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Four men sat across the poker table from hihting his cigar A ss crackled in an antique e off an early fall chill The burning cedar gave an agreeable aro saloon inside Schiller's yacht The beautifully proportioned 35-meter-motor sailer was moored in the Potoinia

Soviet Deputy Chief of Mission Aleksey Korolenko, heavybodied and composed, wore a fixed jovial expression that had becoton's social circles

"A pity we're not playing in Moscow," he said in a stern buttone "I know a nice spot in Siberia where we could send the dealer"

"I second the motion," said Schiller He looked at the man wfio had dealt the cards "Next time, Date, shuffle them up"

"If your hands are so rotten," growled Dale Nichols, Special Assistant to the President, "why don't you fold?"

Senator George Pitt, who headed up the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, stood and removed a salmon-colored sport jacket He draped it over the back of the chair and turned to Yuri Vyhousky

"I don't knohat these guys are co about You and I have yet to will a pot"

The Soviet Embassy's Special Adviser on Aood hand since we all began playing five years ago"

The nightly poker sessions had indeed been held on Sctfiller's boat since 1986, and went far beyond a si out of the week to unwilld It was originally set up as a s superpowers Alone, without an official setting and inaccessible to the news noring bureaucratic red tape and diploed that often had a direct bearing on Soviet-American relations

"I open for fifty cents," announced Schiller

"I'll raise that a dollar," said Korolenko

"And they wonder e don't trust theroaned

The Senator spoke to Korolenko without looking at hiypt, Aleksey?"

"I give President Hasan no overnment is overthrown by Akhmad Yazid"

:'You don't see a prolonged fight?"