Even the mindful gangster Ace Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) may not be ready for what lies on the horizon.

Amid some jovial moments with The Four Amigos (once just a bunch of degenerates, now the founding members of Foray Stables) and some romantic progress for Ace, Jerry and Escalante, first blood is drawn: Ace’s young hotshot, Nathan Israel, with his face flush to a crimson pool.

Noting Milch’s “waste not, want not” approach to cinematography, one must consider the shot shown immediately after the gruesome sight of Israel’s bashed-in cranium lying lifelessly on the floor of Mike’s (Michael Gambon) yacht: a flock of seagulls fleeing the scene. After the foreboding tremors of last week forced our friends to confront their choices and possibilities, this week illustrates that unlike the flock it won’t be so easy to escape themselves and their decisions, for those tied to the track.

Is there an inevitability (I sure hope you are compiling these in a study guide of some sort) to a universe ruled by luck? Many measures are taken to assert control, but nearly all of the folks we’ve come to know are at the mercy of another, or the fickle deities that are the gambling gods. Up until this point the boldness of rolling the dice had been rewarded, even if it lead some down the proverbial rabbit hole. Jerry was a few whiskers shy of rock bottom, Joey was just a few degrees of angled bullet away from the long goodbye, and Leon and Rosie both are either a couple pounds or flick of the stick away from obscurity. And that’s just a few kick-ups of the dust settling in the ominous air of Santa Anita.

For some there’s a tinge of hope shining through despite those gathering particles that try to block out any light. After a respite from the poker table, Jerry returns to the game with swagger, and he may just be indebted to his ragtag gang for that. But it’s his own strategies and maneuvers that win him a seat at the next phase for The World Series of Poker. Deserving some credit though is his secret partner in a tag team effort, Naomi, the dealer who witnessed his downward spiral against Leo. She might have scared the rest of the table off before they could maximize their score, but the end result is the same: a jackpot win and some parking lot sex between the victors. Jerry charms her with his down-to-earth request that she accompany him for a soda, “That’s what we call it where I’m from.”

As the previous quote indicates, this cliche calm-before-the-storm was not without some humor. Marcus delivers a humdinger: “Guy shows a little ass, and damn if a nightstick isn’t shoved up there and given a little twist,” and Lonnie and Renzo are catty critics of Jerry’s gorgeous new gal, “She didn’t say where she was from” and “She wore quite a bit of makeup.” Escalante also contributes a silly non sequitur after Ace installs a surveillance camera so he can keep an eye on Pint of Plain: “Watch my barn get put on the Facebook.”

Yet suffering seems to be the fate that will befall them all, and the tally of the afflicted started last night. In the first installment of the season’s final third, we realize that hot streaks end, and that there’s no certainty you’ll be ready for when the fires dies out. That interconnectedness that Milch and the crew have slowly been building, will crumble under the weight of the character’s different dependencies. Every one of them in one way or another is banking on someone else, scheming to ensure that structure will stand. And the beams have begun to sway ever so subtly.

Ace’s buffer has been removed, and for the first time he doesn’t anticipate this domino’s fall. He writes off the lack of a response from Nathan by surmising that he is getting laid by one of the many women on Mike’s boat. It’s not like him to dismiss. Could it be that Claire’s kindness has willed him into trusting? This vulnerability could bode well for their future as a couple, but there will be no “them” if Mike and his associates reclaim the leverage Ace spent countless dollars and hours solidifying. Before the bloodshed, he’s still the puppet master, manipulating their movements by feigning a meeting with the Indian casino knowing that Mike would hire a photographer to gather snapshot evidence, but the obliviousness about Israel maybe having been clipped at sea, is unsettling to say the least. As Ace’s all-seeing, but doughy eye looks upon Pint Of Plain, his gaze is diverted from the threat to all he has grown accustomed to and has cared about since his release.

The most God-fearing creatures are the slender jockeys. During pillow talk, Rosie concludes with Leon that she’ll use his sorta agent Joey as a proxy through which to gauge Walter’s feelings on giving her the mount in Gettin’ Up’s next race. Joey strong-arms her into “taking her book,” but then irritates Walter by showing his hand and making him feel rushed into a decision. Here’s where inevitability gets dicey. Was it Rosie’s initiative through Joey that eventually yields a “No” from Walter or was the ride Ronnie Jenkins’ to win or lose all along. Speak of the pill-crushing devil, Ronnie acts the part of a recovering addict well enough to convince Walter he can be trusted with Gettin’ Up’s mount, but in the final frames he succumbs to the beckoning of a bottle of Oxy and shamefully snorts them.

Lonnie, feeling like the fourth wheel of Foray Stables, decides on a business venture for himself: another Escalante horse in a claiming race. He figures this horses’s condition is for show, similar to the scenario that fell in their laps with Mon Gateau. But after launching out of the gate “like a rocketship,” Leon pulls up promptly when the horse starts to show signs of a hitch in her giddy up. Later proving to be a ruptured flexor tendon, Lonnie inherits a newly sidelined racehorse, but a still potentially profitable philly if he sends her off to a retirement farm to be a brood mare (she’ll spend her days breeding and birthing future champions). Ill-conceived from the onset, there’s an air about how it all played out that feels like self-fulfilling prophecy, and that outside of the bubble of Lonnie’s personal risk, maybe our quartet of degenerates don’t end up as fortunate. When you try to catch lightning in a bottle, isn’t it only a matter of time before it strikes you down?

Gloom casts its shadow over the radiant moments, such as Esclante’s warm receptiveness to fatherhood, through Mike’s remarks about syntax. When Mike’s seemingly irrational and savage beating occurs he justifies it with his frenzied cries of “Syntax!” By retorting the way he did, “Answered a question with another question,” Israel revealed to Mike that he stands in solidarity with Ace, and was not a double agent in the purest sense. Applied more broadly, this idea that oneself will be revealed eventually through what they’ve said or done would seem to harken back the old HBO adage, the one justifying their notoriously slow-burning dramas: all the pieces matter. Could Ace’s skepticism that he shares at the thoroughbred retirement farm, about inmates’ being rehabilitated by caring for a horse, “They’re still in custody” be confirmed? Are people bound to who they are?

If one is to redeem themselves, they have to test their will. Escalante tests his will by showing Jo he can be selfless and puts the needs of another before his by bringing Eduardo home to his abandoning uncle. Walter in his soulful struggle to avenge Delphi’s murder through his foal decides that Ronnie will be the better fit to take Gettin’ Up to the promiseland. And Jerry faces his gambling woes head on by thrusting himself into high stakes competition. Faith that high risk will reap high rewards seems to be the religion of our track-goers, and we cringe knowing that men have died over faith before. When Mike smacks Israel upside his temple with a glass dish, he not only (allegedly) takes his life, but he challenges our hope that those who deserve to win, will.

With all that subtext smashing in our own skulls, in addition to the brimming pot of plot boiling over, this episode felt awkwardly insisting where subtlety and simplicity has previously prevailed. I’d imagine the outright exposition and influx of events was essential considering we’re approaching the penultimate episode; HBO shows tends to drop bombs during the week that proceeds the finale, which deals with the fallout. That clunkiness can be mostly forgiven though, because the overwhelming feeling is that we’re going to be broadsided soon, and the merciful Milch was kind enough to allow us time to brace ourselves. But for providing several restorative moments that contrast the gruesome and bleak possibilities of retribution and relapse that might await our pals, leading us into the last two episodes looking over our shoulders, the “Brains Housing Department” deserves to be rewarded for their risks, for their own entrance into the world of high-stakes television: A-.

Blake Eastman holding court (Courtesy of School of Cards)

NEW YORK — Nestled in an industrial strip of Chelsea just a stone’s throw from the Hudson River, a small group of strangers meet to try their hand at No Limit Texas Hold ‘em. The barbed wire and warehouse surroundings give the Saturday evening a clandestine feel. It’s the perfect location for a smoky, dimly lit poker room full of notorious gamblers.

But there’s only one card shark this evening and his name is Blake Eastman. He’s teaching an introductory poker class at the newly formed School of Cards — the first brick and mortar poker school in the United States.

It’s a one-room schoolhouse complete with chalkboard, projector and bookshelves. Instead of basic arithmetic, the chalkboard outlines advanced bankroll management, the textbooks all focus on counting cards and game strategies, and the projector broadcasts live online poker games. The lounge chairs, mini-fridge, boxes of candy and corner bar give the space a sense of a college dormitory more than a sober learning environment. But at the School of Cards, poker is no frivolous pastime – it’s a serious business.

Eastman, a 25-year-old professional poker player and psychology professor, first started playing poker at 18 after seeing the 1998 cult classic “Rounders.” He gave up the game completely after casual play only found him losing money, be he found a renewed focus when he entered graduate school for forensic psychology at age 20.

“I treated the game academically, like I was in grad school for poker,” Eastman said. “I read every book. I talked about it nonstop. I played nonstop. I won and lost enough times because I wasn’t really practicing proper bank roll management, and once I did that I started playing with more stakes and started doing better.”

Eastman did well enough to pay off grad school through poker and earn a living with his winnings as his primary source of income.

“I wasn’t making incredible money, I was probably doing better than most 20-year-olds of course, but I wasn’t playing as significantly,” he said. “The plan was that I was supposed to go to law school, … but poker was bringing so many opportunities and I knew that I could make more money playing poker over the three years that I would be in law school.”

Born and raised in New York City, Eastman said he always had a desire to be an entrepreneur and playing poker gave him the freedom and the funds to invest and create his own start-ups.

“I realized I wanted to start doing more things than just playing poker, because playing poker is really like a grind,” he said. “You are always playing, always playing, you’re up and you’re down. And I wanted to hedge my poker playing abilities, so I started teaching.”

After giving private lessons and hosting Profitable No Limit Hold ‘em courses at the Grand Hyatt and W Hotel for the past couple of years, Eastman’s teaching turned into full-time work this summer when he rented out space on 28th Street and opened up the School of Cards. The school currently offers an introductory class; a 21-hour profitable class for more advanced players; and frequently hosts private poker parties and free events that allow students to come back and refresh their skills.

Saturday night’s Introduction to Poker class is made up of a hodgepodge of young professionals from New York City and the surrounding suburbs: a military man, a magazine designer, a special education teacher, and a foreign couple. The experience level ranges from not knowing the difference between a straight and a flush to fanatic Facebook poker players and occasional casino gamblers.

Over the course of three hours the session covers the basics of No Limit Texas Hold ‘em – what makes up a hand, what generally you should play and what you should fold, how to responsibly and strategically place bets, and the etiquette and procedure of the game. The goal is to make a novice player feel comfortable enough to walk into a casino and sit down at table.

The class (much like a real poker table) is only as interesting, challenging and fun as the other people at the table. With an absence of stakes, one or two poor listeners can make the lesson draining at times. But everyone gets a chance to show what they’ve learned at the end with a winner takes all tournament round. Those who were listening will last the hour, while those who don’t heed Eastman’s advice are stuck watching for the remainder of the course.

Eastman’s plans for School of Cards include adding Black Jack courses and offering a reputable dealer school program. Eastman said he is open to the idea, but isn’t really interested in offering classes on other casino games. He just doesn’t see the point in playing games like Roulette or slots.

“Why would you want to play a game that you will lose in the long run — it really just doesn’t make sense to me,” he said. “Poker is number one in terms of long term profitability, at least in my opinion. Right underneath that is Black Jack.”

Poker has the unique perspective of not having a house edge. The game is played against other players at the table not against the casinos.

“The reason I love School of Cards is because people at [casino] poker tables – at the lower stakes games – they are so bad that we can teach some core fundamentals to teach people to play what we call ABC poker,” Eastman said. “It’s a fundamentally aggressive and tight way of playing poker, and [our students] can make money – if they stick to what I taught.”

Written on every chip at School of Cards is the motto: “We never gamble.”

“If you’re not thinking you’re gambling. I say that we never gamble because we don’t,” Eastman said. “Any given day we are making a gamble, but at the end of the year we’re not gambling. We are making decisions that have positive expectations. [Those decisions] are going to win us money over the long run.”

While many of Eastman’s intro students go on to take his advanced classes and make profit off of online play, the fundamental game play isn’t for everyone. Some people at the introduction class said they missed the thrill of a Roulette wheel or would probably still prefer to play the craps tables on their next trip to Atlantic City.

As one student put it, “If I’ve learned anything today, it’s that you fold a lot.”

From our Made Hand Poker blog by Mark Scalia.

As the $10,000 WSOP Main Event is well underway, many big name stars remain.

Jamie Gold was eliminated Monday, and as we entered Day 3, Gus Hansen was on top with over $600,000 in chips. Six former champions remained,

Chris Ferguson, one of the former champions, busted early in the day leaving five.

At the end of Day 3, the money bubble has burst and 337 players remain in contention for poker’s greatest prize. Atop the leader board is a familiar face to the online world, Italian sensation Dario Minieri with 2,398,000 in chips. Dario plays in the highest games on Pokerstars and recently purchased an Aston Martin using his Pokerstars Frequent Player Points…

Remarkably, five former champions made it through the day and are still left in the field: Huck Seed (544,000), Robert Varkonyi (424,00), Scotty Nguyen (321,000), Carlos Mortensen (284,000), and Berry Johnston (203,000).

Actor Tobey Maguire has survived the money bubble and is still in the hunt with 131,000 in chips, and numerous pros are also still left including Gus Hansen (currently 11th), Lee Watkinson, Chad Brown, Jason Lester, Daniel Alaei, Humberto Brenes and Mimi Tran among others.

Daniel Negreanu started out big in the tourney, winning pot after pot with his aggressive play, but he fell hard and busted late Wednesday.

With so many pros and former champions left, this Main Event is looking like a good one.

Television coverage of the smaller events started this week on ESPN. Tune in at 8 p.m.

From our Made Hand Poker blog by Mark Scalia:

Phil Hellmuth Jr. won his record-breaking 11th World Series of Poker bracelet June 11, winning Event #15, a $1,500 No-Limit Texas Hold’em tournament.

With the win he broke the three-way tie of 10 WSOP bracelets between himself, Johnny Chan and Doyle Brunson.

Along with the bracelet Hellmuth took home $637,254.

Also, in a shocking move, PokerStars landed one of the most marketable and talented poker players in the world, Daniel Negreanu.

Negreanu, who recently left Full Contact Poker, now joins a team that includes four former WSOP Main Event Champions.

PokerStars is already currently the largest online poker room with tens of thousands of players at any given moment.