The 18 Cup appears to be unofficially retired as it gathers dust on my shelf. Of course, the Cup has gathered quite a bit of dust on my shelf when it was played for, but that's beside the point. In terms of cards, for those who still enjoy playing, rather than doing nothing, poker is dead. Long live 500! For some time I've played 500 (outside of The 18 Cup group) and maintained it to be a superior card game to Texas Hold 'Em, but the novelty of poker was there to enjoy. 500 is a rather serious, fought out and exciting game, where thinking, skills and teamwork reach a level unseen in poker. It's a game for truly skilled card players (which would explain why some people who are weak at cards choose to not play it).

I have many a stories about 500 that could be retold, but they aren't exactly interesting - family and friend politics, father and son excommunication, yelling, screaming, fun and tournaments. One that I will regale is the following: my family is good friends with two other families. Each of the eldest sons went to primary school and were in the same year (that's me), and we played sports growing up with each other. And we all enjoy snow trips, so we traveled down to the fields every year for a few years and stayed for a week or so. At nights we would play cards, and there were many people there who knew how to play 500: ten people. Five teams of two. So one year we decided that we would set up a tournament of sorts and play for this wooden egg-cup that was in the lodge we stayed at. I was was probably (then) the fourth best playing the rounds and I was paired with the best player there - the mother of one of the boys I went to school with. And we went undefeated through seven matches in one night. We backed up the following night with another undefeated seven matches, followed by the next year with an undefeated six. So, with my partner, for The Egg-Cup, I'm 20 - 0. Go me.

While not undefeated in social play with The 18 Cup gang, I do hope that we can start playing for The 18 Cup, and then continue on with my quasi-professional winning streak. Even if it means having to beat the one who calls Misère.

Thomas.