The blurb for this event had me salivating at the thought of delicious Pancake Parlour fare. When the tutelage of Chris Wood, poker professional and competitive eating enthusiast, was added to that already delicious temptation, how could I resist?
To begin the event, Chris ran through some basics of playing poker, showed a video of some professional eating contests, and explained how he planned to mix the two together.
Cramming six adults around the booth-style seating made for a cozy game of poker, but participants didn’t seem to mind. With a fistful of chips for each player, both of the games began.
While no money changed hands, there was plenty to keep the players busy. Furrowed brows, serious eyes, mathematics and statistics were scattered across the tables as people weighed up the odds, counted cards and searched for their opponent’s weaknesses. The rustle of plastic-coated card against plastic-coated card being shuffled filled the room to occasionally be overshadowed by cries of joy from the rampant children elsewhere in the bowels of the Pancake Parlour. Still, the games continued unabated.
As the piles of chips grew larger and larger, the games became more intense and focused. When that ‘all in’ bet was shouted, we all crowded around – a possible full house hand versus a straight: which would win? The poker gods were being wily, and despite the higher odds of the full house winning, as the six of hearts was turned over the opponent’s straight was crowned victorious.
For those who aren’t poker buffs, it might have been like slipping through a portal to another world, or listening to people speak in a different language. There was no need to worry; Chris was there to act as a guide with tips and tricks and to help bridge the language gap.
Unfortunately for me, I didn’t get to sample the elusive pancake short stack. I had to leave while the tournaments were still underway, but it was clear from pictorial proof received via the You Are Here twitter feed after the event, that there were indeed pancakes to be had once the poker matches had been completed and a winner crowned.
By Cas Le Nevez
Cas Le Nevez blogs frequently and is working on her first novel.
Check out YouAreHere.
Cas Le Nevez is submitting work to us as a part of the fantastic Papercuts program put together by the beautiful people at Scissors Paper Pen. The work and opinions belong to them, we are simply giving them a space to show their talents.
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