When I left off my account of the poker game, Rochester, who had been on the verge of quitting, had decided that he liked poker after all, thanks to an exciting showdown victory over Sir Tristan. All of the players were fully committed now: Magick and Sir Tristan are longtime poker aficionados, having played together since their kittenhood; Humphrey had won two early games and was convinced he was a natural; Reggie just likes games; and Rochester, the last holdout, was converted.
After another hour or so, Sir Tristan, who had recovered somewhat from his loss to Rochester, won a hand with a pair of aces over Rochester's nines and Humphrey's jacks.
Sir Tristan had now achieved a tidy profit. Not a huge profit; he's too conservative a player to win dramatic splashy victories most of the time. But he was coming out ahead, and that was what he'd been after, so he collected his winnings and politely withdrew from the match. He doesn't always decide to leave poker games early like this, but he always does when he's playing with Magick.
The new players weren't sure why he'd quit when he had, but they didn't mind too much. They were starting to get the hang of the game now, but they hadn't picked up on some of the subtleties yet. So, for instance, two hands after Sir Tristan's departure, Reggie discovered that he had two pairs between his hand and the table: queens and sixes. Delighted, he promptly went all in, causing everyone else to fold. Reggie didn't realise that he'd have won more had he kept the others in the game for longer; he was too excited over his victory. Here he is, showing everyone his cards.
There are different kinds of winners and losers. There's the quiet and gracious type of winner, like Sir Tristan, for instance. Other winners get very excited and exuberant. Some of them make you want to slap them, and some of them don't. Humphrey is the first kind of excited winner. When Humphrey wins, he gloats and pats himself on the back and generally makes a show of himself, so that the losers feel that much more annoyed that he won. Reggie is an equally exuberant winner, but in a very different way. He's utterly delighted when he wins, but he doesn't take his victory as a sign of superiority in any way. There's something almost innocent in his display of enthusiasm, and it makes the other players happy for him.
By this point in the game, Magick had managed a few small victories, enough to keep him playing, but he was still behind the others in terms of chips. A game or two after Reggie's victory, Magick was dealt a bad hand and decided it was time to have some fun. Sir Tristan had left the game, after all. For the sake of friendship, Magick refrains from having too much fun until Sir Tristan has left the table. Not that he'd gone far. He'd located Lady Faraday, who had now left the kittens to their fun, and the two of them had come back to watch. Sir Tristan leaving the poker game is always Lady Faraday's cue to come watch.
Rochester, who had the first bet, had been dealt two queens, so he bet five dollars; everyone else called. The turn produced the ace of spades, six of hearts, and four of diamonds. Rochester again bet five dollars. Magick, playing as though he held an ace, raised two dollars. Humphrey folded - he only had the ten of hearts and nine of clubs - but the others called.
The flip produced the king of hearts. Rochester again bet five dollars, with some trepidation. Magick decided that he also had a king, and raised another five. Reggie had the king of diamonds and junk; he went ahead and called, but he was rather nervous about it. Rochester also called.
So it was down to the river, which turned up the nine of hearts. Rochester prudently checked, upon which Magick went all in. Reggie and Rochester were sufficiently dismayed by this show of confidence that they didn't want to go all in and folded. And so Magick won - with the seven of clubs and two of hearts.
The others wanted to see his hand, of course. Magick refused to tell.
By the point Rochester was getting rather hot under the collar. He had had a genuinely good hand, and proceeded to show everyone. But Magick, still keeping mum, quietly and rather enigmatically raked in his winnings. Magick is very good at enigmatic. He comes by it naturally, but he's not above making use of it.
Magick explained to Rochester that the rules of poker do not require any player to reveal his hand, even if he wins. Rochester did not believe him and insisted he show his cards; met with Magick's continued refusal, he demanded to see the rule book. Lady Faraday, who had been perched on the rule book, promptly opened the book to the correct page - without bothering to look it up - and pointed to the rule in question. She has watched Magick play poker before.
Confronted with the official rule, Rochester had no choice but to lay off, but he kept grumbling about it under his breath. Had this happened earlier in the game, when he was still unsure he liked it, he probably would have quit. Lady Faraday has no patience with this attitude; she believes players should always be gracious. Here she is regarding Rochester sternly while the others clean up after the last hand. (Humphrey has the next deal.) You can see Murchison watching carefully in the distance. Magick's activities are of general professional interest to him.
I should mention here that Lady Faraday did not decline to join in the game because she doesn't know how to play poker, or even because she is too ladylike to play poker in mixed company. Actually, she's a very good poker player. She is better than Sir Tristan, in fact, and Sir Tristan is pretty good. But she refuses, on principle, to play poker with Magick.
The game wasn't over yet, mind. Now Rochester wanted revenge, so to speak. And so did Humphrey, because this particular victory of Magick's eclipsed his own so far.
After another hour or so, Sir Tristan, who had recovered somewhat from his loss to Rochester, won a hand with a pair of aces over Rochester's nines and Humphrey's jacks.
Sir Tristan had now achieved a tidy profit. Not a huge profit; he's too conservative a player to win dramatic splashy victories most of the time. But he was coming out ahead, and that was what he'd been after, so he collected his winnings and politely withdrew from the match. He doesn't always decide to leave poker games early like this, but he always does when he's playing with Magick.
The new players weren't sure why he'd quit when he had, but they didn't mind too much. They were starting to get the hang of the game now, but they hadn't picked up on some of the subtleties yet. So, for instance, two hands after Sir Tristan's departure, Reggie discovered that he had two pairs between his hand and the table: queens and sixes. Delighted, he promptly went all in, causing everyone else to fold. Reggie didn't realise that he'd have won more had he kept the others in the game for longer; he was too excited over his victory. Here he is, showing everyone his cards.
There are different kinds of winners and losers. There's the quiet and gracious type of winner, like Sir Tristan, for instance. Other winners get very excited and exuberant. Some of them make you want to slap them, and some of them don't. Humphrey is the first kind of excited winner. When Humphrey wins, he gloats and pats himself on the back and generally makes a show of himself, so that the losers feel that much more annoyed that he won. Reggie is an equally exuberant winner, but in a very different way. He's utterly delighted when he wins, but he doesn't take his victory as a sign of superiority in any way. There's something almost innocent in his display of enthusiasm, and it makes the other players happy for him.
By this point in the game, Magick had managed a few small victories, enough to keep him playing, but he was still behind the others in terms of chips. A game or two after Reggie's victory, Magick was dealt a bad hand and decided it was time to have some fun. Sir Tristan had left the game, after all. For the sake of friendship, Magick refrains from having too much fun until Sir Tristan has left the table. Not that he'd gone far. He'd located Lady Faraday, who had now left the kittens to their fun, and the two of them had come back to watch. Sir Tristan leaving the poker game is always Lady Faraday's cue to come watch.
Rochester, who had the first bet, had been dealt two queens, so he bet five dollars; everyone else called. The turn produced the ace of spades, six of hearts, and four of diamonds. Rochester again bet five dollars. Magick, playing as though he held an ace, raised two dollars. Humphrey folded - he only had the ten of hearts and nine of clubs - but the others called.
The flip produced the king of hearts. Rochester again bet five dollars, with some trepidation. Magick decided that he also had a king, and raised another five. Reggie had the king of diamonds and junk; he went ahead and called, but he was rather nervous about it. Rochester also called.
So it was down to the river, which turned up the nine of hearts. Rochester prudently checked, upon which Magick went all in. Reggie and Rochester were sufficiently dismayed by this show of confidence that they didn't want to go all in and folded. And so Magick won - with the seven of clubs and two of hearts.
The others wanted to see his hand, of course. Magick refused to tell.
By the point Rochester was getting rather hot under the collar. He had had a genuinely good hand, and proceeded to show everyone. But Magick, still keeping mum, quietly and rather enigmatically raked in his winnings. Magick is very good at enigmatic. He comes by it naturally, but he's not above making use of it.
Magick explained to Rochester that the rules of poker do not require any player to reveal his hand, even if he wins. Rochester did not believe him and insisted he show his cards; met with Magick's continued refusal, he demanded to see the rule book. Lady Faraday, who had been perched on the rule book, promptly opened the book to the correct page - without bothering to look it up - and pointed to the rule in question. She has watched Magick play poker before.
Confronted with the official rule, Rochester had no choice but to lay off, but he kept grumbling about it under his breath. Had this happened earlier in the game, when he was still unsure he liked it, he probably would have quit. Lady Faraday has no patience with this attitude; she believes players should always be gracious. Here she is regarding Rochester sternly while the others clean up after the last hand. (Humphrey has the next deal.) You can see Murchison watching carefully in the distance. Magick's activities are of general professional interest to him.
I should mention here that Lady Faraday did not decline to join in the game because she doesn't know how to play poker, or even because she is too ladylike to play poker in mixed company. Actually, she's a very good poker player. She is better than Sir Tristan, in fact, and Sir Tristan is pretty good. But she refuses, on principle, to play poker with Magick.
The game wasn't over yet, mind. Now Rochester wanted revenge, so to speak. And so did Humphrey, because this particular victory of Magick's eclipsed his own so far.
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