Pay to Play

So, what happens when a friendly afternoon card game decides to kick it up a notch and put money in the pot?

A bunch of stuff happens.

We’ve always agreed to shuffle the cards seven times before we deal them but no one has ever counted. ‘Til now. Eagle eyes now imagine sleight of hand and the slipping of an ace to the bottom of the deck. Only the opening of a bottle of wine gets in the way of scrutiny.

The scorekeeper was, once upon a time, thanked for her duties. Now she’s the center of controversy. Calculators appear. iPhones tick. Her honesty and mathematical abilities are challenged. More wine is needed to keep tears at bay.

We play for a nickel a point. (My mother played for a dime a point but that was before the recession.) Ever seen a group of women divvying up a lunch bill? That pales in comparison to this. We struggle with percentages, multiplication, division. Is that three pennies or four? More wine, please.

A caring and thoughtful bit of instruction is often viewed as a means to a better score. That’s not new. It’s just that now there’s money at stake. The offender can atone for her transgression by… what else?… pouring a little more wine.

So, have we destroyed the friendly, chitty-chatty card game we once had? Tossed in a stressful element? Changed the tenor of the game? Perhaps.

Is it worth all that?

You bet your bippy it is. I have 64 cents in my pocket to prove it.

And a nice afternoon buzz to boot………….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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