Bad  Beat  

Time quivers as the moon boldly stands before the sun…

Fate pauses to watch this game of Texas Hold‘em.

The five players are each dealt two cards…

and they bet…

Three community cards are dealt…

The queen of spades, ace of diamonds, and five of clubs…

and they bet…

The king and jack of diamonds is nearly out of chips, and this looks like his last hand, he goes for broke 

and bets…

The next card is turned…

The queen of diamonds…

The ace and queen of clubs is now certain of his win with a full house…

And they bet…

The pile of chips in the center of the table grows…

Fate hesitates… distracted by the moon’s sudden challenge upon sun…

The last card is turned…

The ten of diamonds…

And they bet…

As his jaw drops, the full house feels the tragic effect of a “bad beat” …

And from across the table…

A comical grin spreads across the face of the straight flush…

As he wins the pot…

Sharon Talley

© 2001