Now we’re going to deal out some hands and play some Pan. These are typical hands containing the kinds of traps which we fall into if we aren’t careful. Get out your Pan deck and play along.

Even a beginner would know how to play this hand. The rule of EIGHT PLAY; SEVEN WITH PAY confirms it: nine live cards, and a pat for two. The Bank of America would probably make me a small personal loan with this hand for collateral. Here we go. “I’m in,” I announce very casually. Maybe I announced it too casually; only one other player is in. I was hoping all six of them would play. My first draw is the 5S and the club rules (which I carefully checked before I started playing) say that even in a hand of only two players, the first card cannot be taken by the second player. By the way, this is a common club rule in Southern California, in those clubs where the players deal for themselves. I toss the 5S away. The player next to me leaps for it. “Six” he announces, and spreads three pat 5 of Spades on my discard.

“You can’t have my first draw,” I remind him. “Club rules.” He’s upset, but the rules are clear. I offer to call the floor man if my opponent thinks he’s getting a bad deal. He declines, and reaches for the deck.

“Excuse me, but I’ve still got my second draw,” I remind him. I reach down, and the card I pluck is -- another 5S! Now folks, there is no way in the world that I would take that 5S unless I knew that the next player needed it. He would either have to be flat, with the five putting him out, or be able to make a pay out of it before I’d tear up my fours and sixes to take a rope. This situation clearly qualifies for such action. He reaches triumphantly for the five, still clutched in my hand. “Six chips, Buddy,” he announces. “No, I think I’m going to use that card. Give me two chips, please.” With that I lay down two spreads -- 3C 3C 3C and 4S 5S 6S. I won’t reprint what he said. Now I had left 4H 4D 6D 6D 7D with a discard to make. I was under pressure because I knew that the player I was up against had a four chip pat in his hand. I needed to make the best discard. You tell me, what should I throw away? Did you say the 7D? That’s wrong. Throw away one of the 6D’s. Here’s why: If I kept both of the 6D’s I would have 4H 4D 6D 6D, and these things could happen:

1.  Catch a good four and have two discards left, both of the 6D’s.

2.  Catch a 6D for One Chip, and have two discards left, both of the 4’s.

3.  Catch a 5D, making a 4D 5D 6D and have two discards left, the 4H and the second 6D.

That’s not too bad. But look what could happen if I keep the 7D and ditch one of the 6D.

1.  Catch a good four and have two discards left, the 6D and the 7D.

2.  Catch a 5D, making 4D 5D 6D 7D and have only one discard left, the 4C.

3.  Catch a JD, making JD 7D 6D, having a possible one discard only -- the 4H.  Keeping the 4D, I  can possibly draw the 5D, which would put me out without the 4D being a discard.

Either way I go, there are three cards which can help me. But going the second 7D, I can go out faster, and that’s the key. It’s true that one of those hits using the first option pays me one chip, but all three ways require two hits to go out. By going with the 7D, I have one way where I am sure of only one more discard, and another way, where it is possible to have only one discard. Throw a 6D quick! My opponent by now is quite angry, draws a card -- the 7S. “Dammit,” he roars, and slams down these cards from his hand: 7S 7H 7H. The 7S is the only seven he can’t use. I know six of his cards now-- and they are terrifying: 5S 5S 5S, 7S 7H 7H. Still, there’s hope -- he hasn’t got the hand down yet. We draw a few times, neither of us hitting our hands. The tension is terrific. Then I draw the 5D. For a moment, he probably thinks that I’ve drawn a card which will get his pay down, but he is wrong. I meld the 4D 5D 6D 7D with my spreads of 3C 3C 3C and 4S 5S 6S to go flat on the board, tossing away the 4H. Am I glad I kept that 7D -- not the 6D! Then he draws the 3C. It puts me out on a good one, an extra pay.

“Six chips and out,” I tell him. He slams the cards down, showing his full hand, which was 5S 5S 5S, 7S 7H 7H, QC QD QD and a discard which I don’t remember. He paid me SIX when I went out, plus two when I collected my pay, plus the 8 antes comes to 16 Chips!

I paid out only my ante during the hand, so my profit is 15 chips. This hand really happened, and it was not the end of the story. The player, normally very good, became so angry that he began to play recklessly. When I left -- maybe four hours later -- he had lost over $300 (we were playing $2 Condition, so a stack of chips cost $40). Look back to what caused it all -- he had forgotten a rule of the card club. I certainly admit that with his hand it would have been difficult not to jump when the first five of spades came. But knowing that the rules said that I couldn’t have it, I would take a small bit of consolation when I saw that my opponent at least wasn’t stopping it. If he had followed the house rule, and not acted as he did on the first five of spades, I would have refused the second one (I wouldn’t have known about his three spade 5’s) and he would have collected six chips from me before he ever drew a single card!