For the record, I’m not a great poker player. If I was, I’d be doing the Roland de Wolfe thing and playing the game professionally rather than writing about it. However, I’m not terrible either. I’m okay. I’ve won money and lost money, but I have done enough things right to ace a few small tournaments. In the last one I played (a freebie, put on by a Vegas casino for high-rollers and a smattering of invited guests), I felt pleased with my performance – until the end.

The tourney was basically a sitand- go that you had to win in order to play in the larger tournament – the one that would give you a reasonable shot at decent money.