Poker Night 191: As Big As You Dare

You might say we spent part of Labor Day working. We tried to win money playing poker at The Red Barn. And with several players betting big like it was a holiday, we dared at one point to join in....

BLINDS: 100/200

IN THE POCKET: A-K offsuit

We're dealing, as we hold about 7,000 chips. The play calls to us, and we raise to 500. About four players decide to call.

ON THE FLOP: J-Q-6

We have "overcards" and a top straight draw. But as we said, people are betting big. When one man bets 200, a woman who sat down only a few hands ago raises 5,000. A woman next to her then goes all-in, raising 50 more. This would be a massive risk for us -- but something tells us they don't really have much. We play that hunch, and call.

It turns out our hunch was wrong. One woman has 6-6, and made three of a kind on the flop. The other woman has K-Q. Uh-oh....

ON THE TURN: 10

Ahhh-ha! "That gives me a straight," we say as the dealer.

ON THE RIVER: 8

"I can't believe you called that with a draw," a man who folded after the flop says. It's admittedly not our nature -- but we joined the trend of the evening, and it paid off.

We didn't win many pots after that -- until the final table, which we held on to achieve with about 8,000 chips. Then we won a couple of all-in bets, and endured to finish third.

MINISTRY MOMENT: One young man at the final table told us he was playing in a live tournament for only the second time. After he was eliminated, we showed him our "Jesus as your Savior" card protector coin.

"Apparently it's working for you," he said. Wellll -- it's not the coin that's doing the work....

Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working." -- John 5:17

Jesus did the greatest work for all humankind, by giving His life for us. Now that was a "Labor Day" unlike any other.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 82 final tables in 191 nights (42.9%) - 15 cashes. We're on a streak of five final tables in a row!