NLOP Weekly Championship 16: Leaps and Out of Bounds

Our last two Sunday night weekly championship runs at National League of Poker were very good -- top 70 finishes out of more than 1,390 players. Could we move up from a "fabulous 50" this week? We tried -- and had a fascinating chat with a player along the way:

:01 IN: We have A-8 of hearts, and double the blind. Two players call. The flop is 4-A-9. We bet 100. They fold. We quickly win $295.

We lost a hand with A-9 a few minutes later to someone with J-J. Then our timing went bad....

:13 IN: We have A-5. The flop is 7-Q-9, and we fold to a small bet. Sure enough - the turn is A, and it would have won.

:17 IN: We have 9-6, and fold pre-flop. Sure enough - the flop is 6-6-4.

One or two more pot losses left us with 525 chips at the half-hour break. We needed to look for a turnaround moment.

:36 IN: We have K-K under the gun. There it is! We go all-in for 525, and someone calls with 10-Q. The flop is 8-Q-3, followed by 5-4. We escape and jump to $1,275.

:40 IN: We have Qc-Qh, and choose to limp in. The flop is 10-4-8, all hearts. We call a blind-sized bet of 150. The turn is 8d, and a couple of players push. We call a bet of 620 with an overpair, leaving only 130. The river is a 10, and we're challenged to call for our last 130. A player across from us has K-10, to make a full house.

We're gone in 626th place -- but don't leave yet. Before we were ousted, a curious chat occurred with someone with a curious handle.

Hornydevil: i hope all american commit suicide
Me: Something you'd expect someone named Devil to say.
Me: Should I ask why?

Satan the devil is the antithesis of Jesus Christ -- or if that's too big a word, the polar opposite:

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. - John 10:10
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. - I Peter 5:8

The devil wants you dead, just as it wanted Adam and Eve to die long ago. Jesus wants you to have life -- a joy-filled life, which leads to eternal life. The chat continues, as we go all-in with pocket Kings....

Hornydevil: im horny for your wife
RiverRatRich: gl flop
Me: Too bad. Not married.
Dealer: flopblogger wins Main Pot ($1275) with One pair, kings
Me: (whew)
Me: PTL

A moment of praising God (whether "Horn" realized it or not), following instruction from the apostle Paul.

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. - Romans 12:21

Then the chat became personal, and a little extreme:

Hornydevil: flopblogger u r gay u r not married
Me: Thanks for leaping to conclusions.
Me: That's not true, either.
Dealer: aceatanc wins Main Pot ($525)
Me: True love waits.
Hornydevil: u r bisexual
Me: No.

If he's as bad with poker "reads" as he was with our lifestyle, he won't win many poker tournaments. Not everyone who is single is homosexual. For instance, what about the widow (which we're not, either)?

Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I am. But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion. - I Corinthians 7:8-9

As we were eliminated, the chat became downright silly:

Hornydevil: all american are gay because of obama
Me: .... who's married and a father of 2?!?!
jimwolf666: well then big fella hello
jimwolf666: 666
jimwolf666: 666
jimwolf666: 666

....as in Revelation 13:18!

You truly meet all kinds of people at the poker table - especially online. May you be "prepared to give an answer" (as I Peter 3:15 says), no matter who and what you face.