The River Has Landed

By Nyllone

 

Last Tuesday (my morning), upon logging in world, I wanted to check out the The Habanero Holdem VIP Party but I couldn’t find the invite in My Schedule. Yes, I so know I am not VIP.  But ‘whatever.  (I just learned the following day that the link to sign up for the event had been posted in the forums days before, and since I wasn’t able to check the forums for days, I missed it.)  So I was bummed out.

To divert my attention, I summoned Pk to a house-for-rent I saw a few days ago while exploring.  From there, we drove uphill to find an even more beautiful location for ThereHomes.  We went in one house-for-rent to check the view from the inside, only to see the windows were closed.   

Pk ran to the other house. Although the house wasn't for rent, Pk went right through anyway. I stayed behind, and asked him on IM "Is someone in there?" Turned out the house was empty, so I went in too.

 

Right after I loaded, I saw two card tables and a leaderboard. I've seen that leaderboard in a Test Event last week at The Old Watering Hole.  I knew it is connected to the new tables coming out, that I walked towards the table and moused over the action tag to check what it was.  "Habanero Holdem!!!"  That was my way of screaming in a bubble chat alright.  Pk, who was quietly admiring the view, turned around, startled at my bubbles and typed, "Really???"  That was his way of answering back to a scream.

Needless to say, I was thrilled to see the new card tables by accident. I just had to grab the chance, whether I know how to play Poker or not, by sitting down and trying it.

I thought I missed the news that the Habanero Holdem table was already out in Shop, but when I checked, it still wasn't there. Pk then guessed the house must be owned by a There Staff, since it has two Habanero tables.  I checked, and remembered the owner is a There Staff alright. I've seen her in some special events, but haven't really talked to her. 

We wasted no time and started a game, we were then asked to place our chips. Since we don’t have chips yet, we bought 1000 chips for 100 TBucks, the cheapest bundle in Shop. We just really wanted to try it out.

 

  

Overwhelmed by the table, we got excited at every little detail we noticed. Pk noticed how cute the stacked chips looked on the table, while I played with the mood icon, and made my mood from normal to strong to tentative.  The strong mood showed, which we noticed later on, when I folded.  I slammed a hand on the table.

We started playing.  Although I have a tiny bit of an idea how it is played, I didn’t really understand what I was doing. So, I just kept on checking.  (I know, I should’ve just played CHECKers then.)  Not knowing that the "check" button means staying with the bet, and "bet" button means raising the bet. Or so says Pk.  

 

And even though I was still trying to learn, I won the first round!  Oh yeah, Beginner’s Luck.  Plus the fact that I am only lucky when Pk’s my partner.  Winning on the first round made me say, “I am so going to buy a table once it’s out!”  Once the confetti and the “winner” emote faded, I had to ask why I won.  My Poker Guru Pk patiently explained.

It was getting exciting as we played on. So many things to learn, so many things to understand.  I learned that the first three cards dealt is called The Flop.  The next card is The Turn.  And the last card is called The River.  Why?  Because it says so!  We weren’t that focused on winning yet, as we first wanted to try almost every button and option there is.  In the second round, I tried the "fold" button. And Pk won. But in the third round, Pk and I shared the pot.

 

 

 

After a while, I heard a familiar sound telling me that someone has teleported inside the house.  And true enough, someone appeared from thin air.  It was the owner of the house. :O  My ThereHeart started pounding. I was so nervous she would boot us out for trespassing. But really, there's nothing there in TOS stating that it's not allowed to trespass in someone else's ThereHome, right? Hence the Buddies Only option. Or is there? :s  Lub dub.  Lub dub.

I gingerly said hi while she approached the table and greeted us.  Pk told her that we were surprised to see the tables in there, and that we just had to try. I apologized for barging in her house.  Thankfully, she’s very nice. She even asked us, "So, what do you think about it?" I said it’s fun.

Since the river had been dealt when she came, we continued playing while talking to her.  And after I won the round, I asked the owner if we should leave. Uh, yeah.. I had to ask. Because I didn't feel like leaving, but... Oh well. It's her house and we're actually trespassing. And she was standing there watching us. So…  She said she had to make an event there soon. But then informed us that we should check out the Habanero Holdem event going on at The Old Watering Hole. But it costs Tbucks, she warned us.   

I immediately left the table when she said that, and thanked her. It was embarrassing, but really, we were like kids who discovered a hidden candy jar, and were caught red-handed.

 

 

 

We then went to The Old Watering Hole to check the event.  Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough Tbucks for the entrance fee that we were booted out and dropped off to a place not too far from the event.  After a while, we decided to go home.   

As we chatted nonstop about our Poker adventure, the invite to The Habanero Holdem VIP Party kept flashing in my screen. I could only smile.  I don’t have enough Tbucks for a game I already played for free.  (Though of course I didn’t know that as an attendee, you get a commemorative tote bag, and a unique keepsake copy of the Habanero Holdem Table. ‘’drat!)

We then went home rofling, giddy and excited. House-hunting forgotten.  We were just so glad that we were at the right place at the right time when The River, er the Habanero Holdem Table has landed.