Going all in for a fun night out

MY HEART was thumping, my face was hot and my body vibrating. As casually as anything I threw a blue chip into the centre of the table. The pair of eights I held nicely matched the pair of eights that lay among the five cards on the table. “Sucker,” I thought as Ms Asia across the table matched my bet with hers.

Noooooooooo, was my next thought as she flipped over her cards and my four-of-a-kind was beaten by her straight flush.

I was so busy getting excited over my cards I hadn’t even noticed that all the rest were in sequence and the same suit.

Not the mark of a great poker player to be sure.

My tough call elicited a lot of commiseration from the players around the table. They empathised with my pain probably because it wasn’t all traditional sunglassed, peak-wearing stony-faced male poker players but a diverse group of women – of all ages, sizes, cultures and shapes – who were there for the weekly Ladies Thursday Night Tournament Poker game at Christchurch Casino.

I’d played a couple of times a few years ago but it was only when my friend, Janet, and I sat wondering what we could do besides going to the pub that I remembered the evenings being quite entertaining.

For only $30 it’s a fun night. Although if you’ve grown up with James Bond movies and the word casino conjures tuxedos, gowns and diamonds you’ll be a bit disappointed. I think Dress Code implies just come with clothes on …

If you get there early and ask nicely, one of the croupiers will take you through the different hands and explain some of the jargon such as the blinds, the river, the turn and the flop. And as I found out it’s useful to know that four-of-a-kind can be beaten.

But could we bluff and bet with the best of them in a game of Texas Hold ’em? We were about to find out.

We find our space at the table and, using the advice I was once given about ‘hold onto the picture cards and fold the rest, my piles of chips slowly dwindle away. Apparently it’s not the best thing to do.

“Jump before you’re pushed,” says Maree who is sitting next to me and enjoying her weekly partner-free evening. She kindly offers all sorts of advice, although some of it is at odds to that coming from Vanda who sits on the other side of me. Elizabeth, who at 80 is the best dressed of the group, also offers some tips.

I throw caution to the wind and go all in, pushing all my chips into the centre. My heart is in my mouth, but a couple of the other players match my call and suddenly I’m panicking. “What have I missed?”

Turns out nothing, my ace/king gives me an ace high straight and a huge pile of chips when I win the pot. Once I start breathing again, I realise this is quite fun and I’ve knocked out two of the last four players. Now it’s just down to Ms Asia and me.

The pace picks up and I decide to bluff my way out of a bad hand by pushing all my chips into the pot in another going all in call. Bad decision.

“I never bluff,” says Ms Asia kindly, while scooping up all my chips into her huge pile.

See the website https://christchurchcasino.co.nz/ for details on the different events underway at the Casino and the different opening hours.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR – Kim Triegaardt

Kim Triegaardt is a journalist, corporate communications specialist and – as regularly as she can manage – travel writer. Kim’s professional career has taken her around the globe, but she calls the New Zealand city of Christchurch, in the South Island’s Canterbury Region, home. Kim is the founder of the corporate communications company Totally Write, which she continues to operate.

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