Hollywood, California A SERIOUS GAME
Bobby was first to awaken. He turned on the television at low volume, found nothing to his liking, took a shower and went looking for a soft drink machine. He found one in the office lobby.
A couple had just checked in, and the sleepy manager was preparing to return to his bedroom.
“You boys like the room?”
“Well, there’s a guy in the room next to you—been livin’ there for two months—who’s a little deaf. You know, he turns up the television real loud. He plays poker in Gardena most every night. Don’t get home till sometimes four in the morning. So if he bothers you, just let me know.”
“Where’s Gardena?” Bobby asked, the mere mention
of poker stimulating his curiosity.
“I’d say ‘bout twenty minutes south down the
freeway,” the man yawned. “Why? Think you’re a poker
player?”
“Yeah, I play a little.”
“Well, you gotta be twenty-one to get in. Besides, they
don’t play seven-stud or nothing like that. Only games
legal are five-card draw and lowball.”
“Lowball? I know how to play that.”
“Speak of the devil! Here’s the man I was telling you
about. How’d you do tonight, Henry?”
Henry was a tall, slender man of about fifty-five, wearing tiny glasses that fitted his nose almost comically. He peered down at the young Baldwin, looking like a librarian scrutinizing a pesty child.
“What you say there, young ‘un?” Henry greeted
blandly.
“Nothing much,” Baldwin said. “How ‘bout youT’
The manager said, “You gotta speak up. He don’t hear
too good. “Kid says he likes to play lowball,” the manager shouted.
Bobby and Henry walked back toward their rooms, leaving the manager to return to his dreams. “I got a deck and some chips,” Henry said. “You can just come over if you feel like it. I’m right next door.”
“May be. I’ll have to see if any of my friends woke up yet. They might want to do something.”
No one was awake. Bobby thought and thought. He’d never played cards with a stranger. He figured this situation called for caution. So cautiously he thought it over.
Then he barged headfirst into it.
When he knocked on Henry’s door, his heart thudded. But the man put him at ease. In fact, it was Henry who insisted that both of them put up cash to buy chips. Baldwin wouldn’t have to worry about getting paid.
Another reason he wouldn’t have to worry about it was: he never got ahead. It just seemed that, although Henry drew two and three cards occasionally, Bobby was drawing more cards, more often. And not seeming to connect, to make it worse.
About twenty minutes into this one a.m. competition, Bobby finally made a miracle. He’d turned a three-card draw into a six-high and beat Henry out of four dollars. The next hand saw Bobby make a two-card seven. But it LOST! Things got worse, and pretty soon Bobby had gone through more than thirty dollars and had no more in his pocket.
”“Be right back.”
Shaken by his bad fortune, the sixteen-year-old Baldwin returned to his own motel room and shook Danny out of his slumber.
“I need some money, Danny. Ten bucks will do.”
“Okay. Just take it out of my pocket. Over there on the chair. What time is it anyway?”
Learning that he’d been sleeping roughly twelve hours, Danny got up, dressed and accompanied his friend to Henry’s room. Things got a little better, then worse, then better. At least Bobby was holding his own, though, in truth, Henry was the superior player. Even Danny sensed that. But not Bobby. He just kept plowing into pot after pot with two card draws.
Until Bobby got stuck over forty dollars, they’d been playing dollar limit. Then Henry suggested they remove the limit and allow either player to bet whatever he could come up with, so long as the other guy could cover the bet. Playing that way, Bobby ran several successful bluffs and got to where he was only losing $23. The last hand they played went like this: Bobby holding K-5-3-2-A, opened for fifty cents. Henry raised two dollars, Bobby raised two dollars more, Henry raised five dollars and Bobby fought off an urge to raise again and decided to just call.
Henry dealt two cards to Bobby. “One! I want one,” Baldwin said.
“What?”He half shouted, “You gave me two cards. I just want
one.”
“Oh,” said the partially deaf man, sliding the second
card back onto the top of the deck. “I don’t want none.”
Bobby was first to bet. He looked at his card, sque64
He half shouted, “You gave me two cards. I just want
one.”
“Oh,” said the partially deaf man, sliding the second
card back onto the top of the deck. “I don’t want none.”
Bobby was first to bet. He looked at his card, squeezing it secretly. A four! Bobby had made the perfect lowball hand, a wheel. He bet ten dollars and Henry hesitated, looked back at his hand, considered raising and finally just called. The showdown saw Bobby’s wheel knock off Henry’s 6-5-4-3-A.
Shaking his head miserably, Henry said, “You sure
you got the right card? I gave you two and you only took
one, so how d’you know you got the right ‘
