Read Online Double Blind by Heidi Cullinan - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Heidi Cullinan
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“Shit!”
“You can get your credit back for going for a pair, or you can get eight credits for going for a 4 to complete your straight. Which would you rather have, Slick?”
“I want a fucking straight,” Ethan said, and Randy laughed.
“Then you have the best of it with trying for a 4.” Randy pressed several buttons below the cards, which made the word HOLD appear over the ace, 2, 3, and 5. Then he sat back and nodded at the DRAW button. “Hit it, baby.”
Ethan held his breath and hit the button. The screen shifted, and where the king had been, he now had a 9 of clubs. His shoulders fell.
“Sometimes that’s the way it rolls.” Randy hit BET ONE again, then DRAW. “Try again.”
Ethan tried again and again. He got several pairs and a few three-of-a-kinds. He lost most of the hands, and after ten minutes of playing, he was down thirty credits overall. But he understood why Randy had sat him down here, because he was really starting to see the hands. He could see how they played out, and he knew what to hold and what to discard, He knew, too, what hands were the better choice for odds. Sometimes Randy would stop him and point out something he’d overlooked—twice he’d missed a near straight—and sometimes he’d coach Ethan through a debate on what to hold and why. After another half hour of playing, Ethan was really starting to get into it. Two aces came up, so he held them and then hit DRAW.
Another ace and two 5s came up, and the screen exploded into light and a merry tune blared out of the speakers. Ethan started and drew back, and Randy clapped and laughed.
“You did it, Slick!”
“What?” Ethan cried. “What did I do?”
Randy clapped him on the back. “Full house, baby. Ten credits.”
“I did?” Ethan looked at the screen again, at the five dancing jesters prancing their way back and forth across the screen. Then Ethan laughed, too, and he stood, pumping his hands over his head. “I did it! ” He whooped, then turned to Randy, gripping the sides of his head and—
Ethan stopped halfway to Randy’s mouth, realizing what he’d been about to do.
Randy’s grin tipped up, but only slightly. “It’s only a quarter to ten, Slick. Better hold out.”
Ethan let him go, feeling embarrassed, but then he looked back at the screen and felt his chest puff out from the inside. “ God! ”
Randy smiled and reached over and pressed CASH OUT. “I think,” he said, “that you’re ready for Phase Two.”
“What’s Phase Two?” Ethan asked, taking the receipt from Randy. Forty dollars. He’d started with twenty, and now he had forty . He’d made money! By playing a game!
“In Phase Two I teach you the beauty that is the game of Texas Hold ’Em.” Randy clapped a hand on Ethan’s shoulder. “Unless, of course, you’d like to take your forty dollars over to the roulette table?”
“No,” Ethan replied, and Randy took his hand and led him off into another part of the casino.
Chapter 4
Of all the games available in the whole city of Las Vegas, the ones in the poker room at the Golden Nugget were Randy’s favorite.
The room wasn’t large, and it wasn’t small. It was cozy without being crowded, and it was elegant without being ostentatious. The tables were evenly spaced with ample room to maneuver around them, and while there were plenty of hanging lamps distributed over the tables, the room itself was low-lit, giving the place the same feel as Randy’s uncle’s living room where he’d learned the game. The room was done up in cream, yellow, muted orange, and brown, which when combined gave the place a golden glow appropriate to the casino’s moniker. Even the felt on the tables was brown. That part sometimes upset Randy, because felt should always be green, but other than this, in Randy’s opinion, the Golden Nugget Poker Room was perfect.
He wouldn’t admit to many
“You can get your credit back for going for a pair, or you can get eight credits for going for a 4 to complete your straight. Which would you rather have, Slick?”
“I want a fucking straight,” Ethan said, and Randy laughed.
“Then you have the best of it with trying for a 4.” Randy pressed several buttons below the cards, which made the word HOLD appear over the ace, 2, 3, and 5. Then he sat back and nodded at the DRAW button. “Hit it, baby.”
Ethan held his breath and hit the button. The screen shifted, and where the king had been, he now had a 9 of clubs. His shoulders fell.
“Sometimes that’s the way it rolls.” Randy hit BET ONE again, then DRAW. “Try again.”
Ethan tried again and again. He got several pairs and a few three-of-a-kinds. He lost most of the hands, and after ten minutes of playing, he was down thirty credits overall. But he understood why Randy had sat him down here, because he was really starting to see the hands. He could see how they played out, and he knew what to hold and what to discard, He knew, too, what hands were the better choice for odds. Sometimes Randy would stop him and point out something he’d overlooked—twice he’d missed a near straight—and sometimes he’d coach Ethan through a debate on what to hold and why. After another half hour of playing, Ethan was really starting to get into it. Two aces came up, so he held them and then hit DRAW.
Another ace and two 5s came up, and the screen exploded into light and a merry tune blared out of the speakers. Ethan started and drew back, and Randy clapped and laughed.
“You did it, Slick!”
“What?” Ethan cried. “What did I do?”
Randy clapped him on the back. “Full house, baby. Ten credits.”
“I did?” Ethan looked at the screen again, at the five dancing jesters prancing their way back and forth across the screen. Then Ethan laughed, too, and he stood, pumping his hands over his head. “I did it! ” He whooped, then turned to Randy, gripping the sides of his head and—
Ethan stopped halfway to Randy’s mouth, realizing what he’d been about to do.
Randy’s grin tipped up, but only slightly. “It’s only a quarter to ten, Slick. Better hold out.”
Ethan let him go, feeling embarrassed, but then he looked back at the screen and felt his chest puff out from the inside. “ God! ”
Randy smiled and reached over and pressed CASH OUT. “I think,” he said, “that you’re ready for Phase Two.”
“What’s Phase Two?” Ethan asked, taking the receipt from Randy. Forty dollars. He’d started with twenty, and now he had forty . He’d made money! By playing a game!
“In Phase Two I teach you the beauty that is the game of Texas Hold ’Em.” Randy clapped a hand on Ethan’s shoulder. “Unless, of course, you’d like to take your forty dollars over to the roulette table?”
“No,” Ethan replied, and Randy took his hand and led him off into another part of the casino.
Chapter 4
Of all the games available in the whole city of Las Vegas, the ones in the poker room at the Golden Nugget were Randy’s favorite.
The room wasn’t large, and it wasn’t small. It was cozy without being crowded, and it was elegant without being ostentatious. The tables were evenly spaced with ample room to maneuver around them, and while there were plenty of hanging lamps distributed over the tables, the room itself was low-lit, giving the place the same feel as Randy’s uncle’s living room where he’d learned the game. The room was done up in cream, yellow, muted orange, and brown, which when combined gave the place a golden glow appropriate to the casino’s moniker. Even the felt on the tables was brown. That part sometimes upset Randy, because felt should always be green, but other than this, in Randy’s opinion, the Golden Nugget Poker Room was perfect.
He wouldn’t admit to many
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