"robert asprin - 06 - little myth marker" - читать интересную книгу автора (Asprin Robert)

ing!"

"Try me!"

"All right! Raise you limit."

"Call."

"Call."

"Elf-high nothing bumps you back limit."

"Fold."

"Call."

For those of you starting this book at the beginning
(Bless you! I hate it when readers cheat by reading
ahead!), this may be a little confusing. The above is the
dialogue during a game of dragon poker. What is
dragon poker, you ask? Well, it's reputed to be the most
complicated card game ever invented ... and here at the
Bazaar at Deva, they should know.

The Bazaar is the biggest shopping maze and haggling
spot in all the dimensions, and consequently gets a lot of
dimension travelers (demons) passing through. In addi-
tion to the shops, stalls, and restaurants (which really
doesn't do justice to the extent or variety of the Bazaar)
there is a thriving gambling community in residence
here. They are always on the lookout for a new game,
particularly one that involves betting, and the more
complicated the better. The basic philosophy is that a
complicated game is more easily won by those who de-
vote full time to its study than by the tourists who have
dabbled in it or are trying to learn it as the game goes
on. Anyway, when a Deveel bookie tells me that dragon
poker is the most complicated card game ever, I tend to
believe him.

"Fold."

"Call."

"Okay, Mr. Skeeve the Grater. Let's see you beat
this! Dragons full!"

He exposed his hole cards with a flourish that bor-
dered on a challenge. Actually, I had been hoping he
would drop out of the hand. This particular individual