I’m really willing to try to believe you’re not crazy, but you gotta help me a little, you know? — Tim Powers

Gambling was the place where statistics and profound human consequences met most nakedly, after all, and cards, even more than dice or the numbers on a roulette wheel, seemed able to define and perhaps even dictate a player’s...luck.

He thought about crossing his fingers, but clasped her hand instead.

It wasn’t fair, but fairness was something you had to go get; it wasn’t delivered like the mail.