Them Poker Blues Poem by Alan W. Jankowski

Went to a casino the other day,
A game of hold 'em I was hopin' to play,
Entered the poker room and looked around,
Found me a seat and sat right down.

As I laid down my chips and started to play,
I hoped that luck would come my way,
For a while the cards were running cold,
Most of my moves were check and fold.

As the game continued on,
I realized half my chips were gone,
But before it could go from bad to worse,
I saw my luck was about to reverse.

For as I sat among those expressionless faces,
I was suddenly holding a pair of aces,
I knew the bank I soon would crack,
With this chance to win my money back.

As the dealer took three off the top,
And laid on down that three card flop,
My heart had suddenly started to sing,
As I saw on the table an ace and a king.

Now with aces three of a kind,
Thoughts of riches went through my mind,
With my luck now running hot,
I tossed a pile of chips in the pot.

As the dealer laid down another card,
Everybody stared real hard,
It was just me and another who called my bet,
And I didn't see him as a threat.

The final card thrown in the ring,
Happened to be another king,
Suddenly I couldn't help but gloat,
As I was holding a full boat.

With the full house I was holding,
There was no way I was folding,
With aces over I had to win,
So I decided I should go all-in.

For a moment I was in a daze,
As the other player called my raise,
But with confidence I began to stand,
And showed the full house in my hand.

The other player didn't say a word,
Sounds of silence was all that was heard,
As he exposed two kings, it really blew my mind,
My full house was beat by four of a kind.

I sat back down with a look of defeat,
After suffering such a bad beat,
And all my money having been spent,
I wondered how I'd pay the rent.

I thought of how I'd tell my wife,
And if she'd come after me with a knife,
I thought of ways to recoup my loss,
Like asking for an advance from my boss.

Lady Luck had done me wrong,
Left me singing this sad, sad song,
Some days you win, some days you lose,
Some days you sing them poker blues.

10-30-10a.