Poker Night 289: Sons of Anarchy

Our night at Lil Kim's Cove was nothing to write home about -- much less write a blog about.  We lost a big early pot to someone we thought was bluffing, but really had two pair.  We won an all-in race with A-9 when two pair arrived at the river.  But another push minutes later with A-3 fell short, as we missed the board while another man made two pair.  Even though we lasted well into the second hour, we wound up seventh out of eight players at our table.

But the hand we'll remember most from this night was one we simply watched.  It spoke volumes about the play, as well as some of the players....

BLINDS: 100/200

IN THE POCKET: K-7 of clubs

After losing that big early pot, we're limping along at about 3,200 chips.  The player to our immediate right raises to 2,000.  That's too high-priced even for our suited cards, so we fold.  So does most of the table -- except for a woman across from us.  Sitting in the Big Blind, she raises to 6,000.

"I'm all-in," the man to our right declares -- and he has a huge stack of more than 30,000.

The woman holds her cards up near eye-level, looking as stunned as a grieving widow.  She says nothing for about a minute, except perhaps one or two expletives.

"I'll tell you what," the man finally says.  "I'll take back the all-in bet and let you see a flop.  But if I make the flop, I'm all-in again."

The woman still stares at her cards, saying little.  Another player at the table points out the man can't make an offer like that.  After a moment, he admits that's true.  Finally the woman touches some of the chips already in the middle.

"I had to do it," declares the man -- and he throws J-J at her!  Trouble is....

"I haven't decided yet!" she points out.

The man misread her gesture.  He apologizes, but the Jacks stay face-up.  That didn't help the woman decide a thing.  She still stares and ponders, then shows her cards to a woman next to her who's out of the hand.

Apparently because of that, a man to our immediate left reaches across the table, grabs the deck and flips over cards....

ON THE FLOP: A-Q-3

Trouble is, he's not the dealer!  A woman two seats to her left is.  She let him grab the cards and go -- and that brings the woman still holding her hand at eye-level out of her shock.

"I hadn't mucked my cards!  I fold!"  She tosses her cards in face-down.

So the man who went all-in wins the pot -- but he shows a bit of guilt about it.  He stacks some chips, and gives them to the woman in a show of apology.

We're still not sure what cards the woman had; the talk afterward indicated she would have been on a flush draw.  It also indicated the woman may have frozen due to some kind of disorder; she mentioned something about "bipolar" as the cards were shuffled for the next hand.

So what have we learned here?  Several thoughts come to mind.  The main lesson for us was how impatient some poker players can be.  For instance, the man who reached for the deck bet "out of turn" ahead of us several times during the game.  (And he wasn't the only person at the table who did this.)  We politely offer some advice for these players....

A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man displays folly. - Proverbs 14:29

Is it possible that online poker is prompting some people to be too impatient at live tournaments?  After all, Internet hands come up a lot faster.

This hand also showed how misunderstandings can occur when people's actions and motions are taken the wrong way.  It's always better to ask for confirmation first, before jumping to a conclusion which could be totally wrong.  Consider the most extreme example of this:

Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.  This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge, and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. - Acts 2:22-23

An emotion-driven crowd demanded the release of a robber named Barabbas, instead of an innocent and holy Savior (Mark 15:6-15).  But it was all part of God's "Master plan" to bring salvation to all of us.

(There was a Ministry Moment during this game, but we'll hold that for another post.)


UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 105 final tables in 289 nights (36.3%) - 17 cashes.  Tonight was our worst showing in a local tournament since Thanksgiving.

NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POKER TOTAL: Full tournaments - 188 point wins in 809 games (23.2%), 64 final tables, 7 cashes.

The time of the Sunday weekly championship at NLOP has moved from evening to late afternoon.  It's too early for us to play, due to other commitments -- but we're still trying to win money when we can.

POKER STARS.NET TOTAL: Pretend cash games - $65,799, down $1,440.