Monday

The rules of Saigon Stud Poker* are simple: Mr. Cavin plays the house, who deals. Cards are officially received when I see them laying on the sidewalk. The first five cards are my hand, the next five are the hand of Ho Chi Minh City. The pot is filled with whatever lucky prayer money or cash-like lottery tickets I see on the street, which I then leave as my bet. Winner takes the pot. I reserve the right to fold at any time; the house cannot fold. To simplify the rules of stud, there will be no replacement cards per hand. This keeps the record spinning. An example of play: the first official Saigon Stud hand was won today after a two-week hiatus during which the City went to the bathroom and bought another round of drinks. The cliffhanger was after I received this hand: Two hearts, King clubs, Joker (wild), Queen spades, and Nine spades--resulting in a pair of Kings. Today, Lê Quý Đôn Street dealt the house its full five-card hand in the following rapid order: Jack spades, Queen hearts, Six hearts, Five diamonds, and Five hearts--a very red hand merely resulting in a pair of Fives. Ho Chi Minh City took it with sportsmanship, an early setback in a two-year poker night; I, a lousy winner, danced around and high-fived, assuming this to be the beginning of a long winning streak. I feel hot this year. Whatever fake cash is to be found littering the streets tomorrow will be mine for the taking. Of course, I'll probably just throw all that back into the next pot. The street already dealt me the first of my next hand tonight, the sixth card I found in a row: the Ace of clubs. Shoe money to-night! [Cavin]