Poker Night 199: Pair and Pray

Tonight's tournament at The Red Barn was a night for resisting temptation. We folded several suited cards, and were thankful when they didn't match the board. We even folded A-J when a player went all-in with more than 5,000 chips -- and were rewarded, when smaller cards were the only ones that paired. (A woman next to us also had A-J, and played them to a big loss.) But eventually, we had to take a stand....

BLINDS: 1,000/2,000

IN THE POCKET: 5-5

We've only taken one pot all night, claiming about 1,500 chips with two pair. That was enough to reach the semifinal tables. But rising blinds have whittled our stack away, and only 1,000 chips remain.

"In the words of Dr. King: NOW is the time!" we announce as we put the last big chip down to go all-in. We've seen small pocket pairs take big pots online against hands such as A-K. But two players call behind us, not counting the big blind. Uh-oh.

ON THE FLOP: 4-8-A

The sight of an Ace doesn't make us feel good. But the table checks.

ON THE TURN: 2

This opens the door for a straight. But a man to our right, who for some reason is wearing a giant black wig with a necktie attached, bets 3,000. One player still in the hand calls; the other folds.

ON THE RIVER: 9

We know we're sunk -- but we forget two players still can bet, and show our 5-5 too soon. It turns out Mr. Big Hair has 4-4, and his three of a kind eliminates us. We wind up 11th, two spots short of the final table.

MINISTRY MOMENT: We brought back our biggest conversation-starter tonight, one which nearly the entire table asked about. Our card protector was a small piece of bread.

"I brought this to remind me," we explained, "that Jesus is the bread of life." (John 6:35)

"Well, that's true," an older woman said before the game began. But she still seemed puzzled by our symbolism. Another player jokingly asked if we picked up that bread at "the Last Supper." We explained we usually only eat bread at breakfast.

(Can you name one thing Jesus did with bread after the "Last Supper," that He did NOT do with the wine? We'll have the answer in an upcoming post.)

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 83 final tables in 199 nights (41.7%) - 15 cashes.