Who took the brass cup on Friday night
Last Friday's ladder ran longer than anyone expected, and the final hand drew the whole room to the rail. Here's what happened, as best Megan remembers it.
A Friday that ran late
Twenty-two players sat down at the start, which is the biggest field we've had in a long while. Megan spent the first level moving people between tables and explaining the blinds to three newcomers. By the first break, a retired shearer, a nurse from the hospital and a young couple from out of town had all discovered they were good at poker.
The final table formed under the brightest lamp, as always, with six players and a crowd two deep. Todd closed the verandah door so the draught wouldn't bother the cards, and Olivia carried out extra tea. Trevor, who was meant to be cleaning the kitchen, was seen leaning on the banister instead.
Not every table had a poker face. A man in the corner narrated his own hands in a running whisper, a woman hummed whenever she was holding something good, and the shearer could not stop tapping his chips. Megan enjoyed all of it, and treated every tell as part of the entertainment.
The last hour
Heads up
The last two were the nurse and the shearer, who had been circling each other for an hour. Hands were dealt slowly, and the room went silent each time a card turned. The nurse held a pair of sevens, the shearer had ace and king, and the board brought three low cards before the final one made all the difference.
The name on the board
The nurse took the title. Megan announced her as Champion of the night, Todd chalked the name up and the brass cup was set by her elbow for a photograph. The cup went back on the mantel before closing, as it always does. There was no prize, just applause and a second pot of tea for the room.
What we noticed
A lot of the best moments weren't at the final table. A beginner hit a straight for the first time and let out a cheer that startled the roulette table. Two regulars who hadn't spoken all night found themselves arguing cheerfully about the order of the hands. That's what the ladder is for.