> One characteristic that separates top players from the rest is that top players always consider all their options, even in what seem like simple or hopeless situations.

Feeling challenged by Joey, Brian was seething. His teeth were grinding like a cheap woodchipper. Everyone was surprised that the new dealer was so aggressive. Joey rose from his dealer's chair to go buy chips when Amy came over. "Hey, it's your first night here and you just learned how to play. You shouldn't jump into a game so quickly."

Joey looked at her, surprised that this girl had such a sensible side. 'Maybe multiple personalities?' he wondered. Still, he felt her genuine consideration and reassured her, "No worries. I'm a quick learner."

"I know you want to get back at Brian but it's not a smart move. He's got a loud mouth and has been unlucky so far today, but he's been playing here for years. He's not an easy target."

"Easy target? Whether it's easy or not, every target has a bullseye. All I have to do is find it...then pierce it."

Amy hadn't seen this side of Joey. She didn't understand where his confidence was coming from. 'Some people just don't learn their lesson until they stumble into a haunted burial ground and attract malicious ancient spirits,' she thought and sighed.

Joey considered how much money to buy in for. He knew the stakes in this particular game were 2-5, which referred to how much the blinds were forced to put into the pot every hand. The small blind, who was directly to the left of the button, put in 2 dollars. The big blind, who was to the left of the small blind, put in 5.

The stakes were important because they generally affected how big the bets became as a hand progressed. The bigger the stakes, the bigger the bets, and the bigger the final pots. For 2-5, a standard buy-in was anywhere from 150-500. Joey looked at Brian's chips and saw he had over 500 in front of him. 'I guess I don't have a choice.' Joey smiled, eagerly anticipating the challenge.

'"Angelo, I'll take 500 in chips."

"Angelo, talk some sense into this fool. He has a look in his eyes that suggests possession by poltergeist or voodoo," Amy reasoned as she flew around Joey like a mosquito, attempting to inspect his eyes from different angles. Angelo took a deep look at Joey and said, "He'll be alright. Here you go kid" and handed him a rack of chips worth 500 dollars.

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Joey took the chips, sat at the table, and the game resumed. As the game ran on, things were relatively peaceful. Although Brian occasionally made small digs at Joey, due to losing a hefty amount by now, he chose to mostly focus on the game.

Joey spent the first half hour observing the game and other players. He wanted to find the flow of the game and not rush into things too quickly which could lead to exhaustion. He knew that with enough patience, opportunities always come.

During this time, he didn't get dealt any great cards and didn't get involved in any big pots. Although Joey couldn't have been said to be getting lucky, he was still doing better than Brian, who seemed like he couldn't catch a break. If Brian had a good hand, everyone would fold. If he had a bad hand and bluffed, he would get called. During these hands, Joey closely watched. Every time Brian showed his cards, that was more information for Joey to collect. 

Brian entered another hand. This time it was him versus Daron. Brian bet the whole way and Daron called the whole way. When Daron called his last bet, Brian was clearly bluffing because he threw his hand away instead of flipping it over to show to the dealer. When the betting in a hand is finished, even if you have very weak cards, you still should flip them over unless you think you have absolutely no chance of beating anything the opponent can call you with.

When all the cards are flipped over at the end, that's called the Showdown, where the dealer sees who has the best hand and awards him the pot.

In this hand, Brian must have been bluffing with almost nothing and knew that when Daron called his bet, there was no chance Daron could have worse cards than him. That's reasonable because in order to call, you need to be able to win in a showdown, meaning you need decent cards, or at least cards that can beat a bluff. Brian cursed and ordered more chips as his were running short.

More hands passed and finally Joey got involved in a hand. As if destiny brought them together, it was Joey vs. Brian. Joey was the button and Brian was the big blind. In the beginning, Joey acted first so he raised and Brian called. After that, Brian would act first the whole way.

When the next 3 cards came out, Brian bet out and Joey called. On the next card, Brian bet again and Joey called. The pot was growing very large and when the last card came out, Brian moved all in. 

Joey looked at Brian and frowned inwardly. Joey had a massive problem, he had absolutely nothing. Even if he thought Brian was bluffing, he couldn't bluff raise like he did against Craig. That's because Brian was already all in meaning he had no more chips. To bet or raise a player, both of you need to have chips left. Once a player is all in, they automatically go to showdown at the end. 

Joey couldn't call either because his hand couldn't beat a bluff. Once it went to showdown, he would lose to any 2 cards Brian had. In this situation, any other player would've instantly thrown their cards away, but Joey took his time. 

'I can feel he's weak, bluffing, I'm sure of it...but I'm weaker. I can't raise. If I call his hand will still beat me...'

Joey closed his eyes and thought about all of Brian's previous hands. Then suddenly, he smiled, "I call," he announced.