Poker Night #97: Bigger Isn't Better

So it turns out we were able to play in the Lil Kim's Cove poker tournament tonight. (We'll have to skip Thursday.) And it turns out we were at a tournament with only about 21 players, and three tables. But no, we didn't reach the final table -- finishing mid-list in 11th place.

It was a night when lesser hands seemed to do better than big ones -- or at least for us they did. Early in the match, we had A-K and lost to a pair of Jacks. But the turnaround came minutes later....

BLINDS: 50/100

IN THE POCKET: Kc-9c

We like to joke about not playing K-9, because it's a dog hand. (Get it?) But they're suited, so we try it. Several players offer the minimum.

ON THE FLOP: 3-9-3.

That seems nice -- but we've been burned a few times online lately, by three of a kind crushing our two pair.

A man across the table bets the minimum 100. We raise to 400. Only a man to our left stays on -- the same man who analyzed our betting last week, and correctly figured we had three of a kind.

ON THE TURN: 3.

It's a full house, with one card to spare! But a higher pocket pair could top us, so we don't overbet -- or at least we don't think we do. We offer 1,100.

The Lil Kim's Cove house rules reward a player 5,000 bonus chips for making quads. Mr. Analysis knows this, and now speaks up about our bet. "See, that tells me you don't have quads. You would have checked to the river to get the 5,000." (He's correct; the hand has to go all the way to the end.) "You've got a 9. You knew that, right? About the quads?"

We'd actually forgotten that for the moment, since we didn't have quads in the first place. But we say nothing, and eventually give a noncommittal "thank you for reminding me" answer.

Mr. Analysis then concludes: "I'll fold, out of respect for you." It's a small gain, but not the big one we wanted. (For the record, the dealer played out the hand and showed an Ace on the river.)

So smaller cards paid off there -- but they worked against us at the semifinal table. We pushed all-in for 2,500 with Kd-Qd, and made a flush. But then we pushed again for 5,500 with As-Ks, and were topped by a man with pocket Kings when no Ace appeared on the board.

MINISTRY MOMENT: The first all-in bet prompted us to say out loud, "Praise the Lord."

"You had to go bring God into it," a man to our left said -- we think half-joking.

"Why lock God out of anything?" we answered. And this strikes at the point of what we're doing at live poker tournaments in the first place.

"Your life is now hidden with Christ in God," Paul wrote in Colossians 3:3. He went on in verse 4 to tell a church congregation, "When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory."

If Jesus really is your life, you'll let Him lead your life (II Cor. 2:14). And that means you should let Jesus be the Lord of every aspect of your life. Why leave Him out of anything, if His presence can make things better?

If you're one of those who lives with a "God-free zone," we invite you to read our Bible study about such thinking.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 40 final tables in 97 nights (41.2%) - 9 cashes.

YAHOO POKER TOTAL: $13,578 - up $349 to a RECORD HIGH! We've played cash games at Yahoo the last three days, and gained every day. Holding K-J and seeing A-Q-10 on the flop this afternoon led to a $254 straight.

NBC SPORTS POKER TOTAL: Five-player sit-n-goes - 29-34-10-5-8. Full tournaments - 19 final tables in 146 games (13.0%), 2 cashes.