If our title brings a familiar smile to your face, you either live in the New York area or know something about broadcasting. That's the name of a radio station in that city. It brought very good news to us tonight -- as we WON a live poker tournament at the Red Barn in Phenix City!
This was our first live win since last August (which actually was a heads-up handshake), and the first outright triumph since December 2008. We'll get to the meaning behind our title, but another big hand turned the tide for us along the way....
BLINDS: 1,000/2,000
IN THE POCKET: K-Q offsuit
We only have 4,000 chips left at a semifinal table (three tables played). There's little choice here but to call and hope. Three other players get in the hand, giving us a potential win of 17,000.
ON THE FLOP: A-6-9
The other players plunk down thousands, while we sit and watch. Not a comforting sight, without a pair.
ON THE TURN: J
The betting continues around us. We feel even more doomed. But hope remains....
ON THE RIVER: 10
....and did it ever come! Two players left in the hand bet 4,000 on a big sidepot.
"You can call me the Lion King, because I'm on Broadway," we announce -- as in a "Broadway" straight that no one else can match.
We took about 12,000 chips to the final table, and had a setback or two there. But then that title came to life. We went all-in with pocket 10's, and it held up despite face cards on the board. Other players' stacks drained away, leaving us heads-up against a young married woman -- trailing in chips by about a 3:1 margin.
But then our cards started pairing on the flop, and our experience playing heads-up games online seemed to kick in to our advantage. We only recall our opponent winning one pot which was not a pre-flop fold. So we rallied for the lead, and she eventually pushed all-in with 45,000. She had a 9, which matched the top card on the flop. We had a 10, with an open-ended straight draw. But a 10 on the turn was good enough -- and 10-10 won us the match!
First place at the Red Barn is $25 -- but we wound up taking home much less. With five players remaining, one of the five suggested the prize money be split five ways. We had the low stack at the time, so considered this a generous offer. Everyone accepted a five-dollar night, but we had the satisfaction of first place.
MINISTRY MOMENT: A final table hand found everyone checking the flop. Almost everyone checked the turn -- but then the woman who eventually finished second made a bet.
"We were going along just fine until you did that," we joked as we folded.
"She was on your Christmas list until then, wasn't she?" a man between us joked. Of all topics, that opened the door for some thoughts about Christmas in July.
"I used to keep Christmas," we told the man between hands. "But then I started studying it -- and I found more evidence in the Bible that Jesus kept Hanukkah than Christmas."
What do we mean? We'll give you some time to check the Bible about it, before we explain in a future post.
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 73 final tables in 175 nights (41.7%) - 14 cashes.
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