That sort of betting dares you to join in, if only in hopes of beating "the bully". We chased one flush with A-8 of hearts, only to miss by one card. But then came a hand we figured would be do-or-die....
BLINDS: 50/100
IN THE POCKET: A-J offsuit
We sit one behind the dealer, who's taken on the original Big Spender and won a series of all-in bets to rally from 450 chips to several thousand. We've been weakened by the bomb-dropping to 2,550 chips, and are helped by the fact that the early leader folds. We try to limp in -- but no. The dealer raises 2,000. Then two other players call.
"I'll do it," we say after thinking a moment. We call. It's simply too good a hand to fold.
"You should have put the rest in there," Mr. Big Spender says. But if we miss the flop, we have 450 left for a possible rally of our own.
ON THE FLOP: J-9-4
The play checks to us, and this time we don't hesitate. "Now I'm all-in," we say as we offer the last 450. The three other players in the hand call; it's small potatoes to them, anyway.
ON THE TURN: 7
Still top pair. And the sidepot players check, giving us hope.
ON THE RIVER: K
Uh-oh -- that's potential trouble. A man to the right of us reaches for chips with a value of 1,000. But then he checks. In fact, the table checks.
"I have a Jack," we say as we show. And to our delight, it holds up! In fact, the dealer shows he made a big raise with 10-4. Thanks, "good buddy" -- top pair takes us soaring to more than 12,000.
That's the only hand we won all night, as we dodged more giant bets after that. But on a three-table summer night, that was enough to take us to our 100th final table in a live tournament. We didn't last long there, however -- daring to go all-in with 5,000 left against Mr. Big Spender's 10,000-chip raise. We had K-10. But he had A-Q, and both his cards paired by the turn to knock us out. We matched last Thursday night, by finishing ninth.
MINISTRY MOMENT: "You don't smoke, do you?" a man asked at the one-hour break.
"No, I don't." So of course, our seat at the table was between two smokers who shared an ashtray.
"You ought to try it sometime," the man suggested.
"My mom smoked until practically the day she died," we answered. "And she died before age 60."
We admittedly didn't take the discussion any farther. But there are a couple of Biblical lessons to take from this. For one thing, you can learn a lot from your parents -- both what to do, and what not to do.
No longer will anyone go around saying, "Sour grapes eaten by parents leave a sour taste in the mouths of their children." When that day comes, only those who eat sour grapes will get the sour taste, and only those who sin will be put to death. - Jeremiah 31:29-30 (CEV)
Simply because your parents had bad habits doesn't mean you have to do them, too. You can break the cycle by repenting of family vices and sins, and walking in a different direction -- a godly direction.
Whoever would love life and see good days.... must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it. - I Peter 3:10-11
Be honest now -- is there any good which comes from smoking? Especially after the decades of scientific research showing how harmful it can be?
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?.... - I Corinthians 6:19
Why pollute the body God gave you with something which can only harm it? If you're in a tobacco habit, pray for God to help you overcome -- and if necessary, seek help from other people.
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 100 final tables in 261 nights (38.3%) - 15 cashes. This computes to 11 tournaments short of a 40-percent record.
NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POKER TOTAL: Full tournaments - 155 point wins in 707 games (21.9%), 54 final tables, seven cashes. UFC Three-card - one win in 10 games.
POKER STARS.NET TOTAL: Pretend cash games - $49,696, down $647.
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