Bluffing the Devil(10)
Even though I rarely do it, I locked eyes with him for a moment and then looked down at the table. I tapped my cards to make it look like I was thinking. I picked the corner of my cards up, pretending to once again check what I had, let my shoulders slump a little more than they had before and he quickly took the bait and raised "pot".
Player 1 had all of his $2,000 in the pot, which I called, then Player 3 called, making the pot $6,000 at that point. After my check, he re-raised to the $6,000 that was in the pot. If I weren’t a gambling girl, it would be a dangerous call for me to make. Calling that would leave me with just $7,000 if I were to lose the hand, but something told me to go for it and so I did. I had a good hand and potential for an even better hand with two more cards coming on the board.
The dealer flips over the next card and it's a heart. Did nothing for me, but it was a 6. Player 3 then checks, trying to bait me into thinking he had no hand at this point. Deciding to play his game until the very end, I simply check as well.
Tap on the table. The dealer flips over the 8 of spades to seal my straight flush. On the outside, I dropped my head the slightest bit and looked frustrated. On the inside, I was doing backflips and a very embarrassing dance that no one should have to witness in real life. Sure, with a pair on the board, he could have something really good in his hand, like a full house and his simple check probably meant that was what he had, but the only thing that beats a straight flush is a Royal flush and I was certain he didn't have that.
I slowly checked, making it look like I was nervous to bet in order to try to steal the pot. The other player's eyes shot up to mine as if he were trying to read me. He only had $1,000 left at this point, but he took my check as a sign of weakness, which is how I meant it.
He waited for what felt like an eternity and did what I wanted him to do most in the entire world. He shoved all in.
The dealer asked if I wanted to call or fold. I looked up slowly and locked eyes with Player 3 and said, "Well, call of course," as I tossed in my other $1,000 in chips and flipped over my straight flush. Player 1 knew ahead of time that he was losing. He played exactly the way he should have played in that situation though. He waited until he had a great hand and shoved all in and hoped for the best. Sometimes, being dealt an Ace and a King is just not as good as it might sound.
He stood and said, "Great game. You're a worthy opponent for sure. Hope to see you again." He bowed his head in a true sign of respect and turned to walk away.
Player 3 flipped over 7, 8 off-suit. Ouch! Sorry, buddy. I know it had to hurt to lose with a full boat to a straight flush. I nodded my head to him and began to speak when he got up, threw his chair into the audience and went on a small cursing tirade about how women should never be allowed to play poker because they are wicked, tricky, vile creatures. I lost track after he called me an evil-doer and chuckled to myself. Some people get really upset about losing. Thank you for all of your chips, have a nice day.
Security had to come over and, though his insults to me were pretty colorful and interesting, they finally made him stop. They eventually drug him away from the playing floor. I simply smiled and told him, "Good game" as I truly felt he played well up until that point. He had no idea that I had such a great hand, and it was just raw luck that we had to lock horns like that.
After that hand, I had $27,000 and the other player had $3,000 remaining. He leaned across the table and said, "Thank God they’re taking the top two on the table and I knew better than to go against you. Well played, miss."
"Thank you as well. Very nice game," I said as I stood and shook his hand.
"You did all the work there at the end, I was sure I was a goner. Those guys were crazy to go up against you, especially at the same time. But it definitely worked out well for me, so I'm not complaining."
I chuckled at his honesty.
In this tournament, the top two from each table advance to the next round, the following night, so my poker for the night was finished, and not a moment too soon. I really needed to get out and stretch my legs, and do anything except be trapped inside.
I looked up to the next table to see Rey bow his head sweetly in my direction. From the look of his stack, he, too, was having a good night on the tables and had only one other opponent remaining before his table had their top two advancers as well. Apparently I would be facing him the next night, which is all the more reason to leave now, and get plenty of rest.
I scanned the audience area for my friends and didn't see them. Shrugging my shoulders, I simply made my way to the side exit of the building to head back to the hotel. Maybe they went out for drinks or something. I would have wanted the same thing, except all I could think about now was Devin and sleep.
Chapter 8
Just as I stepped from the curb outside of the casino, I heard my name being called behind me and turned to see my friends making their way back toward the casino entrance.
"What are you lovely ladies up to while I was being verbally assaulted?" I chided them playfully.
"Someone said something to you? Who do I need to cut?" Rhea questioned grabbing her backpack.
"Whoa, cool it, killer. You don't need to kill anyone tonight. I won the round and one of the guys I knocked out, was not too happy about it at all. He had a few words and a bit of a tantrum. Typical guy stuff, you know how it goes." My giggles were nearly impossible to contain when I noticed Victoria nodding her head in agreement. Such man-hatred from that girl, she would agree with anything negative I said about any man at any point in time. I could say "all men were born with one brain cell and eat glue!" and she would say "I know, right? Idiots!" It was truly fascinating to see precisely how little she felt about the opposite sex.
"Okay, so this means that you are in the next round though, right?" Carly asked, grabbing on to the real point of the matter.
"Yeah, I'm so excited. That last hand was amazing! I wish you guys had seen it! It was my favey, and I rocked it so hard. I was proud of myself!" My excitement was much more obvious than I realized, because they had all started to look really interested and Carly started to do her celebration bounce.
"No worries, babycakes. I ordered the DVD, so I will be able to see it all later," Rhea informed me.
"You can buy a DVD of the games? That's insane!" I laughed.
"Yeah and at the bar we just left, you can see it live on the television. That hand must have happened just after we left. Dude, I'm starving! Who wants a snack?" Carly, of course, chimed in.
"I’m not hungry, but I want sweets! Copious amount of sugar and a hot tub are in order, stat!" I thrust my fist in the air and made a victorious stance and watched my friends nearly crumble into a fit of giggles before fist pumping the air in agreement.
"So, sexy, your hotel room or mine?" Rey's voice clawed its way across my eardrum and made me visible cringe.
"Dude, you seriously have about eighteen milliseconds before I gut you, and use your entrails to make a hopscotch pattern for us to play on," Victoria took a giant step forward, but lucky for Rey, I happened to still be between them. The flames in her eyes should have been enough to make anyone normal recoil, but it seemed as if he took it as a dare.
"Oooh, you are feisty, Victoria. I like that. Maybe you and I should go out sometime and see if you are the same brand of insane that I am. I would be happy to take that on, if you wish," he offered with usual his cat-ate-the-canary grin.
"My brand of insane has been studied and still undefined by experts. Your "charm" doesn't work on me, so do yourself a favor and walk away before you become a news headline, hm?" she offered as politely as one could while threatening someone's life.
Still behind me, he tilted his head closer before speaking. The scent from earlier must be his cologne. It was an intensely beautiful smell to be honest, but having him so close to me made my skin want to jump off and run screaming into the night. I really don't think I would look good as a walking muscle and bone mannequin.
With his breath again on my flesh, he muttered, "Your friends are so iffy with me, darling. One moment they are swooning and the next, they are threatening to toss me into the abyss. It's very sexy. I love a challenge, as you know. Take care and have a beautiful evening."
I turned to give him a piece of my mind yet again, but when I did he was almost a block away already. Apparently disgusting guys move really fast when trying to avoid slaughter from a group of bitches.
I quickly turned back to my girls, slapped a smile across my face, and announced, "Drinks on me!" and then headed back to the bar they had just left.
"Nooooo, wait! You want sugar and a hot tub, right? We are here for you, right? Okay, good. We are already buzzed and don't need to go back to the bar. There's a hot tub in our suite, right? Let's head back there and I’ll order some pastries, or go on a candy run!" Carly volunteered sweetly. She put me first all the time, it was always so sweet. I wanted to jump up and squeeze her cheeks, or kiss her, I wasn't sure which one.