Project Gutenberg 2021-05-02 Public domain in the USA. 110 Garrett, Randall 1927 1987 Garrett, Gordon Randall Garret, Randall Barretton, Grandall Mitchell, Clyde Burke, Ralph Silverberg, Robert 1935 Knox, Calvin M. Martin, Webber Mitchell, Clyde Jarvis, E. K. Burke, Ralph House Operator Produced from Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy December 1957 By Randall Garrett and Robert Silverberg writing under the name Alexander Blade. Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "House Operator" by S. M. Tenneshaw is a sci-fi short story published in the mid-20th century. The narrative revolves around a skilled gambler named Rafferty who enters the Ganymede Casino, desperate to recover from a significant loss in order to pay off a gambling debt. The story explores themes of chance and skill, highlighting the dynamics of poker as a classic game against the backdrop of futuristic gambling technologies. In this tale, Rafferty faces off against Steel, a house operator at the casino who is a surprisingly adept poker player. Initially confident in his abilities, Rafferty quickly finds himself entangled in a battle of wits as he tries to read Steel's enigmatic demeanor. Despite winning several hands, Rafferty ultimately realizes that Steel is not only a formidable opponent but also shows an uncanny ability to adapt and counter Rafferty's strategies. The game culminates in a loss that leaves Rafferty with just enough chips to escape to another planet, while Steel proves to be a master of poker, capable of besting even the most seasoned players. The story concludes with a twist, revealing that Steel is a robot, adding a layer of complexity to the nature of competition and the essence of skill in the game. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 78.5 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories Poker players -- Fiction Casinos -- Fiction Ganymede (Satellite) -- Fiction PS Text Category: Short Stories Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy 40879 2025-07-26T04:30:40.201124 text/html 16986 2024-10-18T13:27:07 text/html 331256 2025-07-26T04:30:42.271099 application/epub+zip 330098 2025-07-26T04:30:40.729145 application/epub+zip 76271 2025-07-26T04:30:40.433113 application/epub+zip 363624 2025-07-26T04:30:43.496098 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 356273 2025-07-26T04:30:42.042139 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 102576 2022-09-29T10:59:51.760792 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 34437 2025-07-26T04:30:40.033110 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 14643 2024-10-18T13:27:07 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 18793 2025-07-26T04:30:43.643081 application/rdf+xml 26761 2025-07-26T04:30:40.573111 image/jpeg 4820 2025-07-26T04:30:40.504122 image/jpeg 958247 2025-07-26T04:30:40.223128 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog More titles under Jorgensen, Ivar en.wikipedia en.wikipedia