Cho dai di a great time killer, just beware of the Chinese sixth sense

Have I ever mentioned that I'm a lullophobe? If you're not familiar with the word, it describes what's probably a modern malady, although I've suffered from it all my life, which is getting damned long.

A lullophobe is one who hates /is afraid of/seeks to avoid lulls. Lulls are periods of down time during which you're in company and it's not practical or polite to take out a book, such as while waiting for food in a restaurant, for transport or 45 minutes to check out of a hotel (which happened in Taishan, Guangdong province, at Lunar New Year). In all of these situations, there is one way to assuage lullophobia - play cards.

Not just any kind of cards, but the excellent southern Chinese/Hong Kong game of cho dai di - "big two". I was introduced to this game by my ex-husband (a keen gambler) in 1990 and have been playing like a demented maniac ever since.

The game is not unlike poker but it can only be played by four people. It has everything: luck, skill, evil and … a little more evil.

Make no mistake, the Chinese are born holding a packet of cards and possessing a sixth sense that can predict your hand.

Not only do they know how to win, but they also know how to make you lose big time. They remember every card that's been played and will manipulate the game so you get left with 10 cards, which means you have to pay double. Or, if you're in the ruthless mainland, triple.

It took me almost three years to beat my first Chinese trio.

It was February 14, 1993. We were playing HK$1 per card and I won HK$374 from three guys in my village. What a sweet, glorious victory - well worth losing them as acquaintances. They never talked to me again and, thereafter, acknowledged me only with curt, frosty nods.

Chinese card-shuffling is different from and looks much better than that of Westerners. Although always fond of card playing, I had never mastered the Western shuffling style before I came to China. I learned the Chinese style out of necessity one night in Guangzhou Railway Station - I had to stay awake to watch over my stuff and it was too dark to read. So I shuffled.

I then spent the next 36 hours on the train playing cards non-stop with 12 electricians. Oh, hardy youth …

So, whenever I go to the mainland, I make sure I have three people with me for instant card gratification. That way, whatever happens, there won't be a lull.