Poke-er

The incentive
It seemed like a good idea at the time.

We are not gamblers.

We’re not.

But we taught our kids to play poker.

Maybe I should explain . . .

We have a timeshare condo in Banff, Alberta that we’ve owned for over thirty years.

Every year, for one week, that beautiful corner of the world is ours.

But, sometimes, in years past, the weather didn’t cooperate. It rained. (Or snowed, but that is a whole other story for us non-skiers.)

We didn’t mind much.

There was still the swimming pool, where our kids spent 6 hours of the day.

And the cable TV.

A special treat that absorbed another segment.

But for the time usually spent  walking/hiking, we had to get creative.

Board games...

Genius.

Cards...

Even better.

So with a deck of cards and a large bag of Smarties, we set out to teach them poker.

I know. I know.

Hear me out . . .

We had the list from our Rummoli game, so we knew that a flush beats three-of-a-kind, etc.

We were ready.

I don’t know what type of poker we were playing.

It consisted of dealing five cards and having one chance to trade some in.

And then betting Smarties.

I should point out, here, that the ‘chips’ kept getting eaten.

Especially by our five-year-old.

Each hand was dealt.

Cards were traded.

Bets were placed.

Hands were judged.

Smarties were claimed.

Eaten.

And the next hand was dealt.

It was a great way to spend a rainy afternoon.

To make it just that much more fun, the makers of Smarties had come up with something unique. 

Purple Smarties with a tiny pair of sunglasses printed on one side.

They weren’t worth more.

Or taste any different.

But they were unique.

And therefor valuable.

Throughout the afternoon, my kids learned such phrases as:

‘Your deal.’

‘Cut the cards.’

‘Full house: aces over threes.’

‘Read ‘em and weep!’

‘Who dealt this stuff?’

And the all-important, ‘Ahhhh! I’m out! I’ve got spit!’.

The latter of which was immortalized by said five-year-old when he walked in the door of his grandmother’s. Another non-gambler. “Hi, Gramma! We played poker and I had spit!”

The game officially ended when the last Smartie had been eaten.

Erm...yes...poker.

That most...educational of all family games...