In the fray

Sitting to the right of you, Stretch is first to declare himself in or out, and he says he's in. Your hand isn't awesome, but you've got a face card to work with, but more importantly, you feel into the spirit of the game, win or lose, everybody wins.

"I'm in!" you announce.

To your left, Frannie's mouth is twisted in indecision before she says she's out. Then Dave immediately declares himself in. Merideth hesitates for a moment and then shrugs and says she's in. That leaves everyone in but Frannie when the next three cards come down.

It's a king of hearts, a five of clubs, and an eight of spades. On the one hand, that gives you a pair, which is good, but if someone is holding a king, you're losing. Stretch puts his cards down and reluctantly bows out, which means it's down to you again.