I'll see you and I'll raise you

Went to a poker night on Weds. I had never played poker before, and although I didn't assume I'd pick it up as quickly as I'd got the hang of, say, Go Fish, I didn't think it would be that hard. Afterall, whenever you see people playing on TV, or in a Bond movie, they don't seem to be putting in much of an effort, and they're usually drinking beer, or cocktails (shaken, not stirred).

Fortunately for me, it was a 'how to' kind of an evening, with no real money involved, and friendly croupiers who let us play several practice hands first, after which there was a mini-tournament, with an ipod up for grabs. I'm not saying I fancied my chances from a skills point of view, but I was hopeful that maybe blind luck might bag me a seat on the winners' table.

This was not to be the case. Poker is hard! I don't know how anybody manages to drink and play at the same time. There is so much to remember - I can handle the fact that an Ace is higher than a King, blah-di-blah, but it's all the Three-of-a-Kind this, Straight-Flush that, etc, that I just could not get my head round. And, apparently, shaking your head when you look at your cards, unless you are pulling a rather elaborate bluff, is a big no-no. I had a better poker face towards the end of the evening, when I was concentrating so hard that I just looked permanently serious.

I did win a couple of hands, ahem, but only when we were on the losers' table later on. Then I lost all my chips, and then, in a very Bond stylee, a guy to my left gave me 500 chips, because I had lost to him, and so I must be a 'lucky lady' to play against. Twisted logic, I think you'll agree - do you reckon he was flirtin? A nice gesture, despite the fact that the chips were worthless...It was a very fun evening, and I am definitely going again (no, I don't have an addictive personality, honest).