of other things – said the best sex he’d ever had was with a woman (he is 67) that’s 74. He said the reason it was so good was because she may have thought that each time was her last so she wanted to get all she could. 🙂

Anyway, a young guy joined our game and sat next to the Entertainer. Young Guy was friendly and joined in the conversation a few times and sat a very long time without ever playing a hand. Frederic was stuck and hadn’t played a lot of hands either.

Somehow, while listening to the Entertainer, the action took off between Frederic, (he was first in the action), Young Guy, and the Entertainer. It was raised pre-flop and re-raised.

The board was K-Q-5. Frederic flopped a set of 5’s. There was still raising and re-raising. The turn was a blank for all hands and the river was a 10…Frederic had taken over the betting on the Turn and bet out on the River…he got raised by Young Guy. The Entertainer folded.

While laying his cards face up on the table, Frederic reluctantly called the raise and asked, “Straight?”

Young Guy nodded and then, (from my point of view – I never saw his cards exposed), threw his hand face down, right into the muck.

I nudged Frederic’s arm out of happiness that he’d won the pot with a set. The dealer pushed the pot to Frederic and Young Guy went totally ballistic. Swearing, noisy, and exclaiming that he had the straight. Everyone knew from the way he acted that he did have it, he even looked at Frederic and pleadingly asked, “You believe me don’t you, sir!”

Well, it appears that Young Guy gave the cards a momentary flash towards Frederic and then pitched them…he obviously had played poker before…so what was he thinking?

We all know the cards must be laid face up on the table to claim the pot, so let this be a lesson to all of us. Well hell, if you’re running a game in your house, you can make up your own rules but just in case you’re playing in a casino, turn them up if you want the pot.

An hour later I left the table with more than I started with and the Entertainer asking me to join him and a couple for dinner the following night. Ain’t poker great?