Poker Night #99: Tired Top Ten

Three long days of driving as we returned home from vacation admittedly left us weary tonight. We yawned openly more than once, as we dared to play at Lil Kim's Cove. Yet our mental faculties apparently were still strong -- strong enough to come within one hand of the final table.

We sat at a table where players were willing to challenge each other, by making big bets early. For instance....

BLINDS: 25/50

IN THE POCKET: A-K offsuit

Nice to see an early opportunity. We're second in line to bet with about 4,500 chips, so we raise to 250 -- but then we hear words of trouble. "I was going to raise," the man to our immediate left says.

"Sorry to spoil your fun," we say with a smile. That man simply calls -- but then a player across the table pushes all-in for 2,200 more. What do we have here? Desperation? A large-scale bluff?

In most situations, A-K is simply not a hand you fold before the flop. So we don't. "I've got to call it," we say. The man to our immediate left does as well.

ON THE FLOP: Q-J-7.

We have no pair, but a straight draw. We check -- but the man to our left aggressively bets 2,000.

"You two fight," we say as we fold. That's our usual approach online, when other players around us at a table bet big -- especially if we essentially have nothing. In this case, it was the right move. The man to our left has A-J, with a pair on the flop. But the man who pushed all-in has Q-Q -- and three Queens win him a huge pot.

We had all-in moments as well, after crawling into the second hour at 1,500 chips. K-J led to a straight, increasing our stack fivefold. Then we called before the flop with 3-3, went all-in with a third 3 on the turn and gained again. But a push with pocket 4's eventually was topped by an opponent with pocked 5's, so we finished tenth.

MINISTRY MOMENT: Even before the tournament began, two across the table were sharing stories of gambling junkets. One talked about making a rule for the group, including "no praying or whining" on the way home.

"I'd think you'd be praying on the way there," another man said.

We agreed. "You should pray all the time." Then a couple of minutes later we asked the second man about a gambling bus from Arizona to Las Vegas. "Did you pray on the way there?" He admitted he didn't.

So what about you? Philippians 4:6 says, "....in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Yes, it says everything. You might consider some matters too trivial, like the outcome of a poker game. And there's no guarantee God will grant you victory. But as they say in lottery ads -- you never know if you don't try.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 41 final tables in 99 nights (41.4%) - 9 cashes. Maybe if we had played #99 on 9/9/09....?

(No online poker was played during our vacation.)