I'm a shark and I didn't even know it

There have been several evenings devoted to pool and poker since we've arrived.

I've already mentioned that Kate and I headed out to play pool at a pub one night in Bondi. By our place there are also several hotels with pool tables and we've taken advantage of those on a couple of occasions. Odd little side note, you'll find that a majority of the bars in Sydney are in "hotels." This is due to an old law that only allowed liquor licenses to establishments that also offered rooms to travelers. Therefore you see a lot of bars that look nothing like hotels -- maybe there are a few rooms hidden someplace -- but are labeled as such. By our place and walking down Anzac Parade towards UNSW there are several places that also have small casinos and billiards.

Once night, after we'd first moved in, all the roommates headed down to Churchill's (maybe the biggest and the cheesiest of these establishments) and had a few rounds of pool and beer. Day and I ended up on a team together and it proved to be a great partnership. He was a great coach -- perhaps a much better coach than a player that night. His game was a little off but gave excellent direction. I played a lot better than I had in ages. A few more lessons and maybe I'll finally become a halfway decent player.

We've also had several poker nights. This is a lot easier because it doesn't even require us to leave the house. I haven't had much experience playing at all, but I really like the game and since Day and Kate have both played for years I asked them to teach me a thing or two. I think I've made some considerable improvements -- pretty soon I was coming out ahead in our friendly home games.

Last Tuesday I got a chance to try out all my new learn'n. The AGSM crowd held a poker tournament up at the school. About 24 people competed and some of them are really very good. We split up into small tables (for the record, G and I were not at the same table) and while I floundered on my etiquette a bit every now and again, I held my own. I had a lot of ups and downs, but I got lucky breaks whenever I was in real trouble. (Try two sets each of pocket J's and A's. The last set of pocket Aces edged out another player's set of pocket Kings, earning me a decent pot.) Eventually, I found myself at the final table. Also at the final table were Day, Kate, G, and two other international students -- I think the players from the regular program were regretting inviting the international crowd. I started out short stacked at the table, and figured I'd be out soon, but instead I caught a few Hail Mary passes and made a come back.

Ultimately, the only two left standing were G and I. It seemed silly to keep going, so we split the pot. Not too shabby!

However, I don't think Kate and Day are going to want to give me lessons anymore . . .They don't realize that it will be a while before I get that lucky again.