Why Did You Do That?

Admittedly, we felt a little desperate. Our budget for a two-week vacation which included a church convention and a quick cruise was tight from the start. Then our car rental plans had to change at the last second, requiring us to spend twice as much as we'd planned.

So when we boarded a ship in Palm Beach, Florida for Freeport, Bahamas two Sundays ago, the on-board casino was more tempting than usual. Amidst hundreds of slot machines and plenty of blackjack, there was one poker table in the corner -- and we knew it was our chance to balance the vacation budget.

Trouble was, the Texas Hold 'em table had a cash game format -- not the tournament style we feel more ethically comfortable playing. It was real gambling; plunk down some bills in exchange for chips, and you could win more money or lose them all.

ON THE SEA

We were aware of the risk to our limited budget -- and we were aware playing a cash game might hurt other travelers' budgets as well. (But then, do you think they'd admit it if we asked them?) And the stakes were small: a $2/$3 pot limit format. So we handed over $30 to give it a try.

On the first night at Wynmore Casino, our stack jumped to $80 within an hour. Good cards came several times early, and we think our experience in careful play helped. On top of that, we took the "Jesus as your Savior" coin to the table -- and two people sitting around us agreed with the message about Christ.

At the one-hour mark, we left to cash out -- probably to the delight of several players at the table. One couple openly discussed cutting their losses and quitting, before we did. We don't know if they applied the advice of Jesus before sitting down:

Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to finish it? -- Luke 14:28

We told ourselves several times before the trip: "If you can't afford to play poker, you shouldn't play poker." But the risk certainly paid off for us in this case. The dealer kept two dollars for a tip (we admittedly hadn't thought about handing that over after winning hands), so we departed with $78 -- more than doubling our money.

(Then we promptly lost five of them in one "make-or-break" try at blackjack, helped by a casino matching bet offer.)

On night two, the gambling crowd was markedly smaller. Only two women (and for a short time three) played poker. We wanted to "go for it" and win a lot more money -- but our opponents were clever and good. After three hours, our $30 investment stood at $31.

"I'm going to quit while I'm on level ground," we announced -- thankful for a mere one-dollar gain. We were growing internally frustrated, and probably would have gone "on tilt" had we played much longer. Professionals such as Michael Mizrachi get nicknames like "The Grinder" for a reason; this was a grind, feeling more like hard work than play.

A DAY WITH NO RACES

Then last Sunday, we used "Family Day" at the church convention we attended to play at the Daytona Beach, Florida Kennel Club and Poker Room. We checked the room's website in advance, and hoped to get into a $40 "sit-and-go." But the only tournament announced during the afternoon had a steep $275 buy-in -- much more than our tight budget could afford.

So we settled for another cash game, at the $1/$2 table. With a gain at sea of $44, we invested 40. A couple of good hands helped us climb to $62. But this sort of low-stakes game invites players to stick around until the river with marginal hands. Enough players did that to drain away our stack. The final blow came when a 9 of spades on the river gave us a straight -- but a man to our left a straight flush.

(We should note that man with the straight flush had a look at our "Jesus coin." We'll mention his response to it in another post.)

With that loss, we decided our poker playing for the trip was finished. Our cash game profit was all of four dollars, and we didn't dare risk going into the red with a tight budget.

THE LARGER ERROR

Yet here's the amazing thing: we figured the travel budget incorrectly! Only on the final night of the trip did we realize we were counting our "emergency fund" line as part of the actual expenditures. We thought we were limping home with a skimpy eight dollars left to spend -- but the final surplus was more than $150.

In addition, we didn't figure on other people at the church convention being giving to us. A long-time friend invited us to his condo, which led to two nights of free meals. Another friend peeled off a 20-dollar bill for us outside the meeting hall when we explained our Family Day plans, advising us: "Don't spend it all on one hand." (We didn't; that bill stayed in the wallet for days.)

A gift opens the way for the giver and ushers him into the presence of the great. -- Proverbs 18:16

May this Scripture come true for everyone who helped us during the road trip. And yes, we did some giving of our own during the vacation -- providing items for church charity drives in the community. Oh, and we gave back most of our poker profits to total strangers.

The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised. -- Job 1:21b