Is it better to be lucky, or good?
Thursday, April 16, 2026
My friend Josie has been on the Board of the Boys’ and Girls’ Club of Metro LA for over a decade. She has often invited me to their fundraising events, mainly a fancy annual gala and a casual poker night. Mike, who hates getting dressed up and making small talk with strangers, usually begs off. But I love my friend Josie, and join her whenever I can. It’s for a great cause, and also a window into the lives of the well-connected and philanthropic people of LA.
This year, the “All-in for the Kids” poker tournament was held at the Hollywood Park Casino in Inglewood, which by LA standards is next door to my house in Gardena. I had planned to brush up on my poker skills prior to the event, but procrastinated until it was too late. So I ended up arriving early to join in for lessons, hosted by a James-Bond-girl looking type card dealer. An outgoing 74-year old Board member, Cathy, took the seat at my left and together we studied an 8x11 piece of paper with the hierarchy of winning hands. We practiced a few rounds while other participants arrived and checked-in (135+ in all). Josie and her brother-in-law Billy also sat at our table. I recognized some of the Board members from prior events, the kind that say “Brentwood” and “Newport Beach” when asked where they live.
The tournament card play started at 7pm, and our ticket included a small stack of $1,000 (orange) and $500 (white) chips. The initial ante was $500. Additional chips could be purchased in increments of $100. My goal for the evening was to make my additional buy-in last as long as it could, and to be home by 9pm. Josie had started a new job that week as CFO for Tractor Soda, so we chit chatted and caught up while playing.
Our table of beginner players was decidedly low-stakes and non-serious. We all cheered for Cathy when she won a hand. Billy seemed to know what he was doing and soon amassed more chips. A few other players at the other end of the table donated a lot of money and had high stacks of chips. I was doing my best to keep up before the turn came back around. The next dealer, a friendly looking white guy, said to me “you know, you can check and not fold right away” as I had been doing. By 9pm, Cathy was going “all-in” in an effort to divest of her chips and call it a night. She bequeathed to me a small pile of her leftover chips on her way out. Josie also left before 10pm since she was staying at her parents’ in Long Beach. I had a few drinks and joked about getting a job at the casino, since many of the dealers were Asian females.
As time wore on, seats got empty as more participants went “All-in”. At one point, a feisty woman holding a martini sat down to my right. She had been annoyed at the competitive and obnoxious men at here table and had asked to be re-seated. “Don’t worry, this table is friendly”, I told her. We played another few rounds until she ran out of chips and a young guy was moved into her place. I matched his “All in” as a bluff and could see him trying to read me, as the only two players still in play. He folded. I didn’t turn over my cards by swept the pile of chips over. “Would you tell me if you had the highest pair?” he asked afterwards. “I had nothing”, I replied sheepishly. He smiled and left. A few rounds later, I thought I was I was done, but it turns out that I had won a side pot and was still alive. I don’t remember much from the next rounds, but I had won quite a bit and asked Billy to take a photo of me with my stacks of orange chips, and purple chips (worth $5,000). The ante got higher and higher as the night progressed.
At some point, I was handed a red tile and asked to join another table, along with another woman I had been playing against. This is when my beginner’s lucky streak really went into overdrive. I won a large pot with a pair of 4’s (beating a pair of 3’s) and a pair of Jacks. I was dealt a few Ace/King hands but people started betting high before the flop. Nobody cheered when I won. The older man next to me started making snide comments. During a break, I asked the woman sitting next to me to take a photo, since nobody would ever believe that I amassed so many chips.
After the break, one friendly board member helped me to rack my chips and carried them for me – to the final table! The other players hollered when they saw him walking up with 3 trays of $5k chips. So imagine their surprise when it was me who sat down at position 1, next to the dealer. Martini lady from earlier in the evening saw me from across the room and yelled “Karen!! What the Fuck?”. That MADE MY ENTIRE NIGHT. I had neither the skill nor the talent and somehow still accidently lucked my way into the final table, as I have in life. Beyond my wildest expectations, I finished 6th out of the 135 participants. It was after midnight by the time I got home. Mike had asked Chat GPT to envision my poker face, which was terrifying. Well, that was fun Thursday evening - I’ll take it. Beginner’s luck only happens once!
Winner Winner Chicken Dinner