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[Pixabay](https://pixabay.com/photos/search/sleeve/)
I declare, palms open, straight fingers extended toward the light, nothing up my sleeve. No gimmicks bent into silence, no reserve plan sewed inside my jacket lining. Just this second, raw and unpolished. Standing this way is terrifying; there are no concealed cards and no deft diversions to lean on when the stakes appear high. Apart from the guaranteed applause, vulnerability is its own sort of performance.
But there is also freedom in it. One has nothing to protect if there is nothing hidden. No fear of being discovered; no taxing mental arithmetic. Only honesty lying between the world and you. You win as you are if you win. Losing sincerely comes if you lose.