Know When to Fold 'Em

My husband Mark and I took a little trip over the holiday weekend that involved a variety of activities. We did a little shopping at First Monday in Canton, ate some award winning ribs at the Country Tavern in Kilgore, got chased by some crazy people in Tyler, and made a little excursion to Shreveport to round things out.

Mark loves to play poker, but I've never been much of a gambler. However, our last trip to Shreveport almost changed my mind. We had decided to drive out to celebrate our anniversary back in July. We were already in Tyler at a reunion and got the idea that a spur of the moment Shreveport trip would be fun. We drove in that evening, had a great dinner out, and then headed to the hotel. I was ready to crash, but Mark headed to the poker table, where over the course of a few hours he won big. We're talking several hundred dollars, which in my world is a lot of money. And then, as poker would have it, he got a bad hand and lost it ALL. We were a little bummed the next morning, and though I had planned to hit the slots, I was in conservation mode at that point. At the last minute I thought hey, I should have a little gambling fun on this trip too. I'll just take this $10 bill to the slots, play for a few minutes, and then we'll head home. In less than 5 minutes I won $230.00, which covered almost exactly what we had lost the night before. (Not the winnings he had - but the amount he walked in the door with.) I immediately said "Thank you God!", cashed out, and walked out the front door. (A little wrong to give God credit at the casino? I don't know, but I certainly was thankful.)

So when Mark wanted to include Shreveport in this past weekend's trip, I was game. I knew it wouldn't entertain me for long, so I dropped him off, did a little outlet shopping at the Louisiana Boardwalk - which is awesome by the way - and then I was off to the casino. I had budgeted $80 to play with, naively thinking that I'd at least walk out with one or two hundred. I mean, I won last time, right? And that is how gamblers are made, my friends. A few minutes in, I won $60. I thought to myself, I should cash that out now, and just play with the other money I have left, and then at least I walk out with $60. But the budding gambling addict in me just kept punching the spin button. Within 30 minutes, I lost every penny. My spirits crushed, I sent Mark a text that said something to the effect of, "I'm broke, we're leaving". And just like that, my love for gambling left the building.

In the words of the ever-wise Kenny Rogers, "You've got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away, and know when to run." Notice that they never play that song in the casino?