What do poker players do when they're "in the tank?" Deep in thought about how an opponent plays a hand, and how they should respond? We heard an out-loud example of one player's analysis tonight at Lil Kim's Cove -- and it was directed toward us.
BLINDS: 100/200
IN THE POCKET: 9-9
Standard calling goes around the table. Holding "Gretzkys," we choose to call instead of raising.
ON THE FLOP: 9-7-6 offsuit
A top "trip" comes our way! A player ahead of us bets 500. We raise to 2,000 -- a raise that's a bit daring, because a straight is makeable from the abord. About three other players take the dare and call.
ON THE TURN: 2
Two clubs now are showing. The player ahead of us checks. We're a bit concerned about all these callers, so we slow down and bet 1,000.
After one player calls, a man across the table takes a moment to talk pretty much to himself and think about this. "I know you don't have 8-10." (That would make a straight.)
"I don't?!?!" we ask to play along.
"No, you don't.... You limped in. Then you checked, and bet 2,000." (Not quite true; a player bet ahead of us.) "Now you're betting 1,000...." Our opponent pauses for a moment. "And I'm on a draw. I'll admit it. And it's the nut draw."
Our opponent keeps talking as if he wants a discussion which might reveal something, but we say no more. Finally he decides: "You must have hit trips on the flop. I'm gonna fold." Was he right or wrong -- all in all?
ON THE RIVER: 5 (not a club)
The straight chance is more likely now. We check. The player to our left does as well.
"You're right, I did have trips on the flop." Our three 9's leave the others frustrated, and leave us with thousands of extra chips (including 500 tossed in by the Tournament Director just for fun).
We were at 15,000 chips at the one-hour break -- but a couple of promising hands didn't go our way, and we wound up losing at the semifinal table in 14th place. With the blinds at 4,000 and our stack dwindling to 3,500, we joined another player all-in with K-10 -- but that other player made Aces to knock us out.
MINISTRY MOMENT: Early in the evening, the Lil Kim's Cove jukebox played a surprising song for a nightclub -- Josh Turner's big country hit "Long Black Train." We happened to be dealing at the time, and said some of the lyrics out loud. "Don't go riding that long black train.... There's victory in the Lord."
"You like that song, don't you?" a woman sitting to our immediate left said after it ended and the deal had moved on.
"Yes, I do. Do you agree with that song? That there's victory in the Lord?"
"Oh, I do. Really, really, really do." Good for her. How about you?
"With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies." - Psalm 60:12. It may not always happen at the poker table, but believers have faith Jesus will return to bring victory over death and the grave.
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 40 final tables in 96 nights (41.7%) - 9 cashes. We should note live poker games may not happen next week, due to another commitment.
YAHOO POKER TOTAL: $13,226 - unchanged. (Haven't played there in 16 days; no real money)
NBC SPORTS POKER TOTAL: Five-player sit-n-goes - 28-34-10-5-8. Full tournaments - 19 final tables in 139 games (13.7%), 2 cashes.
We came close to a $20 top prize in an afternoon tournament today, finishing fourth out of 137 players. Hopefully we gained enough poker points to clinch a spot in Sunday night's weekly championship.
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