Poker Player Who Lost a Limb is Forced to Use His Prosthetic Arm, Tells Friends ‘He’s Having a Hard Time Dealing With it’

The poker tables of Scotland have fallen unusually silent this week following news that local legend Hamish “The Granite” McFadden has suffered a catastrophic setback.

The 44-year-old high-stakes regular, once renowned for his death-stare and ability to stack chips with surgical precision, lost his right forearm in a bizarre domestic mishap involving an overzealous electric carving knife and a particularly stubborn Christmas turkey. Doctors fitted him with a state-of-the-art prosthetic, but sources close to McFadden say the transition has been anything but smooth.

“He’s having a really hard time dealing with it,” confided longtime tablemate Rab “All-In” Docherty outside The Rusty Flush card club. “The new arm’s brilliant for lifting pints, but at the felt? Disaster. He tries to check-raise and the bloody thing locks up mid-motion. Last Tuesday he accidentally went all-in on a pair of deuces because the fingers wouldn’t release the chips. Table erupted in laughter – thought he was slow-rolling on purpose.”

McFadden, ever the stoic, attempted to downplay the drama during a recent session. “It’s nae ideal,” he muttered while awkwardly reshuffling with one hand and a suspiciously robotic clank. “Can’t feel the texture of the cards anymore. Used to know when someone was bluffing by the sweat on their thumb. Now I’m just guessing. And the itch – Christ, the itch inside the socket is worse than a bad beat on the river.”

Fellow players have launched a whip-round to fund “sensitivity upgrades” or, failing that, a custom sleeve emblazoned with “Don’t Fold on Me.” In the meantime, McFadden vows to keep showing up. “Poker’s about adaptation,” he said, as his prosthetic involuntarily saluted the dealer. “If I can’t beat you with skill, I’ll just scare you with the hardware.”