In the lively atmosphere of exciting yet anticipating music—tight-knit groups gathered around the bar and the poker area as they watched from afar. People huddled around on a specific table in the middle of the room as one of the players gathered his chips towards him. The final round of the Annual Lonestar Poker Texas Hold ‘em was at its midst. The tournament consisted of two finalists, longtime running champion, Mr. Willis, versus rookie player, Ruby Jenkins. The dealer with slicked back hair shuffled the deck and handed them two cards each as the opponents intensely locked eyes with one another. 

 

The finalists lifted their cards by the corner and laid them back down. Mr. Willis raised his eyebrows as the tips of his fingers touched the cards and said, "Twenty-five hundred."

 

Ruby replied, "Call."

The dealer disposed of one card and flipped over three of them across the table. Ten of Hearts, Nine of Clubs, and Eight of Spades. Thinking carefully about their next move, Mr. Willis immediately chortled as he picked up a few red chips from a stack and set them in front of him. He grinned and said, "Raise five hundred."

 

Ruby quirked her lips as she peered at the pile of her chips and looked back at Mr. Willis' stack. She huffed a sigh and picked the same amount and set it across from her, "Call."

 

The dealer nodded and disposed of one card and presented another card. The Ten of Diamonds. 

 

Mr. Willis arched his eyebrow as he leaned against his chair. He amusingly glanced at Ruby while she organized her chips. He complimented, "You know, for someone who hates poker, you seemed to be pretty good at the game."

 

Ruby discreetly rolled her eyes as she nonchalantly took another peak at her cards and tapped her finger on the leather edge of the poker table. She sharply retorted, "Can you blame me? I've seen what it does to people. Watching loved ones losing everything just because they wanted to keep playing. I'm only here to get my dad out of this mess."

 

"So you say," he put his right arm in the air and arched his back as he exhaled with a sly smirk. He placed his hand vertically on the felt green table and slid two black stacks of poker chips in front of him. "Three Hundred Thousand."

 

Mr. Willis' move made the crowd murmur in suspense as the eyes of spectators wondered what Ms. Jenkins' move would be. Ruby discreetly bit the inside of her lip as she tucked some strands of her brown hair behind her ear. She grabbed the two black stacks and pushed them away from her. "Call."

 

Mr. Willis smugly hummed, "Wow."

 

The last and final card was displayed between them. The Five of Clubs. Before Ruby could count how much she had left on the pile, Mr. Willis shamelessly pushed all his remaining chips into the pile. Ruby baffled at his sudden action and asked, "What are you doing?"

 

"Hm? Oh, right. I forgot to say that I'm all in." He leaned back against the chair, only this time, he intertwined his fingers together and propped his left leg on top of his knee. His piercing green eyes felt a slight glow from the light as Ruby held her head down. Mr. Willis called out, "Is everything alright?"

 

Taking a good look at Ruby, on the outside she appeared to be calm and stoic, but on the inside, her thoughts were spiraling out of control. ‘This isn't good... I've already lost a lot from a few rounds. Think! What should I do? Should I fold? But if I do that, then I would barely survive the next round! He must have a good—Wait a minute, does he have a good hand or is he bluffing? I have to make sure I don't make the same mistake as I did in the last round.

 

‘He either could have a Four of a Kind or a Straight. Chances of there being a flush is out the window, so... My only way out is to—But should I?' She slowly lifted her head as she looked over to the left amongst the crowd, she instantly spotted her father in day old clothes with a disheveled beard. He held a tight grip on his green dress shirt as his teeth jittered at the stakes. 

 

Her father's appearance brought up a memory of when she was a kid as her parents were playing poker with their other family members. In a rundown house, the blasting summer heat with a rackety fan moving left and right—there was trash all over the place that cluttered her once precious home into a den of hungry, thrill-seeking wolves. She had her knees pressed against her chest as she glared at her family playing the game in the living room. Hearing them laugh, clanking their glasses of beer together made her irritated as they spent their days endlessly away at the game. 

 

"Ms. Jenkins. What will you do?" The dealer inquired.

 

Back to the present, her heart hammered around inside as she scooted her chair forward and presented the remaining chips she had into the middle. She affirmatively exclaimed, "Call!"

 

The dealer pursed his lips at the two competitors as he gestured his hand to Mr. Willis. "Show your cards, Mr. Willis."

 

Moving his leg off his knee, he never left her gaze as he confidently flipped his cards over to reveal a Six of Hearts and a Seven of Diamonds, revealing a Straight. He hummed and sarcastically said, "It's such a shame, but I hope you don't take this to heart."

 

He shuffled his hands together excitedly as he was about to take his winnings, but the dealer spoke, "Refrain yourself, Mr. Willis—Ms. Jenkins still needs to show her cards."

 

He rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair, "Oh, puh-lease. How can she beat a Straight? She should've folded when she could. I mean, look at her!" He pointed over at Ruby, holding a wide-eyed expression as her mouth was slightly agape. 

 

The dealer leniently asked, "Ms. Jenkins, will you kindly show us your cards?"

 

She blinked back and nodded as she glanced at the dealer. Tucking her lips inside her mouth, she took a deep breath and hesitated to pick up her cards. As the crowd's silence grew more anxiously, her hand quickly flipped them over as she revealed to have the Ten of Clubs and the Nine of Spades. Mr. Willis and Ruby exchanged a glimpse at one another as her mouth shifted into a smile.

 

One of the people in the crowd shouted, "That's a Full House!" Causing an erupted cheer to break out the silence.

 

"It appears that the rookie player has dethroned the champion and won the grand prize! Congratulations to Ruby Jenkins!!" The host commented excitedly. Confetti and streamers sprung out of canons as Mr. Willis was left confused and stared down at her cards.

 

He muttered, "How–How did she...?"

 

Ruby was escorted out of the table and was greeted by her dad, she slouched as she wrapped her arms around him. He patted the back of her head and told her, "I am so proud of you, Ruby."

 

She contently sighed, "Well, I learned from the best. But, Dad, please promise me you won't gamble anymore, okay?"

 

"I promise. Now, let's get back home after we cash in those winnings." Ruby shook her head and playfully sighed as the two walked out of the tournament and took their winnings.