Let's just say I know when to hold 'em and I know when to fold 'em.

About a month ago, I started going to a regular poker game (Texas Hold'em) on Sunday nights. The first time I was pretty much crap, but had a good time. The second week, I came in third (out of eight), and had an even better time. I also smoked my first cigar. It was over halfway gone before I tasted anything but smoke, but then it was pretty good. It also provided a good cover once when my hand was better than my poker face. I just took a little too big of a draw, let out a big cough, and distracted everyone from the silly grin that was developing on my face. Pretty smooth, huh? Maybe not, but it worked. It was also that night that I got a nickname -- kind of a rite of passage. At first it was "OJ" meaning "Other John" but it quickly became "The Juice." Not too crazy about it, but maybe I'm just not used to having a nickname at all. Either that, or I know that someone already took one of the best nicknames ever.

Well, this Sunday night, The Juice was loose (the puns were flying all night), and I won the game. I'd like to take all the credit, but I really had amazing luck with the cards. I had a blast, and as an added bonus, I got to bring home the $35 jackpot! Bailey's closet is a little fuller thanks to a great night of poker.