Poker Night 265: Clubs in the Bag

The night started well at Lil Kim's Cove -- as we won a nice pot with two pair and scare-away betting. But then we had a big loss, when Q-10 with two Queens on the board lost to a man with a club flush. That led to a big moment, late in the first hour....

BLINDS: 200/400

IN THE POCKET: 4 of clubs - 4 of diamonds

The big loss combined with a few promising hands which failed have left us with 1,500 chips, out of a starting 8,000. The player ahead of us in the order folds, and we ponder what to do with this small pocket pair. We finally decide there's little to lose.

"I'm all in," we declare. Only two players call, one of them the small blind. So as long as our opponents don't have bigger pairs, we're a slight favorite to "triple up."

ON THE FLOP: 6c-4h-8c

Making three of a kind on the flop is good. Seeing openings for a straight is not. The two players still in the hand check.

ON THE TURN: 10s

Our opponents check again -- and we're feeling better about this.

ON THE RIVER: 2c

An innocent-looking card, right? Well, only until the small blind reaches for chips and bets 3,000. The other man calls -- and then we see it.

"Not another flush...." we say showing our 4-4.

"I've got the nuts!" the small blind declares -- and turns over A-7 of clubs! That little card made him a big winner. We're foiled again, finishing sixth at our table of eight.

MINISTRY MOMENT: Another man took the lead in talking at the table -- a man who's been running a poker league in Kentucky, but is moving to our area due to a military transfer. He used his cell phone to show us pictures of winners, talk about the prizes and how he organized things.

Through it all, we listened and learned. We couldn't fit in any words about Christian topics, which didn't make the walk home feel any better for us. But at least we tried to live up to some Biblical advice....

He who answers before listening -- that is his folly and his shame. - Proverbs 18:13

An old non-Biblical proverb notes God made humans with two ears and one mouth. Which part of the body should be utilized more?

When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise. - Proverbs 10:19

From what we could tell, the Kentuckian to our right really wasn't sinning with his words. But listening carefully to those words can build a relationship which will pay dividends down the road. So if God allows, we may get our turn to respond another night.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 100 final tables in 265 nights (37.7%) - 15 cashes. Here we go again: four missed final tables in a row.

NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POKER TOTAL: Full tournaments - 158 point wins in 718 games (22.0%), 54 final tables, 7 cashes.

POKER STARS.NET TOTAL: Pretend cash games - $50,912, up $706.