(Untitled)

[maxwellsdemon02]

Duo decides that sitting and reading is just not doing it for a distraction tonight. He shoves a battered manga back in his bag and pulls out a deck of cards.

Checking to make sure this isn't the marked deck, he starts to shuffle and bridge, with only a few fancy moves thrown in.

Anyone for poker?

[OOC: Locked thread, thanks!]

Comments

[balletrat]

*Sooner or later - probably sooner - there's a small blonde peering over his shoulder with a certain amount of interest.*

[maxwellsdemon02]

"Bonjour, Meg. Or is it bonsoir? French gets complicated when you're at the end of the universe."

Duo winks at her. "What's shakin'?"

[balletrat]

Your cards, it looks like, *Meg points out, with a grin, and slips into a seat next to him.*

That's pretty neat - sleight of hand, sort of thing.

[flybywash]

And soon there's another blonde eyeing the cards, captivated.

Wash, however, is not little.

(Jayne's opinion doesn't count.)

"That's one of the most fascinating and totally useless tricks I've ever seen," he remarks.

[maxwellsdemon02]

"I cultivate shit like that," Duo replies with a grin. "You should see what I can do with bubblegum and yo-yos."

Pause.

"But not at the same time." He glances at his companions. "But enough boasting, at least about my skills. You two know cards?"

[balletrat]

I was taught some pooker, *Meg offers,* way back when I first came - though I've forgotten most of it, *she adds, somewhat sheepishly, before brightening again.*

But I'm generally a very fast learner.

[flybywash]

"Long Pai, Deadhorse Hold 'Em, uh...Go Fish...."

The last is offered sheepishly.

"Which was only learned out of excruciating boredom." He slides out a chair and thumps down onto it, leaning his cane on the table. "But I'm another with the fast learning."

[maxwellsdemon02]

"Right then. We'll go your standard five card draw, then."

Duo rapidly deals out five cards to each of them. "We'll call this a practice hand." He flips his cards face up, so they can both see.

"What you want to do is get the best hand. Have a look at your cards, decide what you want to aim for, which depends on what you got. Then you tell your dealer- that'd be me- how many cards you want, and you ditch what you don't want. At the end, best hand wins the round. Show me what you got, and I'll tell you what's the best hand."

[balletrat]

*Meg picks up her cards, then flips her wrist so her companions can see them - five of spades, five of hearts, seven of hearts, ten of clubs, and ace of clubs.*

I know you want to get as many of the same number as possible -

[flybywash]

Wash fans his out: Jack of diamonds, Jack of clubs, seven of clubs, seven of spades, and eight of diamonds.

"But there's something about getting 'em all in the same suit too, right?"

[maxwellsdemon02]

"Correct." Duo points to his cards- three of spades, three of hearts, eight of spades, king of spades, queen of clubs.

"Goes like this: one pair, two pair, three of a kind, a straight- five cards in a row, flush- all the same suit, full house- that's two of one card and three of another, four of a kind, a straight flush- that's five cards in a row, all same suit, and a royal flush. Phew."

He grins at them both. "We can also play with wilds. Pick one number that can be whatever we want. Questions?"

[balletrat]

Royals -

*Meg stabs a finger down on Wash's Jack of clubs.*

There's only three of them, oui? How can you have five royals in a row when there are only three?

[merrimanlyon]

Merriman has refilled his teacup at the bar, and is in the process of picking his way back through the tables in search of one that is unoccupied. The sight of the card game -- and the individuals playing it -- makes him slow his pace a little.

Just watching, for the moment. Observing, if you will.

[flybywash]

"Well, yeah, but tens and those ones -- " a gesture back to Meg's ace of clubs, "count if you're doing that. It's how it works in Deadhorse anyway."

Which is bearing a startling resemblance to ordinary poker so far, so, hey, it stands to reason.

Still, he throws a glance back to Duo for confirmation.

[maxwellsdemon02]

"Correctamundo. Now what would happen here is you choose what you'd want to keep and what to ditch, but let's have a real round, huh?"

He collects the cards and spots Merriman.

"Evening, Professor! Care to jump in for a round?" Duo grins up at him. "No archeology allowed at the table though, sorry. It'd be an unfair advantage!"

[merrimanlyon]

There are any number of reasons why Merriman could decline, and he could be perfectly polite about it and take his tea with him to another table.

There are any number of reasons, but no good reason.

'No business in the bar, Mr Maxwell,' he says wryly, pulling out a chair. 'Which I take to mean archaeology as well. Poker, is it?'