Little Myth Marker By Robert Asprin

“You mean you don’t know anything at all about dragon poker?”

“Well, from listening to you talk, I know about how many cards are dealt out and stuff like that. I still haven’t figured out what the various hands are, much less their order … you know, what beats what.”

“I know,” my partner said pointedly. “What I don’t know is why you decided to sit in on a game you don’t know the first thing about.”

“The Geek sent me an invitation, and I thought it would be sociable to …”

“The Geek? You sat in at one of the Geek’s games at the Even-Odds to be sociable?” He was off again.

“Don’t you know that those are some of the most cutthroat games at the Bazaar? They eat amateurs alive at those tables. And you went there to be sociable?”

“Sure. I figured the worse that could happen would be that I lost a little money. The way things have been going, we can afford it. Besides, who knows, I might get lucky.”

“Lucky? Now I know you don’t know anything about dragon poker. It’s a game of skill, not luck. All you could do was throw your money away . . . money we’ve both risked our lives for, I might add.”

“Yes, Aahz.”

“And besides, one of the first things you learn playing any kind of poker is that the surest way to lose is to go in expecting to lose.”

“Yes, Aahz.”

Out of desperation, I was retreating behind my strongest defense. I was agreeing with everything he said. Even Aahz has trouble staying mad at someone who’s agreeing with him.

“Well, what’s done is done and all the shouting in the world won’t change it. I just hope you’ve learned your lesson. How much did it cost you, anyway?”