Texas Hold 'em. It's been 8 months since I've heard the sounds of poker chips clanging together just over my shoulder. I didn't think I'd missed the sound because it used to drive me absolutely bat shit crazy every night. I did something crazy whack tonight...I played online poker, I heard the chips clanging in my face and only once did it make me feel sick to my stomach. I know I could have turned the sound off, but I couldn't make myself do it. The sound was, weird as it may sound, comforting.
I don't know if you know this but, JY was ALL ABOUT poker, the Texas Hold 'em variety. He played online, he played live, he hosted tournaments, I was a dealer for him, I beat him at his own game sometimes and he taught his girls how to play. He thought every 5 year old should know the fundamentals of playing poker, reading your opponent, playing like you have a REAL hand, bluffing, mastering your poker face and knowing how to bet. I mean, who doesn't think a 5 year old should know these things?? LOL.
Back before he played online, he played a lot of live games. He was soooooo excited when the casino started having games...he only went to a couple, but he always came home a winner and LOVED talking trash about it :) We had a homemade poker table (thanks Travis for contributing to his obsession) that sat in my garage for a whole winter, spring and summer taking up the space where my car should have been. One year he asked mom and dad to get him poker chips for Christmas and it was on like donkey kong after that.
When he could talk me into playing, we had small games at the Richardson's house. And we ALWAYS had to play for money, it didn't matter if it was $1 or $50, we had to play for money. Man, did he like to trash talk you out of playing a hand. And if you sucked out on him, he wasn't afraid to get up from his chair and storm out of the house to cool off. He was serious about his poker. In early November, mom and I took the girls (Emily, Allyson, Sophia and Sabryn) to see the Gymnastics superstars with Shana and Slye....when we got back to Shana's house (at 11pm) we walked into a pretty big poker game going on. JY was in his element and almost all of his buds were there. That was the last live game JY played, I hope those who sat around the table with him cherish that more today than they did then. JY was ornery, obnoxious, mean and full of shit when he was sitting at the poker table. Funny thing, no one cared that he was being a jack ass....JY used to say, there is no love in poker...something I would remind him of frequently when I would kick his ass at his own game, the game he taught me how to play by listening to him play every night.
In January, I packed all 4 cases of poker chips up because I couldn't stand to look at them sitting on his desk in front of his computer where he practiced his poker chip tricks for hours and hours and drove me nuts....I look at the cases every day and think, those are just collecting dust, JY wouldn't want that...I'd like to give them to someone to use, but I'm not sure I can part with something that was such a huge part of JY's life....maybe someday when I'm tired of tripping over them I'll do something about it, maybe.
I haven't picked up a deck of cards for any reason for 8 long months....
Not sure where this post was going, I was playing and trash talking the computer like JY used to do every night and I was laughing at myself because I was using the same phrases that he used to use, the same phrases that used to piss me off and I just wanted to share...
Memories, they are a double edged sword....but I cherish every one that I have.
Thanks for checking in....
L
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