"Hello?"
"Hey."
"You ok, Soph?"
"Uh, yeah. So, I have a question for you."
"Ok."
"You play poker, don't you?"
"Yeah?"
"Great. I need your help."
"Shoot."
"Well, I'm playing Anaconda and I have no idea what I'm doing."
"Ok, first of all. Who, what , why, when, where?"
"It's me, Jasmine, Brogan, a team-mate of Brogan's, Emma and Adam. It's Anaconda. God knows why I agreed because I have no idea what I am doing. It's happening now, and we're at Brogan's place in Midtown, although I'm currently hiding in the bathroom."
"Ok, so it's roughly like standard poker. So, you receive six cards, to begin with. You take a look at your hand, wager a bet and then pass three cards you don't want to the player usually on the left."
"Right."
"When you get your new cards, you place another bet. This time, you pass two cards you don't want to the player on the left. You place another bet, then finally, you pass a single unwanted card to the person on your left. Now, you should have six cards in your hand. You choose the five most likely to win you the hand, place a bet and wait to see if you've won."
"Ok, sounds straight forward enough. Except when the guys all start yapping on and on about two pairs, three of a kind, straight, flush, full house and royal flushes."
"Here it gets a little more complicated. A High Card is when you don't have a good hand so they take the highest card in your hand. One Pair, Two Pairs, Three of a Kind, Four of a Kind are pretty self-explanatory. A Straight is a set of five cards that has a running sequence, regardless of suits."
"Like, Eight, Nine, Ten, Jack, Queen?"
"Exactly. A Flush is five cards all of the same suit, regardless of sequence. A Full House is made up of a Three of a Kind and a Pair. A Straight Flush would be five cards, in sequence, of the same suit."
"And the Royal Flush?"
"Rare. It's the top five cards, Ten through to the Ace, of the same suit."
"And in what order are the better hands?"
"High Card. One Pair. Two Pairs. Three of a Kind. Straight. Flush. Full House. Four of a Kind. Straight Flush. Royal Flush."
"As for the bets... go big or go home?"
"If you don't have anything better than a Three of a Kind, Fold."
"God, you lose me at Fold."
"Fold means that you're throwing out your cards. You'll lose the chips in the pot, but no more than that. Raise means that your cards are good and you want to raise the bet. Call is when you equal the amount wagered by the person who Raised. Finally, Check. Check is when no one has increased the wager required to continue. A player stands pat by checking or passing on their option to bet."
"I should never have agreed to this shit."
"All you really need to know is Fold, Raise, and Call."
"Right. And the better my hand, the higher I should wager?"
"Yep. Are you playing for real money here?"
"No. We're playing with M&M candy."
"Seriously?"
"Deathly serious."
"Well, good luck with that."
"Mhm."
<<Sophie, come on. We're about to start.>>
"Is that Brogan?"
"Yeah. Sounds like I'm about to lose a load of M&Ms."
"At least it's not real cash."
"There's that, I guess."
"Well, good luck. Kick arse, Soph."
"Thanks."
"And remember, no matter what, even if you totally suck at Poker, I will still love you."
"Gee, thanks."
"Hey, I said that I would still love you."
"Yeah, yeah. Love you too, Daniel. And thanks for the tutorial."
"You're welcome. Now, off you go and show those losers how it's done!"
"Haha, I will. Love you, bye."
"Love you, bye."