Bet his life

Is it worth it?

He touched the little box of playing cards in his pocket and smiled. Tonight was the night. Just one more game and he would be done with cheating. He felt elated as he thought about the pack of cards which had been marked and organised in such a way that he never lost a game of poker. There was always the risk of being caught out, but Lady Luck had been with him so far. Now it was time to quit while he was ahead. Tonight would be the big game where he would bet everything he had. His palms itched at the prospect of what was to come.

 

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The tension and cigar smoke hung thickly in the air. Solemn face could be seen all around the table. It was all or nothing now and only three players remained. “I put in all I got,” he said. The faces opposite him showed no expression. The big, hairy guy simply sucked a little harder on his cigar and pushed his remaining pile of chips into the center. The third player, a skinny, wiry-haired man with tiny eyes, gasped in exasperation, “I fold.”  It was time to show their cards and he could relax as he already knew the results. He had planned this carefully enough to ensure it would be in his favour. The big, hairy guy gave a tight smile, which didn’t quite reach his eyes, and laid his cards on the table. “Three Jacks and a pair of Kings. Full house.” He fained diappointment and rubbed his head before calmly laying down a Royal Flush. “Thanks boys, I enjoyed taking your money,” he said while collecting the coveted chips. With a backpack full of money, he headed towards the door, but just as he was reaching for the doorknob, a voice bellowed from behind him, “Hey, buddy, you left one of your cards behind. I never had the chance to look at them proparly before,” the man was closely inspecting the condemning card, “but now I see that it’s been…creatively tinkered with.” Boys, it seems that our friend here has been cheating. My, isn’t that interesting.” And with that, the big, hairy guy, the skinny, wiry-haired, tiny-eyed guy and the five other poker players grabbed at him. Cheating is considered very serious in the poker world and for this cheater it ended up being a matter of life and death.

Reviews

[Joel McCarthy]

I like how you set this scene. One can almost smell the stale smoke and hear the clinking of poker chips. I also enjoyed "his palms itched at the prospect of what was to come." I'm interested in how this character would try to talk his way out of this bleak situation. Just a thought, but maybe the piece would work better in first person? It would be nice to get inside this cheater's head. Thanks for sharing.