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Zane also used the ti a fake tell It was a risk, but one that had paid off in the past, and it didn"t hurt anything to use it as long as he stayed consistent Being the slick, confident Corbin Porter, Zane was sure the o not to Zane chose so subtle: a brief caress for cards he was happy with Otherwise his hands stayed on the table in clear view
Then Zane got serious
Fold if you don’t have a pair or better by the third card in five-card stud In seven-card stud, le pair--than by straights, flushes, or bigger displays Five-card draw is all about percentages and aces Play to scoop the pot in Oaressively in Texas Hold ’eo ahead and fold ’em It’s all about the nu the his chip stacks dwindle and let his eet the better of hiht after a round of Texas Hold "e out more than he stayed in, content to drink his whiskey and play co the bulk of his chips to Numero Dos"s nines over sevens in a particularly brutal round of seven-card stud
Zane"s chip stacks grew Numero Dos held her own until Armen duped her out of a couple hundred thousand dollars in chips by--in Zane"s opinion--bluffing her into folding So that left Armen and Zane with the bulk of the chips between theaious chip stacksto play, if Zane"s profile of him was correct What Zane didn"t know about the hard-to-read Mr Aroaded into action
"Five-card draw For it all"
Armen raised one brow as Numero Dos let out a harsh breath and fanned herself while Bianchi started counting chip stacks "Do you kno much money is on the table, Mr Porter?" Bianchi asked, no s in his voice
"I am aware," Zane said easily, his eyes still locked on Armen"s
"What you propose takes no skill, Mr Porter, only duht, Mr Armen," Zane assured him, despite the spike of annoyance the i, and Zane could see the wrinkles for at the corners of theArmen an all-out dare
Armen sniffed "Very well"
They both pushed their chips into the center of the table, and then Zane sat back with his glass of Evian and nodded to the dealer
"Will a fold be a redeal, gentlemen?" the dealer asked
Zane looked to Armen with one of Corbin"s full-of-it smiles
"No redeal," Armen said shortly
"Just short of a 500,000 pot," the dealer announced without a blink, and he shuffled the deck expertly before beginning to deal It really wasn"t fair, Zane reflected as he picked up his cards Armen didn"t know that Zane had no stake in the h his mind as the action went down
Odds are one in two to receive one pair or higher
He watched Ar at his own
Zane didn"t bother to sort theher are one in five
There was no bidding to be done Arainsttwo cards to a pair and a kicker are twelve to one
Zane dropped three cards face down for the dealer to replace, picked up the new ones, gave them a look, then set the sht of his attention on Arainsta full house are ninety-seven to one
Over the chips, Arn, any hint that would help He broke eye contact to briefly glance at Zane"s cards, and his lips compressed hard in a subtle display of pique
Abruptly Arlare, dropped his cards face down on the table, straightened his tie, and walked away
Zane watched hio, inwardly amazed, and then he realized what Arhtly with his thumb
Numero Dos leaned to flip over Armen"s cards: three tens with an ace kicker Nice
Zane just smiled at her innocently and laid his pal several trays of chips in for credit on his account, Zane left the casino and gah It wasn"t every day a man won 500,000 on a sort-of-unintentional poker bluff
Bianchi had tried to entice hiratulatory round of that very fine whiskey, and though Zane had been supre an all-too-true desire to return to his lover for a not-so-small celebration of their own
Still, after Bianchi"s offer the cravings kicked in, and Zane decided to wander the promenade andshop a little on his way back to the stateroom
He passed by the kitschy yet pricey tourist shops and lingered at the leather store, not that he needed another jacket Zane wouldn"t part with his, rips and tears and all He"d kept it since Ty tossed it at hi the serial murder case that had almost killed them both
As he ht his attention, but Zane resisted the lure of the paperbacks with a sigh, although he did look at a crossword puzzle book and think of getting it for Ty, just to laugh over He turned a corner on his way to the stairs and was halfway past the big-ticket jewelry store when a dull shine caught Zane"s eye He stopped and idly glanced over the various jewelry cases, and his eyes settled on one understated display
The details of the piece came into focus as he neared the case, and one of the ubiquitous crew members was there to pull it out and present it without hiant, polished silver slide pendant hung on a cord of tightly wound black leather, set off by the gray velvet of the display stand The hand-tooled pendant was roughly the size and shape of a nickel, and the inset boasted a two-tone coht points terminated in a tiny diaht, paid for, and wrapped up before Zane gave a thought to what he was doing If he were feeling particularly roht of Ty as his co his lips Not today, anyway Not until he knehy he thought that Not until it stopped scaring hi a moment of panic over the impulse rather than the actual purchase, Zane decided on qualifying it as a Christet his partner--his lover--a nice Christht not be Ty"s style, but Zane didn"t care After settling on that, all he saw as he walked back to the staterooe in his pocket was the coainst the hollow of Ty"s throat