Poker Night 273: What's My Line?

Maybe we've been in a "final table slump" for so long because our poker strategy has become too predictable. How predictable?  Consider what our table did tonight, during one hand at Lil Kim's Cove -- and we'll even let you play along:

BLINDS: 100/200

IN THE POCKET: ?-? (Not saying yet)

We split a pot with a full house in the early going, and now have about 6,000 chips (where we started).  A woman to our right calls to start the bidding. We check our cards and are -- well, let's say inspired -- to raise to 600.

"That tells me he's got something good," a man to the right says.  "Pocket pair -- maybe jacks or better."  In fact, he folds out of turn at the sight of our bet.  But a few players call, and a couple of people at the table join in the guessing game.

"He could have pocket 10's," speculates one.

"You want to bet on it?" another says.  "Whether he has jacks or better?  I'll bet 100."  A couple of players take up the challenge -- and just like that, there's a "sidepot" on the table about our cards!  We say nothing through it all, and turn away from the players doing the talking.

ON THE FLOP: 6-Q-4 (suits won't matter)

We're first to act, and offer what some might call a continuation bet of 500.  A man to our left calls; a couple  of others keep guessing.  "Your Jacks are good," one says -- apparently in our direction.

ON THE TURN: K

Seeing a second face card, we check.  The other player checks.  The guessers think that was not the card we wanted to see.

"You realize if he mucks the cards, you lose," one man points out.  We still say nothing about all this.

ON THE RIVER: 9

OK, let's bet once more.  We offer 500.  Our opponent thinks about it for a moment.

"Here," a guesser across from our opponent says -- and tosses a green chip worth 500 toward him!  "I want to see what he has."  Given this unusual "free play," our opponent leaves it out to call.

"Whoever said pocket 10's had it right," we say as we turn our cards over.  Our opponent is left frustrated.

"I was hoping for a flush."  He folds without showing.

"So you get the sidepot...." we say to a man across the table.

"You couldn't win that, anyway!" another jokes.  Of course not.  But we're happy with the main pot, which comes to about 4,000 chips.

The post-hand "expert analysis" concluded we lowered our bets out of fear, as face cards came out.  Yes, we checked in caution on the turn -- but on the flop, we really offered 500 because we lacked a blue 100 chip to go with it.  Really.

More success came our way in the second hour, as we won back-to-back pots.  But rising blinds kept us on the edge, as the field whittled down.  Finally we saw 8-8 in the big blind with 8,000 left, and went all-in with it.  It turned into a full house, and topped an opponent with 6-6 -- but a man with a Queen paired the board with it, to knock both of us out.  We barely missed the final table, finishing tied for ninth (10th in points).

MINISTRY MOMENT: "Have a blessed evening," the Tournament Director said after writing down our name for tenth place in points.

"A blessed evening!" we answered in surprise.  "You don't hear that every day at a poker room."

"A multi-denominational blessing," the Director said.  "Even Satanists have blessings that they offer."

They do?  That was a new one to us -- but indeed, there are web pages asking Satan to bless weddings (and we assume other events as well).  Yet this weekend, observant Jews and Christians will mark a future time when Satan will be punished severely by God....

And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain.  He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. - Revelation 20:1-2

Verse 3 notes this is done to prevent Satan "from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended."  It's part of the deep spiritual meaning of Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement.  Click on our link to learn more about it; we'll have more to say about blessings in our next post.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 100 final tables in 273 nights (36.6%) - 15 cashes.  Our live poker schedule will be different for the next couple of weeks; in fact, it might be exactly what we need.  (Keep checking here for details.)

NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POKER TOTAL: Full tournaments - 168 point wins in 743 games (22.6%), 57 final tables, 7 cashes.  One-table sit-n-goes: 8-13-8-3-2. (A second and a third last weekend gave us enough points to qualify for the weekly championship tournament.)

POKER STARS.NET TOTAL: Pretend cash games - $59,635, down $83.