Many rugby league experts were quick to suggest folding on Warriors' ace-wing Manu Vatuvei when his hands deserted him in 2007, but they would be no good at Texas-Hold’em – unlike Warriors coach Ivan Cleary who held firm on his trump card.
The 112kg 24-year-old man-mountain scored five tries in the opening two games of the NRL season, two in the 24-18 loss to the Titans last Sunday and three in the 30-16 victory over Ricky Stuart’s Sharks.
He was included in this year’s All Star team and with Saturday’s hat-trick Vatuvei became the Warriors second all-time try scorer with 63, behind only Stacey Jones (77).
If Vatuvei continues his dominant form he would be odds-on to break the little general's record in well under half as many appearances.
But Vatuvei was not always a man worth picture card value – rather the opposite when a horror run of matches in 2007 saw his hands resemble soap and the only thing he could catch was a cold.
Cleary hailed his prodigy on Saturday, pointing out Vatuvei was just 21-years-old when the stick started flying from all angles, particularly from across the Tasman.
"He's got better hands than he's been given credit for over the years," Cleary said.
"He's got an incredibly strong character and that goes back to 2007 when he was basically ridiculed in the league.
"A lot of guys wouldn't have been able to handle what was thrown at him."
While others would have called for a re-deal, or cut their losses before they were in too deep, the thought never crossed Cleary's mind.
"We've always found him very valuable," he said.
"He has worked really hard to get where he is and hopefully there's still a fair way to go.
"He deserves everything he gets.
"Everyone's happy he's in our team."
Affectionately nicknamed 'Beast', Cleary says he 'runs like the wind'.
It is clear Vatuvei is feared by every opponent that attempts to contain, more so than stop, the Otara product.
His acrobatic ability has shored, his work rate is unmatched – he had 15 carriers against the Sharks – and most of all he is often the inspiration behind a Warriors' victory.
While thrilled with Vatuvei, Cleary was far less excited about the prospect of losing first-choice halfback Brett Seymour, which he knew about on Tuesday, for at least six weeks as the former Sharks and Broncos No.7 has to undergo surgery to mend a broken thumb.
But he said James Maloney was 'capable' and also hinted at a possible call-up for Junior Warriors halfback Shaun Johnson.
Meanwhile, Stuart cut a dejected man post-match.
He was confident after nearly tipping-over last year's champions Melbourne, but said what his side dished up on Saturday was 'completely unbelievable'.
"Thank God we could tackle because the amount of ball we gave the Warriors, they could have put 40 points on us," he said.
He highlighted a period where the Sharks had to defend seven sets on their on line.
"We're burning up too much energy in defence and we need to be better at attack. But we're always attacking tired and, at the moment, we're not a good attacking team fresh."