#pokerface
• (preface) . Ante Up •
Never Gamble with more
than you can afford to lose
• Prologue : The Deal •
From the dusty haze
between mirage waves
of shimmering heat
in the desert air
refracting red shifted rays
of the horizonal sun
bouncing off the highway
appears an indigent itinerant,
who’s seen better days,
walking alone
at a leisurely pace
west towards sunset
and night and escape
without baggage or burden
beyond his distempered ways.
He comes suddenly upon an unexpected place- hitherto unseen by light of day:
• I: The Flop •
"LIQUOR IN THE FRONT!
$ POKER IN THE BACK $"
...The flashing neon sign proclaims
From behind the dingy pane
Of a curtained window
By a door to nowhere safe;
With a sign that hangs
Underneath it saying-
"Open Buy, Table Stakes,
No Limit Hold’em
Come on in and Play!"
-And just beneath that,
Scratched into the widow,
(In an unsettling scrawl)
{By a steady hand}
[with a razor sharp blade…]
It says
“There’s NO LIMIT to WHAT you can WIN”
...
"That does sound tempting"
So you do go in.
Everytime…
And you’re greeted with a “Hello friend!”
By a bartender standing by himself,
in an empty room,
Cuffs rolled up and forearms wet
polishing glassware and tins with a towel;
One That’s seen too many rims
and broken glasses and spilled drinks,
and blood and tears and ***** sinks
It could NOT be clean,
but **** it,” you think,
"How bad could it be?"
Might be why Ain’t nobody in here...
But never-you-mind, 'cause the ***** is cheap…
“Can I get you something, bub?
I got some real-deal-hillbilly-moonshine,"
He says with a grin.
"Just come in; straight from Kentucky, with a fine batch of single-barrel bourbon, too.
Let's see, What else? ... Some Cuban ***
French vermouth;
Cognac, Port, Brandy...
Shoot!
I got a bottle of Chicago's finest!
Authentic bathtub gin - from the secret stash,
no less,
of Al Capone's best lady-friend.
Might even have a little tequila still sloshing around the jug.
We got some stuff,
but the pickings are getting slim.
... Also champagne
if that's your thing.
Milwaukee beer in a can."
"By the way, just so you know
There's a cash game going,
but it already began;
You can head back, if you want…
They've probably only played one hand.”
At that, he motions to a vinyl-padded door
lit green, with a red light glow
spilling across the floor below,
ominously from under the jamb.
“Should I get a drink
and play a few?” You think,
“I don’t have much to lose.
And what if
I win?”
• II.. The Turn •
It’s a gamble, going all in
It’s a big risk to take,
But if it pays off man
god ****
You got it made
And the hand looks good,
(it always does)
But this fella’s poker face…
It's uncanny, and
You cannot read a thing.
It’s like he’s made of stone
Not a single tell; not any kinda way…
And this ******* devil-man
Always calls.
He plays his hand in every game;
Never sits out a round.
Throws his money down,
Takes his cards,
Folds his hands,
Then he just
... Sits back …
… And he waits …
… And every hand he plays,
It seems the game is strange,
In some unexpected way -
like cards you thought you had
aren't the same when you look again
But you can’t remember if, or when, it changed.
It might’ve been
you just seen 'em wrong,
But either way,
the card you need is gone;
And just when you notice-
He’ll look away,
And then back at you,
As if to say,
“I call your bluff kid, turn em up.
Let’s see this hand you played.
What’re you holding
That Made you think
you could win a game
I ******* made.”
• .IİI. The River •
You’re playing too fast and loose …
Like you ain’t afraid
But you should be …
‘Cause You ****** up
Too Bad the Bet’s Been Made
• IV.:. The Showdown •
...And then He wins;
And when He wins
you can’t defend the hand you held
In any way.
He takes his chips and stacks em up.
He doesn’t have anything else to say.
He doesn’t gloat; he just
… ******* smiles…
And He watches your face:
As you sit and you stare
and you think good and hard
about the mistake that you just made.
Read ‘em and weep - It’s his favorite part.
It’s his little art:
Watching a soul
get crushed…
"…Ugh…"
“…Again!?!”
• Epilogue - Wanna Buy Back In? •
Never
Pay More To Play
Than What You Stand To Win
Jan 22, 2024
Jan 22, 2024 at 4:03 PM UTC
I had
a knife to my neck for breakfast
a punch with a crunch for lunch
but I ate ***** looks for dinner
thats how I knew
I was the winner
and when I went up for dessert
never once did they see me hurt
thats how they knew I was a bruiser
and they were backing a loser
Apr 19, 2016
Apr 19, 2016 at 6:11 PM UTC
Darling, you are still missing that One Small Thing.
An Ace.
How do you get it?
Maybe a trick up your sleeve?
Or maybe some “good luck” for the guarantee?
It's my turn. I pull my card, It's just what I need!
You've got it, girl,
hold that face they can't read!
You show em your cards.
Man, you just lost.
Oh, crap, what a cost.
They had a better hand.
The best in the land.
This is the part they presume they've won.
You know this can't be fun.
Now some may have a better hand than you,
so what do you do?
Sit back and think.
Here I have a clue.
It's most intriguing. Who knew?
Maybe YOU won.
You're the one who got lucky,
lucky to learn.
You paid close attention
now it's your turn to burn.
So that One Small Thing you were missing,
was indeed a lesson to learn.
You’ve grown wiser now,
You deeply say "thank you,"
that was passed over due.
So on to the next game.
"Monsieur, how do you do?".
Mar 21, 2016
Mar 21, 2016 at 8:28 AM UTC
People never realize,
Or recognize,
The touch of a broken soul.
The despondence,
Fear and need,
Skilfully masked beneath.
Pain never shows,
On their poker faces.
How battered they still fight,
Still live.
Dec 15, 2014
Dec 15, 2014 at 11:54 PM UTC
The little Prince of Persia
Who's purpose is to depurse ya,
Dispersing suits, clock off time city worker,
Mark your card, inertia.
He's no mathematician or magician
But give him a dynamoment to take you to the cleaners,
cause this one's mean a!
Hellbent on humiliation he'll reverend run you to the station.
He's counting cards, counting on ya till your seeing stars, K.O, ringside seat whilst you get parred, po, poker face he'll drive you gaga!
So Loay and behold he might not be honourable, but he's willing and able to bring the last supper to this table.
He's not called Jack but he's a joker, in guise he tries to choke ya, draw the ace but it won't help ya,
cause you're a disgraced King
and you've just been usurped sir,
by that little Prince of Persia.
Dec 1, 2014
Dec 1, 2014 at 4:44 PM UTC