Before

In about 5 minutes the first of the Poker Buddies arrives for a night of cards, snacks and, in their case, drink. We do this about once a year and these guys are the greatest. I met them through my best mate from school, Ken. After we went to Uni in separate parts of the country our lives grew apart, but we kept in touch. He invited me to a poker game he played with some colleagues of the time down in Reading and the rest is history.

Even though I only see them about once, maybe twice a year, I consider them the closest friends I have. They are top. However, screw all that tonight, there's money on the table!!! Well, not much...it's all about the social side and we only have £5 buy-ins. It's not gonna break the bank.

This is the £5 worth of chips that I am starting with, and I think the last time I finished with more was before my children were born (not been lucky you understand). Given that it will probably go on until the early hours, there'll be another Blip of the final stack to follow. Here's hoping I need my wide-angle lens :)