Poker Night 115: The Price is Right

We mentioned here recently how some people make big moves with their chips early in a tournament, hoping to grab the lead. To borrow from Ecclesiastes 3, we believe there's a time and a place to be "pushy." Tonight's game at Soho Bar and Grill was one of them....

BLINDS: 500/1,000

IN THE POCKET: A-J offsuit

That's potentially a big hand, and we won an all-in bet a few hands before with K-K. We raised in the big blind before the flop then. We simply call now. Several players do the same.

ON THE FLOP: J-7-9

We're first in line to bet, and put out 3,500. "Are you trying to buy the pot?" a man sitting next to us asks.

"Now would I do that?" we coyly ask in reply. After all, we could have said, we have top pair and top kicker. Is that an attempt to buy the pot, or simply make the most of what we have?

The man next to us folds -- and so does everybody else, giving us the pot. But the man who asked the question asks the dealer to play out the cards.

ON THE TURN: 8

ON THE RIVER: Q

One player curses, bemoaning the fact that he had a 10. Our big bet scared him off a straight draw. Ahhhh -- the very idea.

We won several hands tonight, but only reached the semifinal table. An all-in push with 9,500 chips and K-Q didn't work, as the board didn't pair and an Ace appeared to give someone a pair.

MINISTRY MOMENT: "How come you haven't been to Lil Kim's Cove?" a player asked us during the one-hour break. We explained we went out of town for a job interview a couple of Thursdays ago, and then there was no game on Thanksgiving.

"They also play on Tuesday," the man said. We knew that, but explained Tuesday is the night when we take part in a telephone Bible discussion. (If you'd like to join in, leave a comment and we'll provide details.)

We told the man we're still looking for full-time work -- but "God provides." Many Bible verses indicate this, such as Psalm 111:5. "He provides food for those who fear him...." It turns out we were able to provide for someone else tonight; we'll share details in a future post.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 47 final tables in 115 nights (40.9%) - 10 cashes.