Wednesday, February 2, 2011

One vs. 1,000 (Almost)

Think about the odds of winning a major poker tournament. The field can have hundreds of players, or even thousands. It's why we sometimes tell people we don't have to watch the TV game Survivor -- we live it.

Tuesday night marked our most satisfying moment yet along those lines. We played the 10:30 p.m. ET tournament at National League of Poker, with 963 players entered -- and almost three hours later, we were playing heads-up for the top prize!

We don't normally keep track of our hands in these nightly games. But It started with an all-in bet we made with about 485 chips left. That win pushed us above 2,000. Then a couple more in the following minutes advanced us to 3,998. Despite a setback or two, we hit a winning river card or two. We kept winning big pots, besides -- and by the final table, we had more than 150,000 chips!

As contestants dropped at the final table, we hit a high of about 460,000 chips with only two opponents remaining. But then we lost a giant pot with two pair to "TxFlyBoy" who made a well-hidden straight. But the third player fell off before we did, putting us heads-up with a huge chip disadvantage of more than 20 to one.

After a few hands, TXFlyBoy prevailed. But we wound up with second place and a $25 prize (first won $50). At a casino, the payoff on our "1,000-point" investment would have been massive - we estimate more than $70,000.

"This has been one h**l of a tournament," someone wrote at the final table.

"It's been heavenly for me," we responded. And come to think of it, our lives can be like that....

"We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God," they said. - Acts 14:22


A big payoff usually requires a good bit of effort. But when the reward comes, it's quite satisfying. The reward for believers of God's kingdom will come when Jesus returns. If you're in the middle of hardships right now, ask God to provide spiritual strength and wisdom through it all.

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. - James 1:12

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