Empty Nester

I'm now officially an Empty Nester. I've kicked my little ones out of the nest, and they are on their own. I wish them the best of luck.

No, I'm not talking about kids, I'm talking about my Poker Ladies!

Last fall, I took a Poker class. Texas Hold 'Em to be specifc. Loving Husband and I had gotten the bug like most people, from watching Celebrity Poker Showdown, where washed-up actors and actresses played Poker to (hopefully) get 10 more minutes of fame. We started up a home game with some folks and thought we were plenty good. I saw the class and thought, "Hmmm....a way to get an edge up on everyone. I'm in!" I'm sneaky that way...

The class was awesome. After the three weeks were over, some of the other ladies in the class and I exchanged phone numbers. I thought I would never hear from them again. I thought wrong. Now granted, I like to play Poker. I need practice. But these ladies were Bad (notice the capital "B"). But, being the closet teacher that I am, I took it as a challenge to myself to teach them well and make them bar-worthy*.

Let's just say it was an uphill battle. These ladies were Aggressive-Passive players. They would hold a Queen-seven down to the river, then wonder why they didn't win. Or they would hold pocket Jacks down to the river without betting. I began wondering if playing with these ladies would ruin my game. But, they got better! They actually started betting. They quit asking "who's first?". And tonight was my last night with them. I very politically-correctly weaseled out on them (I used the "quality time with my son" excuse).

And they are okay with it. They know I want to venture off and play in bar tournaments and beat the pants off macho assholes that think they know how to bluff. They even volunteered to come cheer me on (I quickly squelched this idea...I don't need that kind of pressure!).

So my little birdies have flown from the nest. They plan on getting together without me later this month. Someone will have to buy poker chips...and cards for that matter. It's a bittersweet moment, but I think we have just outgrown each other.

Fly, fly away...


*bar-worthy = able to play Texas Hold 'Em in a free bar tournament without looking foolish. Oh and did I mention that I was the youngest in this group by about 20 years (I'm 40)?. They are all single and really want an excuse to go to the bars and meet single men. Gotta love that!