Food, Fun, and Other Things that Start with the "F" Sound

FAST

Never let it be said that Seattle bloggers and their friends can't pull it together fast. It was about 6:30 p.m. when Cayne gave me a call and told me he and Joshua and their significants would be interested in the impromptu poker party. I had just e-mailed Zeem ten minutes earlier and told him I didn't think we'd have a quorum. Fortunately, he's an easy going guy who can roll with a change in plans like no one's business. A call to Shawni and we were eight around a poker table by 9 p.m. That includes drinks, new playing cards, and . . .

FOOD

This is where I was a little embarrassed. Usually, I make sure the spread is pretty well-planned. Casual, but well-planned. No Martha Stewart, but well-planned. Last night, it was a fast trip to Fred Meyer at 7:00 p.m., and I was driving through the aisles like a crazy woman on a mission. Trying to think of a variety of food and drink that would go well with a game of poker. It's got to be easy to digest, go well with any drink, and require a minimum amount of utensils. But the mother in me says it has to have a sufficient mix of the food groups to actually constitute a balanced meal.

No fancy bowls or dishes; I opened the bags of chips and let them stand. Dips in their original plastic containers. Somehow, the food still got consumed. Surprisingly, almost all. The mother in me was pleased. We did some significant damage on the alcohol too . . . thanks to Joshua for the wine and Zeem for the Belgian beer, both of which disappeared way too early in the night.

FUN

The poker was casual but lots of fun. We played a practice round so that Betty (not that Betty) and Laura could get comfortable with the game. I don't know what was better - watching Betty try to learn, or listening to Cayne's random poker advice, none of which actually had to do with card, probability, or anything else related to the actual rules of the game. At least we know Betty will know how to give the stink-eye to the raiser, how to appropriately hem and haw for a few extra seconds when you're actually going to fold, and how to give the evil eye to the dealer when your cards suck rocks. I'm surprised Cayne was so free with the advice, given that Betty's basically stolen his boy-toy. But that's the kind of group we are. Friendly.

We played two low-money tourneys, top two places paid. We had your typical distribution of good play (Laura playing her aces), loose play (anything DrChako or Cayne played, except that set of 3's Cayne flopped), tight play (me, every play), donkey play, and technical play (Zeem). I moneyed in both (2nd place) by being the biggest tightwad conservative player I could be. I laid down a pocket pair on the first game when Joshua decided to take on Betty in an all-in fest - I was hoping it would result in elimination, which it did, guaranteeing me money. I was horrendously behind in chips, but money is money. Congrats to Joshua on the win.

In the second game, I managed to chip up off Laura on one big hand that took her out, giving me a healthy stack, and then just limped in with K-10 when Shawni and Cayne were in the blinds. The flop came down K-10-10. I almost wet my pants. Shawni was the small blind and bet out, and Cayne called. I am trying to control my excitement, which the rest of the table didn't seem to catch as much, so I just called. I looked up at DrChako who had to hide his face. To be honest, I don't even think you need physical tells with me. Hell, if someone is betting, and the chip leader is calling, and I'm calling behind them????? . . . Folks, I have a hand. Shawni went all in on the turn, and Cayne called. Again, I'm thinking of raising, but there is a flush draw and I don't want to scare him yet. So I call. The river is a nothing, and he just checks. I bet a healthy bet (not all my chips), but it was enough to get him to call. To his credit, he did have the other 10 - I probably could have got him to go for a few more chips. We took Shawni out, and then it was Cayne and I heads up. DrChako was dealing SHIT cards . . . nothing higher than 9-4 for me. Finally, I got an AQ and went heads up with Cayne . . . who was dealt AK. And it held. Nice win. But money for me - all my buy-ins (and DrChako's) paid for. What more can I ask?

Other things that start with the "F" sound . . .

Foreign phallic symbols. Somewhere in the middle of the night, we brought out the Polish Pottery phalluses I purchased on a road trip to Poland. They are lovely ceramic replicas (much larger than real life) with pretty blue and green flowers painted on them. Very realistic in detail, complete with a little hole at one end. Cayne got nervous when I was talking with my hands while holding one. Then DrChako brought the Peruvian fertility statue I brought back from Lima. It's a little intimidating . . . Does it surprise anyone that Cayne immediately noticed it could be used as a pipe? I think I'd pay to see him smoking this thing. Anyone else?

I'm thinking of using it as a card marker in Vegas.

Photo-free. Other than this picture of the Peruvian fertility statue, I didn't take a lot of pictures. Maybe I was just too caught up in the action.

Friends. Like we say all the time, it's funny how the internet brings such a motley crew of folks (yes, that makes us motley too) together, and yet we all have a great time. I can't wait to do it again. Hope we can get the rest of you out, too.

Fiscally-responsible. Hey, where else can you come, eat and drink like we did last night, make fun of your friends, laugh all night, and go home no more than $10 short plus the cost of gas in your tank to make the drive?

Maybe well have to do a practice round before Vegas . . .

Respectfully submitted,

The Wife