Explore "Mars is my Destination" by Frank Belknap Long on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
You can be holding high cards, practically unbeatable, in the final / deal of a poker game and still not be sure of winning. You have to call / your opponent's hand before he gets the idea that just by drawing out / a gun and shooting you dead he can gather up all the chips, and cash / them in by threatening further violence. Assuming, of course, that he's / capable of that kind of violence and is in all respects the opposite of / an honest gambler.
You can be even less sure of winning when it isn't a game of cards / you're on the point of winning, but a duel to the death with a ruthless / power combine and time is running out on you.