Six sorting benches under low lamps
How the benches are seated, what the brass tokens do and do not do, and what happens on a Monday when you have never held a hand of cards.
Who sits where, and how
Four benches run open. You walk in, you look for a gap, you sit in it. Two are held back for groups and can be booked by phone for up to seven.
Each bench has its own lamp, its own score pad and a fresh deck every Thursday. The old grade chart on the wall is what people keep score against, which is nonsense but it has stuck.
The crew do not referee a hand. They explain a rule if asked, deal if a bench is short, and make sure someone who came alone is not left standing by the door with a drink.
Social card games
Five hundred, euchre, cribbage, friendly poker — points only, always.
Seven to a bench
Six is better; the seventh seat is a squeeze and everyone knows it.
Pads wiped at close
Nothing carries to the next night. Monday starts at zero like everyone else.
Small questions, straight answers
- Can I bring my own deck?
- Keep it in the bag — house decks only on the felt.
- Can I come on my own?
- Half the room does. Say so at the door and you will be walked to a bench.
- Is there a tournament?
- The Saturday grading bench at 4pm, and there is no entry fee and no prize money in it.
- Can I hold a bench for a birthday?
- Two of the six, up to seven people, ring on the day before if you can.