The sheer size of the room was overwhelming. In fact, Mr. Overton wasn’t even sure it was a room. He couldn’t actually see any walls or windows. All he could see was an endless expanse, with people grouped around tables playing some sort of card game. There was a bright light coming from above, but Mr. Overton couldn’t see any light fixtures or ceiling. In front of him was a small table with a stack of gray booklets titled Blackjack: Rules for Best Play.
He scanned the pages and recognized a set of guidelines for playing a game that seemed, at least on the surface, to be the casino game of blackjack. The booklet appeared to offer advice about the best play in any game situation. For example, on page 37 it read, “When the dealer has a picture card face up,, the player should take another card if his total is 16 or less.” Mr. Overton thought the book would be quite useful. He wandered over to the nearest table.
There were no empty seats, so he stood and watched. A group of people were gathered around the crescent-shaped table. Two cards were dealt to each player and to the dealer. The first card was always down and the second was faceup. Each player tried to get a point total as close as possible to 21. If the player went over 21, the game was lost. However, Mr. Overton could sense some difference from Las Vegas gaming. For one thing, what kind of casino would offer a book describing the most probably ways of winning the game?
To his amazement, there was no dealer behind the table. The cards seemed to be playing themselves. They appeared from nowhere before each player with a corresponding hand for the non-existent dealer.
How strange, thought Mr. Overton. How could the game be played without a dealer? Who would keep an eye on shuffling and cheating? Nevertheless, the cards kept coming to each player at a steady pace, without pause, until the players gave a hand signal indicating they would stick with their holdings. Mr. Overton strolled over to watch an attractive lady play her hand. She received a six, bringing her total to 15. She seemed to be debating whether to take another card when a card appeared in front of her anyway. It was an eight. Her total was over 21. In an instant her cards and her wager dissapeared into thin air.
“Hey”, she cried out. “I hadn’t decided yet if I wanted another card!” Her complaints went unnoticed by the other players as the game continued around the table. She turned to Mr. Overton. “I should have stuck at 15. I knew it. I could just kick myself for even considering another card.” He was about to agree when he realized that her next hand had already been dealt. “Excuse me, I think it’s your turn again.” Before she could turn around to look at her cards, her turn to play had passed, leaving her with a hand that lost easily to the phantom dealers 19.
“See what you made me do,” she scolded Mr. Overton. “It’s your fault that I lost that hand. If you had not distracted me, I would have won it.” As she spoke, he noticed that she was about to lose another hand. He decided to slip away to another table.
As his eyes scanned the other nearby tables, he noticed a serene old man with a bald head and gray beard who seemed to be smiling while concentrating on the cards. He moved over to watch the fellow play a few hands. The man won ten hands in a row. “What a streak of luck!” Mr. Overton said out loud, congratulating him.
The old man glanced up. “There is no luck here,” he remarked. “Luck is simply your explanation for my winning hands.” He promptly won another hand.
“But you have been dealt winning hands eleven times in a row. Surely you must acknowledge that some luck is involved.”
The old man looked him directly in the eye, then immediately turned his attention back to the game. “I get the cards I am dealt. I cannot control that. Then I play each hand as best I can. Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose, but I always play the best that I can.”
Mr. Overton noticed a worn copy of the gray manual lying on the table. He picked it up. “By following the guidelines in this book are you assured of winning?”
“Not necessarily,” sighed the old man. “Watch.”
He lost five of the next ten hands. On the next hand he had a total of 19, compared to the dealer’s 18. He should have won, but his wager dissapeared as though he had lost.
“I played as well as I could. Sometimes the best play loses anyway. In this game, when you lose you simply play the next hand. The important thing is to play well.”
“But the last hand wasn’t fair! You should have won!”
“No more questions.” The old man kept his eyes on the cards. “Read the book and then come back.”
So Mr. Overton found an empty chair away from the tables and began to read the book. Some of the guidelines were ambiguous and several were downright confusing. For example, one passage read: “In this situation the proper play is determined by the cards. Ask the cards what to do.” Elsewhere it read: “When you find yourself in this situation, you will know what to do.” How could such guidelines be useful?, he thought to himself.
Back at the playing table, the old man continued to play each hand carefully. He played as though he were the only player in the casino and each hand was the first of his life. Once again, Mr. Overton noticed him lose a wager on a hand that he should have won. “Isn’t there someone you can complain to and get your rightful winnings?” he asked.
The old fellow chuckled. “That happens all the time. Some people get upset when that happens. Some spend hours running around the casino looking for someone to fix the problem. But it’s no use. People expect to be rewarded for a winning hand, but the game doesn’t always turn out that way. Sometimes even a winning hand loses. That’s simply part of the game. All you can do is play the next hand and play it well.”
“But that’s not fair,” complained Mr. Overton.
“No it isn’t.” the old man agreed as he continued playing.
Suddenly a middle-aged man seated at the same table was dealt a faceless, blank card. The moment it hit the table, the man dissapeared. Mr. Overton was astonished. Startled, he asked the old man what happened.
“When a player is dealt a blank card, the game is over,” the old man explained in a gentle voice, putting his hand briefly on Mr. Overton’s shoulder.
“But what happened to him??” Mr. Overton exclaimed.
“I don’t know. I just know he’s gone. Some players have come up with descriptions of what happens to someone when the game is over. All I know is that they are gone.”
“Why don’t people just leave the table to avoid that blank card?” Mr. Overton wanted to know. “Wouldn’t it be safer just to walk away from the table and avoid the risk?”
“That’s not possible. The cards keep coming. There is no time out in this game. You can shift your attention, you can walk away from the table, you can just sit there. Whatever you do, the cards keep appearing at your place. The game goes on until it’s over for you.”
Mr. Overton found the prospect of playing with no time out disturbing to say the least. What an incredible game! It was played with blank cards, confusing guidelines, no visible dealer, winning hands that sometimes lose, and no time out! He was astonished.
“Do you enjoy playing this game?” He wondered out loud.
“Sometimes I do,” the old man replied with a smile, “and other times I don’t. But I keep playing. What else can I do? As long as I have the opportunity to play, I must play the best game possible.”
When Mr. Overton glanced again at the gray manual he was carrying he noticed that some of the guidelines had been changed. They seemed to have rewritten themselves. How could that be? He carried his book back to the table to ask the old man.
“I think there is something wrong with my book. The guidelines seem to have changed.”
“Of course,” explained the old man. “As you learn from the cards, the book adjusts itself. Neither the book or I can teach you how to play. It is the playing that teaches you. The manual merely reflects what you already know.”
“You mean if I continue to watch I will learn more about the game and the book will continue to rewrite itself?”
“You can learn by observing the game up to a point. But watching has its limits. By watching you will never really understand the game.”
“How, then? How can I truly understand the game?” Mr Overton wanted to know.
“Just play.” The old man motioned to an empty chair.
Mr. Overton understood. He smiled his thanks and began playing his first hand.
