Post by Jack Ryan on Oct 30, 2009 17:53:46 GMT -5
(Then)
{The cards were dealt again. Jack was around in the big blind. Tara sitting at the opposite end was the small. The men who sat in between them had found their way over. Jack recognized a couple of them, men he had taken the money of earlier in the night. Some had come back after seeing Tara have a seat, possibly hoping to take money from her to have a go at him again in an attempt to break themselves even. That had been a mistake. She was a great player, keeping her secrets hidden. Jack had a knack for knowing when he was beat, even when the odds would force a normal man to bet, and he'd gladly folded what might have been winning hands against her without a second thought. He was watching her check her hole cards, knowing that even the best players could let slip a hint at what they had. Jack watched people check their cards before his own, a trick that won him more hands than he lost. His thoughts were distracted by Tara.}
"Been playing long?"
"Here.. or in general.."
"Both."
"Been playing Poker long before it was the cool thing to do. Been here most of today."
{It was information fishing. Odds stated the longer you stayed at a table, the greater chance your hot streak would hit a sudden end. He figured that saying that would make her more aggresive, and would now try to use that to bait her in. A solid plan, but nowhere near foolproof, not with her skill. First player folded, second guy wasted no time in dropping a three thousand dollar bet. Both Jack and Tara's eyes turned to study him, and he wasted no time trying to show confidence. Another player called, and it came to Tara.}
"I don't believe you have anything, but even so I can't beat nothing with three deuce."
{She might have been lying, and probably was, but she folded, so the point was made. Jack looked down and saw something that made him giddy on the inside. The first card was the Jack of Clubs, the second was the Jack of Diamonds. Not invincible, and where it stood the guy probably had him beat, but Jack never let Jacks go, and it paid off more times than it didn't. Call it fate.}
"It's a simple choice.. call, raise, or fold."
{Jack stared mute at the table, his mind working. The guy emphasized folding, so he was either sure he had it, or bluffing his ass off. Jack decided that he had it, but he could afford to lose money, if only to prove he was right. Losing a little now, to gain a lot in the future, it was called. Jack simply put three thousand dollar chips in the pile.}
"Three players."
{The dealer announced, scooping the chips in and dealing out the flop. King, Jack, deuce, all spades. Jack was now fairly certain he could have it. The man may have Kings, but Aces seemed more likely. Or it was until he tosses Nine thousand dollars in front of him, a pot sized bet. The guy had a smirk on his face like no other, but his hands were shaking.}
"Come on, there's no way either of you could beat Kings. Just give it up."
{The other man in the hand only had about sixty five hundred in chips left, and he wordlessly pushed it all in, giving the table a "To hell with it" smile. Jack was suddenly more worried about that guy. Jack merely shrugged, and called the bet. The dealer dealt out another card. The King of Clubs. The other guy looked downright giggley.}
"You guys shoulda folded, you're dead in the water now."
{He pushed his remaining chips in. About eight thousand more. The other man was already in, so he could do nothing but watch the side pot. Jack called without a word.}
"You're serious? Do you like just giving money away?"
{The man's tone was aggressive, but his hands were still shaking with nerves. He had nothing, and now everyone knew it. Jack wasn't watching him anymore. He was watching the quiet man in the corner. The last card rolled off, and as Jack expected, was exactly what he needed. The Jack of Hearts. With no bets left to be made, it fell on the original man to show his cards. He suddenly looked ashen, and turned over a single duece. The other card was an immaterial six.}
"Deuces..."
"I knew it..."
{Tara's voice held a quiet condescension. The other man looked at Jack, gave him a half grin and turned over Ace-Four, both Spades.}
"Spade Flush... Ace High.."
"That.. is a good hand.."
"But you have better..."
{Jack couldn't help but smile. The man made a statement, like he somehow knew that last Jack condemned him.}
"That I do... Quad Jacks..."
"Nice hand."
"Nice hand."
"You lucky bastard!"
"No, I outplayed you. I outlucked him."
{The angry man got up and stalked away. Everyone watched him go, then turned back to the table. The other man was about to excuse himself when Jack tossed five thousand in chips back over to him.}
"What's this?"
"What kind of man would I be if I didn't give you a chance to get your money back? Stay, play with us for a little while.. on me.."
{The man looked about to protest, then sat back down to stay in the game. Jack looked across the table to find Tara staring at him. He smiled at her.}
"I hope you don't act that way in the ring."
"Heavens no, kid. In the ring is work.. this.. just a game..."
(Now)
"You're not serious... are you?"
{Jack was in his hotel room, after the game. His wife sat on the chair behind him, working in her laptop. He sat on the edge of the bed, focused on the camera, his hands turning a playing card over in his hands.}
"I mean, come on, you can't really expect me to believe any of that. Did you really waste ten minutes of time to stand in a dark room.. after I said you would.. and tell me the same speech I already said you would say? You couldn't make it the least bit interesting? Why do you people insist on making me right all the time? I'd of prefered it if you backpeddled and gave me the "No, I don't do that.. I do this." crap people do when they realized their game was just exposed. And where the hell did that fog come from? Did you skip on the costume at the halloween store because you spent all your cash on the fog machine? I know halloween is Saturday, but from what I gather you act like this all the time."
{Jack threw his hands up in exasperation.}
"You know what's a real shame? The fact that you're a grown man standing around in a room with a fog machine trying to sound scary... or mysterious.. hard to tell which. A grown man with a real job is still trying to act like a cabaret magician. I'm sorry, but David Blane and Criss Angel had cornered the super douchebag market, so you're just going to have to settle for being a less than stellar douchebag. But I doubt that will have any affect on you. I look at you and I don't see the capacity for intellect. So you won't realize that yes, I just insulted you, yes that means I have the mental edge, and yes that means I will easily outsmart you this Monday and hopefully take your false bravado down a notch."
{Jack shrugs.}
"You see.. everything is a gamble, Mysterio. Walking across the street, ordering take out, even buying beef at the grocery store can have unseen adverse affects. How can you know that I won't be the one that inflicts the pain? You can't know, you don't know a damn thing about me. And that's what makes this sport so interesting. You can be so sure you'll hurt me until I collapse. You can be so sure that will be enough to beat me. But you'll never know."
{He turned the card over, The Jack of Diamonds.}
"Until you know...."
{Fade.}
{The cards were dealt again. Jack was around in the big blind. Tara sitting at the opposite end was the small. The men who sat in between them had found their way over. Jack recognized a couple of them, men he had taken the money of earlier in the night. Some had come back after seeing Tara have a seat, possibly hoping to take money from her to have a go at him again in an attempt to break themselves even. That had been a mistake. She was a great player, keeping her secrets hidden. Jack had a knack for knowing when he was beat, even when the odds would force a normal man to bet, and he'd gladly folded what might have been winning hands against her without a second thought. He was watching her check her hole cards, knowing that even the best players could let slip a hint at what they had. Jack watched people check their cards before his own, a trick that won him more hands than he lost. His thoughts were distracted by Tara.}
"Been playing long?"
"Here.. or in general.."
"Both."
"Been playing Poker long before it was the cool thing to do. Been here most of today."
{It was information fishing. Odds stated the longer you stayed at a table, the greater chance your hot streak would hit a sudden end. He figured that saying that would make her more aggresive, and would now try to use that to bait her in. A solid plan, but nowhere near foolproof, not with her skill. First player folded, second guy wasted no time in dropping a three thousand dollar bet. Both Jack and Tara's eyes turned to study him, and he wasted no time trying to show confidence. Another player called, and it came to Tara.}
"I don't believe you have anything, but even so I can't beat nothing with three deuce."
{She might have been lying, and probably was, but she folded, so the point was made. Jack looked down and saw something that made him giddy on the inside. The first card was the Jack of Clubs, the second was the Jack of Diamonds. Not invincible, and where it stood the guy probably had him beat, but Jack never let Jacks go, and it paid off more times than it didn't. Call it fate.}
"It's a simple choice.. call, raise, or fold."
{Jack stared mute at the table, his mind working. The guy emphasized folding, so he was either sure he had it, or bluffing his ass off. Jack decided that he had it, but he could afford to lose money, if only to prove he was right. Losing a little now, to gain a lot in the future, it was called. Jack simply put three thousand dollar chips in the pile.}
"Three players."
{The dealer announced, scooping the chips in and dealing out the flop. King, Jack, deuce, all spades. Jack was now fairly certain he could have it. The man may have Kings, but Aces seemed more likely. Or it was until he tosses Nine thousand dollars in front of him, a pot sized bet. The guy had a smirk on his face like no other, but his hands were shaking.}
"Come on, there's no way either of you could beat Kings. Just give it up."
{The other man in the hand only had about sixty five hundred in chips left, and he wordlessly pushed it all in, giving the table a "To hell with it" smile. Jack was suddenly more worried about that guy. Jack merely shrugged, and called the bet. The dealer dealt out another card. The King of Clubs. The other guy looked downright giggley.}
"You guys shoulda folded, you're dead in the water now."
{He pushed his remaining chips in. About eight thousand more. The other man was already in, so he could do nothing but watch the side pot. Jack called without a word.}
"You're serious? Do you like just giving money away?"
{The man's tone was aggressive, but his hands were still shaking with nerves. He had nothing, and now everyone knew it. Jack wasn't watching him anymore. He was watching the quiet man in the corner. The last card rolled off, and as Jack expected, was exactly what he needed. The Jack of Hearts. With no bets left to be made, it fell on the original man to show his cards. He suddenly looked ashen, and turned over a single duece. The other card was an immaterial six.}
"Deuces..."
"I knew it..."
{Tara's voice held a quiet condescension. The other man looked at Jack, gave him a half grin and turned over Ace-Four, both Spades.}
"Spade Flush... Ace High.."
"That.. is a good hand.."
"But you have better..."
{Jack couldn't help but smile. The man made a statement, like he somehow knew that last Jack condemned him.}
"That I do... Quad Jacks..."
"Nice hand."
"Nice hand."
"You lucky bastard!"
"No, I outplayed you. I outlucked him."
{The angry man got up and stalked away. Everyone watched him go, then turned back to the table. The other man was about to excuse himself when Jack tossed five thousand in chips back over to him.}
"What's this?"
"What kind of man would I be if I didn't give you a chance to get your money back? Stay, play with us for a little while.. on me.."
{The man looked about to protest, then sat back down to stay in the game. Jack looked across the table to find Tara staring at him. He smiled at her.}
"I hope you don't act that way in the ring."
"Heavens no, kid. In the ring is work.. this.. just a game..."
(Now)
"You're not serious... are you?"
{Jack was in his hotel room, after the game. His wife sat on the chair behind him, working in her laptop. He sat on the edge of the bed, focused on the camera, his hands turning a playing card over in his hands.}
"I mean, come on, you can't really expect me to believe any of that. Did you really waste ten minutes of time to stand in a dark room.. after I said you would.. and tell me the same speech I already said you would say? You couldn't make it the least bit interesting? Why do you people insist on making me right all the time? I'd of prefered it if you backpeddled and gave me the "No, I don't do that.. I do this." crap people do when they realized their game was just exposed. And where the hell did that fog come from? Did you skip on the costume at the halloween store because you spent all your cash on the fog machine? I know halloween is Saturday, but from what I gather you act like this all the time."
{Jack threw his hands up in exasperation.}
"You know what's a real shame? The fact that you're a grown man standing around in a room with a fog machine trying to sound scary... or mysterious.. hard to tell which. A grown man with a real job is still trying to act like a cabaret magician. I'm sorry, but David Blane and Criss Angel had cornered the super douchebag market, so you're just going to have to settle for being a less than stellar douchebag. But I doubt that will have any affect on you. I look at you and I don't see the capacity for intellect. So you won't realize that yes, I just insulted you, yes that means I have the mental edge, and yes that means I will easily outsmart you this Monday and hopefully take your false bravado down a notch."
{Jack shrugs.}
"You see.. everything is a gamble, Mysterio. Walking across the street, ordering take out, even buying beef at the grocery store can have unseen adverse affects. How can you know that I won't be the one that inflicts the pain? You can't know, you don't know a damn thing about me. And that's what makes this sport so interesting. You can be so sure you'll hurt me until I collapse. You can be so sure that will be enough to beat me. But you'll never know."
{He turned the card over, The Jack of Diamonds.}
"Until you know...."
{Fade.}