Poker Night 170: AK Attacked

There are nights in poker when the cards are your friends, and winning hands come often. But enough about last night -- let's check what happened at Lil Kim's Cove tonight:

BLINDS: 200/400

IN THE POCKET: A of clubs - K of diamonds

We tried to play the first hand of the night with A-4 and had two pair at the turn, but big bets by other players forced us to flee. (It wasn't good enough, anyway.) Hardly any good opportunities have come since then, and our chip stack is a precarious 3,150. So we decide this is the hand for making a move. We raise to 1,000 pre-flop, and several players call.

ON THE FLOP: Jd-10d-4h

Not quite what we're after, but there's hope here -- three diamonds and a "gutshot" straight draw. A woman to our immediate right bets 600. With two "over-cards" and a previous raise, we feel compelled to call. Several other players join in.

ON THE TURN: 6h

Ugh. That didn't do it, either. The woman to our right now bets 1,000. If we call, our chip count would drop to the 1,500-range. This doesn't pass our comfort test, so we fold our big cards.

ON THE RIVER: 5c

It's probably just as well -- we would have had merely Ace high. The woman who was betting made everyone else fold at that point, by betting 2,000. (We think she had two pair.)

An all-in try after the one-hour break with A-2 didn't work, either. No Ace came, and away we went tied for 30th place (from a double take-out).

MINISTRY MOMENT: Our little plastic sword had several people asking questions at the table tonight. We pointed out the word of God is "sharper than any two-edged sword" (Hebrews 4:12) -- as in the Scriptures.

"Do you read the Bible?" we asked a few people. We heard one young woman quietly say she did. Then she said other things, which we couldn't quite hear.

Look around the Bible, and you'll find other references to swords. When Jesus comes back to Earth, one prophecy projects "Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations" (Revelation 19:15).

This section of Revelation looks forward to a frightening moment for a lot of people: "....kings, generals, and mighty men.... all people, free and slave, small and great.... killed with the sword that came out of the rider on the horse" (verses 18, 21).

Yes, the Bible indicates Jesus is coming to kill people -- apparently large numbers of people. But read on to Revelation 21, and you'll find a new heaven and new earth with eternal life will be offered to "he who overcomes.... those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life" (21:7, 27).

How do you escape Jesus's deadly sword? By getting in His "good book," if we might use that term. Revelation 22:14 in the King James Version suggests how it's done: "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city." Will you seek that blessing God offers?

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 69 final tables in 170 nights (40.6%) - 11 cashes.

NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POKER TOTAL: One-table sit-n-goes - 4-9-4-2-2. Full tournaments - 53 point wins in 291 games (18.2%), 23 final tables, 1 cash.

The latest final table online came Monday - a sixth-place finish out of 127 players. And the cash actually came in the mail today -- a ten-dollar check for winning a tournament six weeks ago.

POKER STARS.NET TOTAL: Pretend cash games - $10,733, down $300.