Poker Night 173: A Walk in the Dark

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me...."

Those words from Psalm 23:4 could have applied to a hand we played at The Red Barn tonight. Well, OK -- it wasn't quite life-and-death. But it was fraught with danger....

BLINDS: 100/200

IN THE POCKET: K of clubs - K of hearts

We're in the big blind, with a potentially big hand. When no one raises ahead of us, we're tempted to make a move -- but decide to hide out and check.

ON THE FLOP: 2-10-8 (don't recall exact suits)

We have the "over pair" -- and since the small blind folded, it's time to move. We bet 500, and several players check.

ON THE TURN: K of spades

At this point, two clubs and two spades are on the board. People could be sitting on a flush draw, but we don't want them to be comfortable about it. We bet 500 again, and succeed in chasing away a couple of players; two others remain.

ON THE RIVER: 10 of spades

There's a potential third spade for someone -- but something even better for us. Now we feel confident betting 1,100, hoping to maximize our profits. One player calls, while the other folds.

"I made a full house," we announce -- and no one can top it. Our stack more than doubles, from the 4,800 range to about 10,000.

A big-betting bluffer cost us much of that gain on the very next hand -- but later pocket Queens brought another gain. Yet after the one-hour break, a man raised 5,000 in front of us as we held A-Q. We felt no choice but to go all-in -- only to find our opponent had A-K. No Queen came on the board, and we were gone in about 31st place. (The crowd was inflated at The Red Barn by the fact that two other Monday night poker spots in the area were closed.)

MINISTRY MOMENT: As that last hand came out, the flop was 2-4-5. We noted a 3 could bring a straight, and a split of the pot.

"A Queen is your savior," a man watching the action said after the turn card was an 8. The river was a 5, pairing the board.

"Jesus is my Savior," we said to the man, loud enough for the entire table to hear. He laughed, and admitted the Queen did not come to rescue us.

We got up from the table to see something startling on ESPN News. "Bob Probert died?!" we said. Indeed he had -- and the man who talked about that queen knew all about his life story, as a big Detroit Red Wings hockey fan.

"So he needed Jesus as His Savior," we eventually said. "Is Jesus your Savior?" The man nodded his head in agreement. Good for him; we hope that's also true for you.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 71 final tables in 173 nights (41.0%) - 13 cashes.