Poker Night 220: Aces and Races

"Scared money don't win," a man at our table told us early in the evening at Lil Kim's Cove. We folded two meager hearts, which turned into a winning flush. But there are times when being afraid is not an issue....

BLINDS: 500/1000

IN THE POCKET: A-Q offsuit

We reached the one-hour break with a healthy 10,500 chips, thanks to several pot wins. But a recent loss has left us with 4,500. Seeing these cards, we could simply limp or push. Taking a middle course usually is not recommended. But after thinking it over, that's what we try -- raising to 2,000, in hopes of attracting as many players as possible. A couple of opponents call.

ON THE FLOP: A-J-A

Three Aces look very A-ttractive! But a woman to our left goes all-in first, stacking up 4,000. We see no choice but to call, with our remaining 2,500. Everyone else bails out. No one turns over cards, except the dealer....

ON THE TURN: 9 (we think; it happened fast, and others at the table disputed this)

ON THE RIVER: A

"I've got a full house!" Our opponent throws down J-J with confidence.

"But I have quads," we respond. Yes, we hit quads in a live tournament for the second time in a week! Not only do we double our stack, we get the 5,000-chip "quads bonus" under tournament rules.

But to borrow from Job 1:21, A-Q giveth and A-Q taketh away. We went all-in again with those cards later in the second hour, matched against a man with J-10. Trouble was, a Jack came on the flop and a 10 on the turn. We were sunk -- eliminated in 14th place at the semifinal table.

MINISTRY MOMENT: There's nothing that can clear the tables at a poker tournament quite like word that someone's car has been hit in the parking lot. We won a pot by default that way tonight -- but things turned ugly moments later. Someone involved in the collision used a racial slur, to refer to a young man at our table coming into a "white bar."

"I'm not afraid of him," the young man said. But his actions said something else -- as he was clearly distracted by the presence of the "redneck" (as others at the table called him), and he used a cell phone to call police.

"I've never seen a sign anywhere outside that says this is a white bar," we said.

"That's because there isn't one!" a woman next to us added. (In fact, we believe the bar owner is an immigrant from South Korea.)

Everyone at the table came to the defense of the young African-American man -- and that's good to see. We pointed out during the discussion that poker is a game where anyone can play and win, no matter what their skin color and gender is. (We added "age," but technically you have to be 18 to play at Lil Kim's Cove.)

As it happened, we used a church newspaper article about racism for Bible study earlier in the day. The African-American author points out "racism is a sin.... found within the hearts of people of all races...." That kind of heart needs to be changed -- and the Holy Spirit within you can help make it possible.

Faith in Christ Jesus is what makes each of you equal with each other, whether you are a Jew or a Greek, a slave or a free person, a man or a woman. -- Galatians 3:28, CEV

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 90 final tables in 220 nights (40.9%) - 15 cashes. Heads-up: 8-13.

NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POKER TOTAL: Full tournaments - 102 point wins in 544 games (18.8%), 40 final tables, 2 cashes.

POKER STARS.NET TOTAL: Pretend cash games -- $34,489 up $435.