Playing Solo Poem by Gert Strydom

Every time that I visit
a casino
the sign admission restricted
catches my eye.

It’s better to play blackjack alone
against the table and the house,
to avoid other players
that can be seen
as a team of card counters.

Still better sometimes
not to press your luck
when you start winning,
even if it’s the only game
where you can beat the odds
by using your own intelligence.

I watch the unseen eye
of the camera
that like big brother
gazes at me
and make as if
it isn’t there

and play the game
in a way
that the casino
does not consider fair.

Although there is nothing
wrong in being bright
and sometimes
just for the hell of it

I will stare up
into the camera
and wonder what
they think
on the other side?