I remember once I played a faro game, then whist. Who was playing? Can’t recall that varmint. On that day I lost two bitches from the zone to him, Shouldn’t’ve gone with spades instead of diamonds! First, he took his time to shuffle playing cards with skill, Then I made my move - off beam and dicey. I was biting lips and he was throwing bills at will, And I went with spades instead of diamonds! Hands were shaking badly, as if I were stealing chicks, As if in my first game ever, frightened. He lost fifty to me first, just for the fun of it, And I went with spades instead of diamonds! Stakes were going up, and everything was nice and swell, Then I made my move - off beam and dicey. He was betting me these two again, and so I went, And I went with spades instead of diamonds! I reshuffled the whole deck to play another round, But my nerves gave up to the excitement. I had no alternatives - and so I took him down, Shouldn’t’ve gone with spades instead of diamonds!
© Kirill Tolmachev. Translation, 2022