Booze, blues and two for Texas

Against the odds:The annual card school always took place in November, a month associated with prayer, reflection and abstinence, writes Roddy L'estrange

Looking ahead to Saturday night, Vinny Fitzpatrick prayed the cards would fall his way and vowed not to spend time reflecting on what might have been if they didn't. As for abstinence, that had gone out the window soon after decimal currency came in.

Vinny was host this year, which meant giving his end-of-terrace house behind the bus garage in Clontarf a "quick lick".

Now, Vinny's idea of a "quick lick" was to clear the kitchenette of debris from the Capri chipper, remove the stacks of newspapers, and stick up a couple of car fresheners.

He also had to clear out the fridge to leave room for the gargle, never a pleasant task as Vinny invariably came across things that were not only past their sell-by date but also past their sell-by year.

The lads, Macker, Brennie, Fran and Kojak, brought their own drink. All Vinny had to do was provide the gaffe, chairs, nibbles and two decks of non-slippy cards.

He'd loaded up with Hula Hoops, peanuts, both salted and dry-roasted, and his own favourite, the cheese-flavoured nachos - the ones you could smell on your fingers the following morning.

At a quarter to nine the doorbell rang. The lads were early, thought Vinny. Only it wasn't the lads; it was Angie from Boru Betting, the secret love of Vinny's humdrum life.

"Hi, Vinny, I hope you don't mind me crashing in like this," said Angie.

"I met Macker earlier and he said you had room for a sixth. So, here I am. If it's a problem, please just say," she said standing in the doorway.

"No, yeah, no, not at all," mumbled Vinny.

"Eh, you'd better come in."

What followed was torture for Vinny. He was useless at small talk and so sat in the living room, which he hadn't tidied, watching Winning Streak while Angie curled up on the sofa.

After what seemed an age, Vinny could hear the lads outside, cans and bottles rattling. They funnelled in to the tiny kitchen, Macker giving him a sly wink on the way.

The rules were straightforward. No smoking inside, no mad raising, and everyone brought a €100 stash.

Play began with a round of pontoon followed by five-card draw poker and then dealer's choice, invariably Texas Hold 'Em, which Vinny disliked. Vinny took his customary place closest to the fridge. Macker sat to his left, with Brennie and Fran opposite. Kojak was next and Angie squeezed past Vinny to sit to his right. "There, nice and cosy," she said.

The pontoon was a swift introduction to the night. Stakes were doubled for pontoon, for three sevens, and five-card tricks. A seven-card trick was worth treble.

This was Vinny's stomping ground. Armed with a fistful of nachos and a deep swig of draught stout, he went into battle. The hands came thick and fast; good ones too, first a 20, then a 21, then a five-card 18.

On his deal, Vinny turned over 20 three times in a row, then stuck on 17 and found three others had gone bust. After an hour of pontoon, Vinny, who kept his winnings pile separate from his stake, was up a score.

His fingertips tingling with pins and needles, Vinny sensed the night was going to get better. His first poker hand was "Judge Duffy" - three tens (named after the judge who nearly always gave a 30-days sentence); his second was a blue of diamonds; his third an ace-high bluff that won.

A couple of ace pots went his way too and by the time of dealer's choice, Vinny was up a nifty-fifty.

"It's getting late," said Macker. "One for the road. Whose deal is it?" "Mine," said Angie firmly. "Texas Hold 'Em."

Angie dealt everyone two cards, face down. Vinny, sitting in the small blind position immediately to the dealer's left, had a peek. The queen and eight of hearts. Not great, but worth playing.

The small blind stake was one euro, the big blind was two euro. All six matched the stake. The game was afoot.

Next came the flop, three cards dealt face up which everyone could use to make their best poker hand. They were the ace of hearts, jack of clubs and nine of hearts.

Vinny had to bet first. He raised a fiver. Brennie, Fran and Kojak all folded.

Macker and Angie were in.

Next came the turn; a four of diamonds. Vinny assessed his hand. One card to come and he needed any heart for a blue, a ten for a run.

Macker bowed out. That only left Angie.

"And then there were two," she whispered.

Vinny flushed.

He couldn't think straight.

He fumbled for a tenner, which Angie saw.

The final card, the river, was the seven of hearts.

Vinny snapped back into reality. He had an ace-high blue of hearts, with a queen as back up. Surely, he had to win.

Vinny raised the stakes by a score.

Angie called and for a moment they held each other's gaze before Vinny turned over his two hearts.

"Ace-high blue," he said confidently.

"Good hand, Vinny, but not good enough. Ace-high blue with a king in the pocket," said Angie, coolly flicking over the king and five of hearts.

With that she scooped up the pot, planted a peck on Vinny's thinning pate, and made for the door.

"Great night Vinny, great night."

Bets of the week

- 2pts Ernie Els (right) to win Nedbank Challenge (7/2 Betfair)

- 2pts Celtic to beat Shakhtar Donetsk (10/11 Paddy Power)

Vinny's Bismark

- 1pt Lay Denman to win Hennessy Gold Cup (4/1 general, liability 3pts)