18.The One with All the Poker

Season:1 Episode:18 First Aired:3/2/1995 Prod Code:456662

Guide
Tired of being referred to by customers as "Excuse me," Rachel interviews for a job as an assistant buyer at Saks Fifth Avenue. She also sees another side of the usually docile Ross when the girls face the boys during a not-so-friendly game of poker.

Summary
The gang helps Rachel mail out her resumes while whistling the theme from Bridge on the River Kwai. She is sick & tired of being a waitress & wants to be known as more than "Excuse me."
At Central Perk, Ross & Chandler sit at a table while Rachel is working. Monica & Phoebe enter. Rachel walks up to the girls & asks if she received any responses from her resumes. Monica & Phoebe start to read them, but soon crumple them before they get to the "sorry, position filled' part.
Chandler asks Ross why he is not giving Linda another chance. Ross fumbles for words to articulate the reason he dumped her. He then begins to lovingly stare at Rachel. Chandler notices & calls him out on it but Ross denies his feelings. Rachel comes over to their table and he lays his head on the table like a puppy in love. She walks away, looking strange. Ross keeps his head on the table, continues staring. Chandler smacks him with a newspaper.
Joey enters, causing Ross & Chandler to laugh at him. Phoebe asks why they are laughing. They tell her that Joey cried the night before when he lost during their poker game, further humiliating Joey.
Rachel asks why they never invited the girls to play. They say they don't know any girls who like to play, but the girls call them out on their line of crap. The girls know they just want it to be a "guy's only" event.
Ross if the girls know how to play. They don't. Rachel tells Ross that he could teach them. The guys are against that.
Later that day, at Monica & Rachel's, the guys are teaching the girls the basics of poker. After Chandler announces the cards have been drawn, Monica says she has a straight. Rachel & Phoebe congratulate her as the guys look on frustrated.
The microwave timer goes off & Monica gets up. Chandler asks Phoebe how many cards she wants. She tells him "10 of spades & the 6 of clubs". Rachel gives Phoebe her 10 of spades, much to the chagrin of the guys.
Monica comes back to the table with fancy appetisers. The girls love it & the guys hate it.
The girls tell the guys they are done with the practice; they want to play for real.
Time passes. Monica throws down her cards in angrily. Phoebe learns that Joey was bluffing about how good his cards were. Rachel wants to leave so she can fax more resumes.
But the guys tell her she can't leave, she has to finish her game; she owes money. Joey, trying to be nice, tells the girls since it's their first time, they don't have to pay. Monica offers a rematch instead.
Rachel notices the change in Ross and calls him out on it. He tells her "If you're gonna play poker with me, don't expect me to be a 'nice guy'".
At Ross' apartment, Marcel makes a screeching noise in the background as Ross orders him to drop the CD disc. But Marcel puts it in the CD player and presses play. "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" starts to play as Marcel dances to it.
Rachel opens one letter to discover she has an interview with Sak's Fifth Avenue for the position of Assistant buyer. She glows at the idea of being paid to shop for a living.
A knock on the door, it's Monica's Aunt Iris who's there to teach the girls how to play poker like a pro. She tells the girls the first lesson is bluffing, "Everything you hear at a poker game is pure crap."
Ross' apartment, the Poker Re-Match is beginning. "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" plays in the background. Ross goes to turn off the CD player. Marcel angrily runs into the bedroom, slamming the door.
Rachel enters. She tells the gang about how well the interview went. She is sure she got the job.
The poker game begins. Ross asks Rachel if she needs help to shuffle the cards. She shuffles the cards expertly, all the guys stare amazed.
The re-match is over & the girls owe Ross money. Rachel hands over her money, upset. But Monica is fired up; she challenges the guys to another re-match.
At Monica's, everyone is there for another rematch. Ross feeling lucky, asks the girls if they want to just hand over their money now rather than wait to the end of the game. Rachel, all tough, calls him “monkey boy”.
Ross gets up from the table and goes to the bathroom. Joey decides to order a pizza but Rachel tells him they have to keep the phone lines open until 9pm because she is expecting Sak's to call her.
Time passes. Phoebe, tired of losing hands, throws her cards down. Ross thinks he has the money because he as a flush, he lays his cards down. Rachel is happy to inform him that she has four 6's. She excitedly collects her chips & begins singing, “Well, I have your money, and you'll never see it...”
More time passes. Monica slams down her cards and saying she hates poker. Joey slides a plate away from Monica and gives it to Chandler who hides it under the table, so she doesn't break it.
Everyone but Ross & Rachel fold their hand. Rachel raises the pot. Ross folds, she wins.
Rachel deals a new hand, noting how Ross' face gets red & veins pop out on his temple when he loses. Ross is very upset, insisting he isn't losing.
The phone ring & Rachel jumps to get it. It's Sak's. She didn't get the job. She hangs up the phone & is very depressed.
Rachel sits back down & the rest are speechless. Joey tells Rachel that they can stop the game if she would like. Rachel wants to go on, she has to move forward.
Ross bets 50 cents. Rachel, determined to win in order to prove that she is worth something, raises the 50 cents to 5 dollars. Everyone holds except for Ross. He thinks about it for a second and decides to fold.
Rachel knows what he is up to, trying to forfeit on purpose to make her feel better. She berates him until he picks up his cards to join the game.
The two play poker like a duel in the Wild West. They keep raising the pot with each turn. Ross raises it to $25, causing the other 4 to look amazed at the large pot. Rachel raises the pot to $42 with the help of Monica & Phoebe's money.
Ross pulls out $2 from his wallet while Chandler & Joey give him $15 to equal the $17 Rachel put in.
A long pause as the two look at each other before laying down their cards. Rachel has a full house. Ross stares at her for a moment before putting his cards down on the table, face down, telling her she won.
Monica & Phoebe jump up and start celebrating in the kitchen by pouring wine & singing. Rachel, shocked, joins the girls.
Joey & Chandler console Ross. Ross tells them it’s okay & he looks at Rachel and smiles at how happy she is because she won.
Chandler & Joey look at Rachel before looking back at Ross. They dive for Ross' hand to see what he had, but Ross snatches it away.

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