The Perils of Winning At Poker

The last time I played poker with the guys in Chicago, I ended up doing quite well. It was by our standards a big tournament. By big I mean 11 people, which is probably about twice the average we get at our office games. So anyway, I ended up winning the first tournament, and coming in second for the second one. I would have played in a third, but my ride, and the other guy that rode with us, hadn't done so well, and they weren't interested in trying again. Oh well, next time I'll drive myself I guess. All in all, I was up about $200.

So what's the problem? Well the problem is the next weekend my wife was going to some all night antique festival flea-markety type thing with one of her friends. She needed some cash in case she found something she wanted to buy and they wouldn't take a check or credit card. Apparently when I had told her about my winnings previously, she wasn't really paying attention, because she was quite pleasantly surprised when I pulled out the left over winnings. In her defense I got home pretty late, and she was probably half sleeping when I told her, but you'd think she would remember $200.

Now when I gave her the money, I distinctly remember telling her that she was to be careful with spending it because it was my poker winnings, and not for her girly adventures. Somehow she has taken that to mean "When I win at poker, she gets free money for shopping sprees" because I think she pretty much spent all of my winnings at the flea market, and this morning she asked me if I had any more poker nights soon because she was going antiquing again next weekend and needed some more cash.

Now on the plus side, I think most men would love to have a wife who actually encouraged them to play cards, and she's only spending money that we wouldn't have if I didn't play. I just hope she doesn't expect me to win every time, and that she doesn't plan on spending my winnings before I get them.

Oh, and as luck would have it, I heard about a game right near where I work tomorrow night. At $50 a person, it is a bit steeper than I am comfortable with, but maybe I'll play. There's supposed to be two or three tables, so while that makes my chances of winning that much less, but it would be a sweet payday. My boss played with these guys this summer, and said that doesn't think they are very good so maybe I'll play. I need some practice for the tourny in Chicago next weekend.