The strange things that happen on trains...

A few weeks ago, I took a day off from all things poker and went to a spa. Not quite my mother ship and certainly and odd thing for me to do, but, I did rather enjoy sitting in a jacuzzi all afternoon chewing the fat with a bunch of hens getting all excited about the forthcoming nuptials of a good friend of mine. When it came time to leave I jumped on the last train back from Devon to London expecting an uneventful trip. I could not have been more wrong. I was helpfully advised by the guard that I was on the 'vomit comet' - the last train to Bristol, filled with teenagers off of their faces on crazy gravy. Whilst trying to make a phone call I was feeling more than a little harassed by their animalistic hilarity and so moved my self to the buffet car to prop up the bar. Alas, it wasn't open (due to the clientel on the train at that time) but a fellow smoker and I consoled ourselves in conversation about the unjust nature of the smoking ban. The conversation did however, soon turn to poker. Turns out he was a season online player with a gift for bad beat story telling which kept me amused until the hoardes left the train at Bristol and I could finally have and gin and tonic! As I was about to pay for my drink, a man stepped in saying to the bar man 'no no, I'll get that!'. Not one to refuse a free drink I politely thanked him and asked as to the occasion. On doing so, I looked up as another 5 men behind him shouted in unison 'its his birthday and hes loaded!'. It turns out that he has just won a £50 freeze out at the Gala casino in Bristol, it was indeed his birthday and they were going back to swindon to celebrate. So 90 minutes, several drinks, and many many aces over kings stories later, they departed at Swindon, and I managed to of load onto the birthday boy the pink sparkly cowboy hat that I had been made to wear as I left the hen party, declining their very sweet offer to join them.

They say in London you are never more than 3 feet from a rat. I think in the world these days, you are never more than 3 feet from a river rat. With that in mind, I scurried off to first class and buried my head in a copy of Poker Player.