Paperwork: I miss those times when being with Dad was a sweet deal

“Read ‘em and weep.”

I can hear my dad tossing out that phrase as he pulled cards from the deck he gripped in his left hand and slowly spun them face down around the table.

There would be four or five of us. Sometimes more but mostly family, and all ages. So Dad liked to add a little humor for the young ones, still learning.

We were playing penny ante poker. That means we could play a long time for only a few bucks using the red, white and blue poker chips that were forever stored in the old tin canister.

Dad would toss a blue chip in the center of the table and announce, “Let’s play a little Percy.” He liked that simple game of five-card stud. I have no idea where the name comes from. (And a quick online search didn’t help.)

The ante was a whole nickel because everyone got to see their five cards first before deciding to play. Everyone would sneak a peek at their five cards and decide if they felt lucky.

Starting at Dad’s left he’d go around the table. “Ya gotta pay to play. In or out?” The sound of plastic chips colliding in the center “pot” would show who the real gamblers were as they tossed up to three cards aside.

“Read ‘em and weep,” he might say again as he dealt around to replace the discards. Everyone fanned open their new hand, hoping the new cards had sweetened the deal. And the betting began.

That was basic poker at our family gatherings. And I was thinking the other day how much I’d like to have one more round of poker with my dad. I don’t know why I was thinking about poker. Maybe one of those funny little quips of his had popped into my head.

They were part of my poker training. Knowing the table banter seemed as important as knowing whether a flush beats a straight. They seemed to be built into the process starting with the shuffle. After every poker hand you need to mix up the deck, shuffle the cards around, break up those pairs. Stuff like that. Then before you deal you drop the stack in front of the player to your right. It’s proper poker courtesy to give them a chance to cut the deck.

“Cut ‘em deep, win a heap,” Dad would say. I tended to just tap the top of the deck, which meant I chose not to cut the cards.

Bluffing is always part of the game. Pretending you have a great hand when you don’t. There’s plenty of table talk generated by those scenarios.

I liked to announce when I had a powerhouse hand, which other players would soon learn was not a lie. Until it was. It’s kind of hard to bluff though when you’re not playing for much money.

If Dad said anything about the hand he had just been dealt, it was usually honest. I think.

“I’ve got a hand like a foot,” he’d often say. Now I am not sure what that means or where it comes from. But it was funny to hear and it meant it was not a winner.

I have been known to call upon Dad’s dictionary of proper poker terms: “Cut ‘em deep, win a heap.”

I wish I could remember more of his mannerisms. Like I said, I’ve been thinking about those poker games lately. They are on my pile of memories. Why I miss him. And why I’d like one more afternoon at the table with him surrounded by family.

I want to tap the top of that deck and say, “Deal ‘em. I trust ya.” I’d watch the cards slide around and hear him say, “You have to pay to play? You in?”

And I would smile. A big smile. And say, “Oh yeah, I’m in.”

Lonny Cain, retired managing editor of The Times in Ottawa, also was a reporter for The Herald-News in Joliet in the 1970s. His Paperwork email is lonnyjcain@gmail.com. Or mail The Times, 110 W. Jefferson St., Ottawa, IL 61350.