Ain't No Winners In This Game - pt 5

The Bluff tournament started on time at three the next afternoon. There were many more people that had come to town than would account for the twenty-five players who signed up and could actually show the ten stake required. Some fashioned themselves professional gamblers, some were just gambling on a chance for a change. Most would get a change before the night was over, just not the one they were hoping for.

There were five tables for five players each, set up out back of what passed as Independence’s only excuse for a saloon. When Jack, Suzy and Shannon stuck their heads in that afternoon, Suzy thought to herself that she had pissed in better outhouses.

A group of five might be tricky, Suzy thought. They had been used to playing and had only practiced with four players. She’d just have to be sharp and pick out their tells as quickly as she could. “You know how to do this,” she reminded herself silently. “Just relax and don’t second-guess yourself.”

When they realized it was necessary for Jack and Shannon to not start at the same table, some quick but discreet adjustments needed to be made. It was decided that Suzy would be more help to Jack and Shannon could work on his own. It was a bit riskier that way, but all Shannon had to do was win his table. He thought he would be able to handle all but the four or five that seemed likely to advance; Shannon included Jack in that bunch.

Fortunately, Colonel Ransdall hadn’t thought to ban spectators from crowding around the respective players. This allowed Suzy to stand directly behind Jack’s chair and instead of displaying her finger signals as she held her cards, she pressed them into Jack’s shoulders as he played. When asked by one of the other players at the table if he didn’t find his “girlfriend there” distracting, Jack assured him that his good-luck sister was never a distraction. Jack was a little concerned the fellow might suspect him of cheating after that comment, so the first time it was Jack’s deal he made sure the fellow got the winning hand. Jack felt Suzy’s finger poke him hard when he did that but he knew the fella wasn’t going to have a chance and he wanted him to remember one good hand. The second time it was Jack’s deal, he dealt himself the winning hand after he sent Suzy for a beer, just to assure there would be no petty accusations tossed his way later when he won the table. He got poked in the shoulder for that, as well. Jack easily took his table, but felt no satisfaction. He guessed at least half the men were gambling with money they could ill afford to lose and the look in their eyes when they realized their chance hadn’t paid off pained Jack. It was different taking money from people who could afford it or bastards who deserved to lose it, but Jack and Suzy had always operated on the Robin Hood principle ever since they had both read the story in childhood. They thought of it as an honorable way to be a thief and a liar, if you had need to be a thief and a liar. Take from the rich and give to the poor and worthy.

Only now they were the poor and worthy, but they still always tried to avoid duping those who couldn’t afford it. And now, that’s exactly what they were doing. It felt very wrong to them both.

Shannon had a bit more trouble dispatching his table’s players than he had anticipated, but eventually he finished the game off by giving himself two pair and denying his last opponent the Queen of Diamonds he needed for his straight flush.

There was a supper break until eight after the last table finished around five. Shannon, Jack and Suzy retired to a copse of trees about a mile out of town to take a quick supper of sandwiches made from last night’s catch of rabbit they had roasted. They needed to rethink how to make it plausible for Suzy to switch sides from Jack’s good-luck sister to Shannon’s paramour.