Evenings
Friday's tournament, table by table
Eleven players sat down to last Friday's tournament, and the final lasted longer than anyone expected. Here is the evening as the floor staff remember it.
The evening
Eleven names in a brass tin
Noel Novak drew the names at a quarter past seven, as he does every week, and the tin gave a good mixture: a walker back from the cliff paths, two regulars from the bookshop end of the street, a retired schoolteacher from Blackheath and a young couple who had never played poker in their lives.
The first level passed in the usual hush. Two players left before the break, both cheerfully, and went down to the dining room for steamed pudding. By the time the apple cake appeared on the landing there were seven left, and the rail was three deep.
How the final unfolded
The long middle
The tables combined at about a quarter past nine, and the room settled for the long middle of the evening. Cards were passed, hands were pondered, and the croupier explained a rare situation to the couple, who followed it with the solemnity of students at a lecture.
The window table
The last six moved under the best lamp at ten to ten. The schoolteacher, Judith, held a steady stack throughout, and nobody seemed able to shake her. The walker, who gave only his first name, Ross, pressed her hard for forty minutes with a series of patient raises.
The name on the board
The final hand was dealt a little after half past ten, and Judith was named Champion of the night to a warm round of applause. Her name went up on the honour board in chalk, and she was shown the brass cup, which she held briefly for a photograph and then returned to its shelf.
As always, nothing else changed hands. The chips were counted back into the rack, the lamps were turned down at half past eleven, and the walker was the last to leave, still discussing his final hand with the croupier on the stairs.
The next tournament is on Friday, and the list is open at the host's desk from the moment the doors open. Newcomers are especially welcome. If you have never played, tell Noel when you arrive and he will seat you beside someone patient, with a croupier close at hand and a clear explanation of every move.