Written for MLMM Monday Wordle;
Di’s prompt words are shown below.
tome, words, come, think, read, change,
because, tired, process, original, safe, gamble
Noreen had spent six months studying the tome …. two hundred pages on poker odds, betting, and bluffing, the margins crowded with her notes. She could recite whole chapters, and tonight, at the final round of the championship games, she had followed its process to the letter.
Now it was down to her and Stanley, a silver-haired regular who hadn’t said ten words all night.
The pot was enormous. Stanley pushed his chips forward.
“All in,” he said.
Noreen looked at her cards: a pair of nines. The book was clear about situations like this: the safe play was to fold.
She was tired. Her eyes burned, and her back ached from five hours in the same chair. Her mind wanted to shut off and let the rules decide.
But something made her stop and think. She had read the book but tonight she’d also read Stanley. Every time he straightened his glasses, he was bluffing. And every time he held a strong hand, he leaned back in his chair and sat perfectly still.
He had just touched his glasses.
Noreen felt something change inside her. The book taught her how to play the cards; it couldn’t teach her how to play the person across the table. She’d come prepared and decided to follow her gut.
“Call,” she said.
It was a gamble, maybe the biggest of her life, and she made it because she trusted what she saw.
Stanley turned over a pair of sevens.
As the dealer slid the chips toward Noreen, he gave a small nod.
“That was original,” he said. “Bold move.”
NAR©2026
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This is “Poker” by Electric Light Orchestra
Everything on The Elephant’s Trunk was created by me, unless otherwise indicated, and may not be used without permission. Thanks for your consideration. NAR©2017-present.
Well played, Noreen!
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