E-368-Lia: Zarg’s World Downport Concourse, Honest Brodie’s
OK…
For reference, the entry on the game of Chak is here.
Ipan hands his deck of cards to the dealer, who runs it through a card sifter to ensure it’s a legal deck, and hands the deck back. Ipan leafs through it, pulls four cards, shuffles it some more and takes four cards from the top. He places the deck face-down in front of him. He takes a card from his hand and puts it face-down to one side.
Ipan’s cards are shiny, with no wear that Lia can see.
Meanwhile, the other players are performing a similar dance.
The dealer looks around the table says, “Ante up.”
Each of the players tosses in a ʄ50 chip, one of which the dealer takes and drops into a slot in the table – the house’s cut.
The dealer says, “Setup begin.”
Everyone takes three cards from their hand and plays them face down.
When all players have done so, the dealer says, “Reveal.”
Everyone turns them over.
The dealer assesses the cards, points at each player in turn as he speaks, and places a numbered marker in front of each person..
“First, Player Five, Rock Run,” the distracted thin man, who’s torn himself away from Lia’s legs to win the setup.
“Second, Player One,” Ipan.
“Third, Player Four,” the confident man.
“Fourth, Player Three,” the spacer woman.
“Fifth, Dealer,” indicates himself.
“Sixth, Player Four,” the couple tag-along.
The dealer briefly surveys the table, “Raises?”
The thin man states flatly, “Pass.”
Ipan says, his voice failing him on the first attempt, “Rai- Raise 10.“
He tosses a chip into the middle.
The confident man says, “Match,” does likewise.
The remaining players also ‘match’, the dealer looks back to Ipan.
“Pass,” he says.
The dealer states, shifting his weight, “Opening begin.”
Ipan (and everyone else) puts one of the cards on the discard pile, returns one to his hand and leaves one face-up on the table. He draws two cards.
The dealer: “Opening, first round.”
In the order of the markers in front of them, the players quickly play their cards, adding to the face-up arrays in front of them.
“Second round!”
Whizzing around the table.
“Third round!”
Having watched the woman of the couple play her cards the dealer surveys the cards.
“Opening winner, Player One,” he gestures to Ipan, ” and Player Three,” points to the spacer woman, “Elephants regnant.”
He makes change out of the ante, tosses them each a ʄ10 chip.
“Raises?”
He looks to Ipan first.
Ipan swallows, tosses in a chip, “Raise 10.”
He looks to the spacer woman, “Raise 10,” she responds.
She also tosses in a chip, and an extra.
To the thin man, who says, “Match,” tosses in two.
“Dealer matches,” he also tosses in two.
“Player Five?”
“Match,” says the confident man.
The dealer looks to his partner, “Raise 10,” she says, tossing in a chip.
The confident man looks at her with a what-the-lizards expression on his face.
The dealer returns his gaze to Ipan, who responds with, “Pass.”
Dealer: “Mid-game begin.”
The mid-game begins, each player contributing a card to those in front of them in the betting order above.
At two different points in the mid-game, the spacer woman says, “Raise 10.”
Everyone behind her (all but Ipan) matches, tossing in extra chips.
Then Ipan too, sweat building on his lip, says, “Raise 20.”
Everyone matches again, though the dealer says, “Out,” and places his hand cards face down on the table in a neat pile.
The confident man looks somewhat less confident, but glances at his partner and remains in the game.
After several more rounds, the spacer woman plays a card, fully melding her table array.
“End mid-game, winner, Player Three.”
He tosses her a chip; she takes a sip of her beer.
Lia probably knows enough of the game to see that the woman from the couple is in a surprisingly good, though fragile, position.
Ipan’s array of cards is solid but not definitive.
The other two man are staring glumly at poor positions card-wise, but apparently consoling themselves with surreptitious glances at Lia.
The dealer says, “End-game begin.”
He swaps Ipan’s and the spacer woman’s order tokens.
“Raises?”
The woman from the couple raises and her partner drops out, costs the thin man an extra ten.
The round begins, this time, no-one refills their hand, their play options slowly dwindling.
Four rounds into the end-game, Ipan plays a lowly Metal Swan.
“Um… Chak,” he says.
The dealer nods, repeats, “Chak. Player One wins.”
He pushes the pile of chips in the table’s centre to Ipan; it looks to be an even ʄ500.
The look on Ipan’s face suggests he can’t quite believe it.
Lia is entertained by this people watching and when Ipan wins, she will lean down and give him a kiss on the cheek.