Read'Em and Weep

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Read'Em and Weep is a Stock Phrase used when a character displays the high hand in a game of poker or similar game and rakes in a big pot. In a comedy it often heralds the arrival of the innocent newbie and The Magic Poker Equation; in a drama it often heralds the arrival of large, unpleasant men with drawn guns. In any story, it can also precede the showing of someone else's even better hand.

Examples of Read'Em and Weep include:

Literature

• In The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Other Stories's titular story, Henry Sugar does this at a casino the first night he masters his yogi powers to see through cards. It allows him to win at blackjack. Deconstructed shortly after, since he realizes that if you win big money all the time, the house watches you, so he starts playing worse on purpose.
• Provides the title for Read 'Em and Weep: A Bedside Poker Companion, an anthology of short stories, essays, poems, and excerpts from novels, all about poker, collected and edited by John Stravinsky

Live-Action TV

• In I Love Lucy, Lucy did this by accident in the episode "Be A Pal". Fearing that Ricky was falling out of love with her, she joined in on one of his poker nights when taking the advice from a book written by Dr. Humphrey. She revealed that she had a Royal Flush during the first round, causing everyone to fold, and then she bluffed well into her second hand.
• Sheldon planned to do this to Will Wheaton during The Big Bang Theory during a Magic: The Gathering tournament. He then forfeited the match when Wheaton tricked him with a sob story, and proceeded to gloat about Sheldon's gullibility.
• Monk did this with blackjack while winning back Randy's money at a casino, 35 grand in total. In "Mr. Monk Goes to Las Vegas," Captain Stottlemeyer brought Monk to Vegas because he swears that he solved a case while drunk. Monk not only wins the money back but also figures out what Stottlemeyer figured out, how the casino owner murdered his wife and made it look like an accident. And without blinking an eye. Stottlemeyer pulls him away just as Monk wins all of Randy's money back and clears his debt.

Music

• Provides the title for but is otherwise averted by the 1983 Barry Manilow song "Read'em and Weep" (written and produced by Jim Steinman, and thus also recorded by Meat Loaf). Within the context of the song, what the listener is invited to read is the singer's eyes and the emotion in them, not playing cards.

Web Animation

• In the NeoPets website short series Brucey B and the Lucky Coin", he lost his Golden Coin in a game of Cheat, which leads to the rest of the story. The idea of the game is you accuse the other competitor of cheating at cards and you win the pot if they did; they win if it turns out they were playing fairly. Brucey B. lost when his competitor, a stooge for the Big Bad, revealed that he wasn't cheating by flipping the winning card.

Western Animation

• In a Looney Tunes vintage short, Bugs went to a casino in revenge for the owner stealing his gold. He ends up winning out the house when showing a full hand at poker, unsure if he won or not.
• Part of the rules of the game Ajimbo in Recess is that you do this to win. The game isn't explained, and Gretchen finds the rules confusing, but it seems the general idea is you use puzzle tile pieces to create a linking food chain. You win by making a connected chain with powerful creatures, and you can collect the losers' puzzle tiles.
• In Teen Titans, Cyborg did a variant during thee episode "Winner Take All" when the Titans are playing a card game. He has an asteroid card, that wipes out Robin's defense. Robin demanded a rematch, but Cyborg pointed out Robin was out of cards.