Episode 1.18- The One with All the Poker

The TV.com Summary
This is the one where, tired of being referred to by customers as "Excuse me," Rachel interviews for a job as an assistant buyer at Saks Fifth Avenue and she also sees another side of the usually docile Ross when the girls face the boys during a not-so-friendly game of poker.

The Guest Stars
Beverly Garland as Aunt Iris

The Ratings
Creativity- 8.9
Humor- 8.8
Emotion- 8.4
Fun- 8.8
Overall- 8.7

Chandler- 8.9 (Little emotional or dramatic pull, he provided frequent comic relief)
Joey- 8.2 (Had a few funny moments, but other than that, nothing much)
Monica- 8.6 (Super-competitive and high-strung, this was golden Monica)
Phoebe- 9.0 (Hilarious! Did nothing this episode except be super funny)
Rachel- 8.8 (Tugged at the heartstrings and made us laugh while doing so)
Ross- 8.2 (Did not like the rude, competitive Ross, but he still played coy at some moments)

The Best Lines
Monica (looks at one of the envelopes Rachel is sending out her resumes in): Do you really want to work for Popular Mechanics?
Chandler: Well, if you're gonna work for mechanics, those are the ones to work for.

Chandler (sitting in a chair in Central Perk with Ross): Well, I know they call this a love seat, but I'm not really feeling anything special towards you.

Monica: He can get really competitive.
Phoebe snickers.
Monica: What?
Phoebe: Hello, kettle? Yeah, this is Monica. You're black.

Rachel: Guys, guess what, guess what, guess what?!?
Chandler: Okay, uh, the fifth dentist caved and now they're all recommending Trident?

Phoebe: Hey, you guys, look, the one-eyed jack follows me wherever I go!

Phoebe: Ooh, guys, you know what I just realized? Joker is poker with a 'J'! Coincidence... ?
Chandler: Hey, that's jo-incidence with a 'C'!

The Moments
The guys try to teach the girls poker.
The girls learn poker from Monica's Aunt Iris.
The Ross-Rachel poker showdown.

The Romances

The Verdict
Good episode! Really explored the group dynamic, and by taking away extraneous people and places we were really able to focus on the integral characters and their emotions, etc. Maybe not always laugh-out-loud funny but there were plenty of witty remarks and Chandler and Phoebe really brought the funny. I was unimpressed by a strange new version of Ross, but his affection for Rachel has become really touching.