First the good news - our long streak of missing the final table is over! We made it all the way Wednesday night at a very competitive place, Soho Bar and Grill. To get there, we had to dodge some potentially dangerous hands....
BLINDS: 50/100
IN THE POCKET: 4-8 offsuit
We're trying to play with discipline - and outside the blinds, who really would play this? Before anyone mentions Gus Hansen, we're folding. Several players get in, though.
ON THE FLOP: 5d-6c-7c
Ouch! Now we wish we'd been more loosy-goosy, as we would have had a straight on the flop. About three players make bets on it to stay in the hand.
ON THE TURN: 9c
A six-card straight still would have been a straight. Maybe others have an 8, because two players keep betting.
ON THE RIVER: 8h
Well, the deck has a 8 - so there's a straight on the table. One player makes a big "I dare you" bet, which we probably would have rejected It's called -- and a man to our left shows 8-10 of clubs! He made a straight flush on the turn -- and since he had an open-ended straight draw on the flop, it's doubtful any big bet we made would have turned him away.
The first hour did not go well for us, as we limped to the break at 2,250. But then things started changing. A man had to leave, so he shared his chips with the rest of the table. We grew to 4,000 from his generosity. Then we started getting good cards for all-in bets, including high suited-connector clubs which led to a big comeback. We jumped to 19,000, then jumped again to more than 53,000!
After a couple of attempts to play promising hands in the third hour missed the flop, we held on tightly with 30,000 chips to make our first final table since February. But the dream ended there, as a push with K-Q led to a miss and a woman with 8-9 made a full house. We finished in a three-way tie for fifth, and drove home with our best feeling from a poker night in a long time.
MINISTRY MOMENT: We pulled a fake key out of the car (a ploy to frustrate burglars) to use as a card protector. "This man has the key to success," the Tournament Director announced when he saw it.
"I actually had something else in mind," we answered -- which didn't surprise the Director, who's read this blog from time to time. "I brought it to remind me that Jesus holds the keys to death and the grave."
Where did we get that one? From the mouth of Jesus....
Don't be afraid! I am the first, the last and the Living One. I died, but now I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys to death and the world of the dead. - Revelation 1:18, CEV
"Do you believe in Jesus? Do you believe He was resurrected?" we asked a man to our immediate right. He said he did. We could have gone farther, and asked if HE expected to be resurrected.
I also saw all the dead people standing in front of the throne. Every one of them was there, no matter who they had once been. Several books were opened, and then the book of life was opened. The dead were judged by what those books said they had done. - Revelation 20:12, CEV
We don't buy the "all-in" claim from one Christian radio network that "Judgment Day" is only a few days away. But the Bible leaves no doubt a judgment is coming - for us as well as you. Are you ready to stand before the throne of Christ? And what will you say when that judgment comes on your life?
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 95 final tables in 247 nights (38.5%) - 15 cashes.
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