Carlos & the Bridge Between Worlds

How I beat the odds at a poker game and won a prize that defies imagination.

Luck comes and goes in streaks, defying the odds. Cardsharps focus more on the players than the math. The power to read minds and transform outcomes is every gambler’s dream.

Opposite me sits Carlos, a pink-faced, overweight, gray-haired late entry. He looks exhausted, as if he’s gotten everything he’s ever wanted in life — and then some.

“Where you from?” I ask, the chair creaking beneath his bulk as he cashes in, not bothering to count his chips. “Argentina,” he says with a sing-song, Italian-Spanish accent.

None of us have ever seen him before. Sucker or hustler? Anyone’s bet.

Hours later we still don’t know, even as the best players have dropped out. His style is erratic and unpredictable, detached yet effective. Nothing seems to faze Carlos as the stacks rise and fall around him.

Eventually only the two of us are left. The time has come to make my move.

I’m on the button and dealt King-Jack, suited. Carlos bets and I call. The three shared cards are 7–10-Queen — all spades — giving me a King-high flush on the flop with a straight flush draw.

I try to read his inscrutable face, then do the math. Carlos stares at me, raises an eyebrow. He bets. I raise. He calls. Coming up on fourth street is the Queen of Hearts. Carlos’ sleepy eyes are now wide awake.

“What is your wish, Jorge?” My name is George, I let it slide. He bets big.

An Ace of Spades in pocket could draw to a higher flush, but that same card on fifth street would give me the nut, an unlikely but unbeatable Royal Flush. I sense he has something strong, but not that Ace — and I already have the King-high flush…

“I’m all in,” I say, pushing my chips into the pot.

“I call,” Carlos says without hesitation.

We compare our chip stacks, mine nearly double in value. “Let me make it worth your while,” he says, removing a small silk pouch from his jacket, “and mine.” He places it next to his stacks and leans back.

A spontaneous buy-in like that breaks the tournament rules, but we’re at end game and the dealer…