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“I’m out.” Agustín sighed as he folded his hand. “What about you Bruno?” Félix smiled as he placed another stack of chips in the center of the table. The seer looked up at his cuñado with a dead-pan expression. The elder man tried to see if there was any ‘tell’ with the clairvoyant but quickly gave up. Bruno leaned forward and matched Félix’s stack before raising the bet an extra five chips. “You seem pretty confident with that hand bro,” Félix commented. “Sure am.” Bruno replied with a smirk.
Looking down at his cards Félix saw the straight he was holding, not the worst hand but not the best either. Bruno was just watching him with a patient expression, not giving anything away. “Alright,” the man huffed. “I fold.” Felix dropped his cards on the table. “Good call.” The seer softly smiled and innocently pulled the whole pot towards him. As if he didn’t already have the biggest pile.
“Well, I guess that cleans us.” Agustín stretched in his seat. “What did you even have Bruno?” The seer chuckled as he placed his ‘winning hand’ on the table. “Not a single pair!” Félix shouted as he slammed his fist on the table, drawing the attention of some of the other patrons at the bar. Bruno just shrugged “I feel like after playing this for a few hours you’d know I suck at this game.” “Lies.” Agustín dragged out. “You have almost every chip, that’s not losing.” “Myeah, but honestly it’s because you two are too easy to read.”
“You sure it’s not because you cheat?” Elena commented as she refilled the brothers’ glasses. “I’d not be so dishonorable.” Bruno shot back, the drinks seemed to be making him a little more confident. “Oh yeah?” Elena placed a hand on her hip. “I bet card games are the easiest to win when you see the future.” She lightheartedly teased the seer. Bruno took another sip from his wine, “true, but it would be kinda obvious if I was doing that.” He remarked as he let his eyes flash green for a moment. “Alright, you got me there.” Elena smiled as she headed back to the bar.
“She makes a point Bro,” Félix nodded. “You’re too good for being a terrible card player.” “What’s your secret Bruno?” Agustín rested his head on his hand. “I always said my real gift was acting.” The soothsayer pointed to his face, “this is all you need to make a good bluff.”
“Bullshit.” Came a new voice. The three madrigals looked over to the man a few tables away. “You’re not just bluffing, your reading Félix and Agustín.” Señor Riviera crossed his arms. “You’re better than you’re letting on.” Bruno moved his head from side to side as he pretended to think it over. “Perhaps, but that’s mostly because I live with them.” Riviera smiled as he approached the table “then how about a game to prove it?”
“If you’re that confident.” The slightly tipsy seer replied.
It started fairly even, with Bruno and Riviera winning and losing an equal amount. It was by the fifth game that the seer’s winning streak began. By the ninth game, his opponent gave up. “How?” He exclaimed as he had a full house and Bruno only held a three-of-a-kind. “Well you see, when a player folds then the other automatically wins-” Bruno sassed before he was interrupted. “I know Bruno!” Riviera took a deep breath. “I meant, how do you keep calling my bluff and making me fall for yours?”
“Oh, that?” The seer asked as he shuffled the deck. “Every time you lie the right side of your mouth twitches and you tap your index finger when you have the best hand.”
“There’s no way you figured that out just now.” Señor Espinosa spoke from the crowd that had formed around the poker table. Bruno shook his head “I could tell by the fourth game.”
“Alright, Riviera,” Señora Sanchez shooed the man out of his seat. “My turn.” Bruno dealt the cards between the two of them. “Good luck.” He wished then proceeded to knock on the wooden table.
The same thing happened with Sanchez even if it did take longer. Round seven had Bruno on a losing streak until round eight made him the winner. By the fifteenth round, the woman lost her final chip. She sank back with a groan as her friends praised her efforts. “Is yer hair.” Bruno slurred, prompting Agustín to take the bottle from his hands and cut off the seer for the night. “You do dis thing with your hand when yer nervous.” He demonstrated the motion by brushing a lock behind his ear and putting it back in place after a few seconds.
“Anyone else?” The seer looked at the crowd. “I’ll give it a go,” Arturo stated as he sat down. “If you’re drunk then I may have a chance.” Bruno pointed a finger at the young man and dramatically stated “I, am not THAT drunk. Tipsy yes, but not drunk.” Félix just did a facepalm to the side. “Bro you’ve had at least three bottles of wine by yourself.” Bruno cocked his head to the side. “Really, that much? I thought it would be more.” Félix just groaned in response as he went to get himself another glass.
The fact that the seer had been drinking only helped Arturo a little. The boy was able to get away with bluffing longer, even able to catch Bruno’s little hints. Unfortunately, the subtle facial expressions were faked and the seer cleared the pot within twelve games. “What gave me away?” Arturo asked as he helped to put away the cards. “You were difficult to figure out,” Bruno began. “But you wet your lips each time you lie.”
Once the poker game was packed up for the night the three Madrigals stood, well more accurately swayed, to head home.
“Hey Bruno, how come you were able to figure out everyone’s tells so well?” Lena asked where she sat watching the games. The blunt seer rubbed the back of his neck, carefully avoiding eye contact with anyone in the group. “I don’t know, I guess I’ve made a habit of being over-observant after so long.” “What do you mean by that?” Arturo asked.
“Well kid, I’ve had a lot of bad interactions in the past. People lying to my face, being gaslit most of my life, having to bluff about being hurt, just a lot of stuff honestly. I picked up on a lot of things so I read people really well, nevermind I don’t usually interact with them. You learn to be a well-rounded actor when you never stop doing it.” Bruno droned on as he stared at the floor. He seemed to snap out of his trance when he felt Agustín’s hand on his shoulder.
“But this was fun.” Bruno smiled as he perked up. “Don’t know if I’ll remember it after the hangover but that’s future me’s problem. Knock knock knock knock knock, knock on wood.” He joined his brothers and headed home to Casita, unaware of the shock on the people’s faces behind him.