Yet in this 42-player tournament with a $40 buy-in, the critic was eliminated in seventh place. But we stuck around all the way to the top four, which put us "in the money!"
So how did this happen? We took a few early pots with nice cards, to gain some leverage. Then we resisted the temptation to play during a period of weak cards -- and we folded a pair of Kings after the river, when another player made a huge bet with an Ace and three hearts showing on the board. (That was the decision which openly frustrated the other player. He didn't know what we had, but he was absolutely sure the big bettor was bluffing.)
But as so often happens in poker, sometimes we need help from "Above." We give God the glory for the entire night, and especially what happened here....
BLINDS: 200/400
IN THE POCKET: Ace of hearts - 10 of spades (not exactly sure about the suit)
We have 1,425 chips, sitting "under the gun" at the semifinal table. In this position with these cards, we decide it's time to take a stand -- so we go all in. One player calls. One big problem: he shows A-A.
ON THE FLOP: 7h-8h-9d
We need help -- and we have some! It's an open-ended straight draw.
ON THE TURN: 4h
That's not it -- but now we're one heart away from a flush, so our chances actually are better.
ON THE RIVER: Kh
We were more focused on the straight -- so someone had to tell us we hit the nut flush!
That hand brought us back to nearly 3,000 chips. We caught a couple more big hands from there, and reached the final table at 35,700. Then we were helped by the fact that rival "regulars" at Ebro were intent on knocking each other out. We bided our time until good hands came, and eventually reached the "final four" which split a cash payout of more than $1,100.
Then came another timely moment. The man with the biggest stack proposed a settlement -- he'd reduce his potential first-place payoff of about $670, so the others in the money could take home more. We happily agreed, as did the other two finalists. And it happened just in time, as we were ready to go all-in with K-K -- and in a pretend playout, we would have been eliminated by the big stack's Q-7 making two pair!
The settlement allowed us to win $270 (reduced a bit by our tip to the dealers). Two years ago on a similar October Monday night at Ebro, we won $186. So our buy-in record at Florida poker rooms now stands at two-for-two -- with $80 invested and $456 won!
MINISTRY MOMENT: There were many in this tournament, and we'll share them all in coming days. But the skeptic of our play offered one, when we saw our "Jesus as your Savior" coin.
"So you needed help?" he asked.
"Well, we all need help," we answered. "Some of us simply haven't realized it yet."
We think we caught a smile of understanding from the poker room dealer. Believers of long ago knew they needed help from God, and they weren't ashamed to write about it:
Help us, O God our Savior, for the glory of your name; deliver us and forgive our sins for your name's sake. - Psalm 79:9
This was a prayer for help, to stop national oppression. But even if you live a life of peace and perfection (like any of us really has done that?), you still need help having anything beyond the grave. A man who was as good as dead (swallowed by a giant fish) put it this way:
In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and you listened to my cry. - Jonah 2:2
Only God can give us the ultimate help, in terms of a resurrection to eternal life. Are you ready to accept that help? (Along with the stray heart on the river, which might come as a bonus?)
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 101 final tables in 274 nights (36.9%) - 16 cashes. This marked our first cash win in a live tournament since July 2010. (No online tournaments were played during our road trip.)
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