‘It sounds good, although maybe it’s a bit weird.’
‘Oh, aye. How so?’
She let the verdant scent of the overgrown garden envelop her, cast back to her younger years. Gardens were her happy place.
‘Well, having a casino surrounded by a forest of weeds and foxgloves is a break from the urban grind. But playing online is making me realise that live poker is sewn into my identity. I’m used to being a presence around a table: reading tells, sharing banter, listening to the sound of chips being raked. Online, I’m an avatarand the banter is crap. They are two completely different lifestyles. The online one’s not me, notlike the other one is.’
Sean was listening intently, a few creases around his eyes appearing from squinting in the light. ‘You said you were jaded with live poker, though. Would you go back?’
‘I am jaded. But what else would I do? I have my maths degree,although I spent a fair whack of time that I should have been in lectures sleeping off nights spent in the casino.’
‘You could coach poker. Or even maths. I reckon you could sell beach umbrellas in December.
Cherry tilted her head and smiled at him. ‘Thanks. I have some decisions to make while I’m here. Anyway…’ She stirred her drink with the cocktail stick. ‘Poker tourney with the lads tomorrow night?’
‘Aye.’
‘Are they any good?’
Sean put his feet up on the edge of Cherry’s footrest. It was intimate but not awkward. ‘They’re a mixed bag. We’ve got daft Billy, who plays every hand and bets aggressively. Tommy’s kind of the same. The other three are a bit more cautious, but I wouldn’t say patience is the name of anyone’s game.’
Men who played amateur poker often wore it as a badge of masculinity. Cherry wondered if Sean would be the same. How would he behave in front of his workmates with her there? Would he ramp up the lads’ act or tone down whatever his usual playing mode was?
‘You want some tips?’ A little test right now would give her a clue for tomorrow.
‘You offering?’
‘Yep. We could go through some starting hands. Of course, it depends what everyone else is holding and playing, but I can give you some scenarios.’
‘I’m up for that. Grateful to have a professional coach right here.’
‘Brilliant! One minute.’ Cherry ran into the house, grabbed a pack of cards and laid them on the table between her and Sean, alongside the whisky sour.
‘Most men don’t listen,’ she said, selecting two cards from the deck for him. ‘They don’t want to learn from a woman, so well done for not being one of them.’ She gave the pair to Sean. ‘Okay, let’s say you’re playing with me and tomorrow’ night’s crew. Billy has gone all in before the flop, possibly without even looking at his cards. Everyone else has folded. You’re in the big blind. Would you play this hand?’
Sean glanced his cards for about three seconds. ‘Aye, I’d play this. It’s a good hand. It’s a really good hand.’
Cherry nodded. ‘Okay, in this case, you’ve made the right call. Billy is being a numptie, so I’d take a chance on King-Jack suited. But just so you know, with seven players, this hand’s win rate is about twenty-four percent, so it’s not the pot of gold you think it is.’
‘Alright, Coach, I’m learning already.’ Sean took the deck and, possibly to show off, shuffled it confidently.
Cherry was more impressed at the way he was taking the tuition –he was good-natured and willing to listen and learn.
‘Let’s try another one.’ She selected a pair of twos from the deck. ‘You’re in the Big Blind. Everyone else has called a bet of fifty quid. Do you fold, call, raise or go all in?’
Sean chewed on his lip. ‘Honestly?’
‘Of course.’
‘I’d probably call, at the least. I might even raise.’
Cherry slapped her forehead.
‘What?’ He laughed, nervously.
‘You do not raise on this, Butler. If you stay in and another deuce comes up, then maybe a raise, but the onlyreason you’re staying in is because you’ve paid the big blind. You can call it, but that is all, do you get it? In our game, this card would have a win rate of fourteen percent Don’t be fooled by the pretty swans.’
Sean examined her with admiration and wonder. ‘Sheesh, I get it.’ He lifted her glass. ‘Keep going. I’m having fun.’ As he drank, he pulled a face. ‘Phew…you know how to put the sour into whisky sour.’
