Coronation Street Idris Wins Poker Gamble Before It Backfires
Idris thinks his risky Speed Daal poker plan has worked when Ollie wins, but the victory quickly turns sour as his secret is exposed to Leanne.
Idris Sharma is set to believe he has pulled off the perfect plan in Coronation Street when Ollie wins the private poker game at Speed Daal. However, the apparent victory quickly becomes the start of a much bigger problem as secrets from the night begin catching up with him.
Idris has been desperately trying to raise enough money to buy Alya Nazir’s share of Speed Daal after she tells him she wants £50,000. With Idris still £15,000 short, he turns to Ollie after discovering that he has experience playing poker.
Rather than relying entirely on chance, Idris arranges the game so that the odds are stacked in Ollie’s favour. He provides the money for Ollie to play with and promises him a share of the winnings, believing the scheme could give him the extra cash he needs.
The plan becomes considerably more risky because £5,000 of the money involved has been borrowed from Leanne Battersby. Idris does not tell Leanne what he intends to do with her cash, apparently convincing himself that it is safe because he has already tried to control the outcome.
Brody Michaelis and Lauren Bolton help prepare Speed Daal for the private game, although Idris is already losing some control over who knows what is happening. Lauren overhears him giving instructions to Ollie, while Brody later creates another problem by secretly drinking during the night.
Kit Green and Fiona Middleton are among the players who take their seats, with Idris watching closely as the game progresses. One by one the players drop out until Ollie and Fiona are left battling for the final win.
Ollie eventually comes out on top, giving Idris exactly the result he had been hoping for. For a brief moment, it appears that his calculated gamble has succeeded and that the money he risked has produced the result he wanted.
That sense of relief does not last for long because Idris discovers Brody has been drinking behind his back. When Idris confronts him, Brody retaliates in a way Idris clearly had not anticipated and tells Leanne about the poker scheme.
Leanne is furious to learn that Idris used £5,000 she had lent him as part of the plan. The fact Ollie won does little to soften the discovery, particularly because Idris made the decision without telling her what her money was being used for.
When Idris later tries to defend himself, he insists Leanne’s cash was never genuinely at risk because the game had been rigged in his favour. His argument may explain why he felt confident enough to use the money, but it does not change the fact that Leanne was kept completely in the dark.
The biggest twist for Idris is that he actually gets the poker result he wanted and still ends up facing serious consequences. His attempt to solve one financial problem may have worked at the table, but the secrecy surrounding it leaves his relationship with Leanne and his position around Speed Daal in a far more uncertain place.
Coronation Street airs on ITV and is available to stream on ITVX. For more Weatherfield news, previews and theories, visit the Coronation Street Hub on SoapLandTV. Images: ITV
